BJP for ‘political SHOs' in Delhi
Days before Delhi's Rekha Gupta government hit the 100-day milestone, the Delhi BJP decided to unveil a new avatar for its freshly elected block and district-level leaders: the political 'SHO'. In a move that blends local governance with dramatic roleplay, these grassroots leaders received a solemn message from senior functionaries that they must act like 'SHOs'. The abbreviation stands for Station House Officer–a police officer in charge of a police station. The message was clear: don't be mere office-bearers; take up responsibility and serve the people in your respective blocks and wards.
ED's problem: Officials in graft cases
Since the CBI has arrested Enforcement Directorate's Deputy Director Chintan Raghuvanshi, a 2013-batch IRS officer, on graft charges, bureaucratic circles are agog about the impending malice in the law enforcement agency, which administers the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Raghuvanshi is not the only ED officer accused of alleged bribery. Several similar cases in various states have come to light in recent times. A retired IPS officer of the 1988 batch, who served a stint in the ED, said that the enhanced powers to the agency under the PMLA are not a new phenomenon. So, it is not the case of 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'.
He said that until almost 2018, the staffing of the ED was primarily dominated by police officers, who had always had exposure to administering the criminal provisions under the law. When the criminal clauses were inserted in the PMLA, it was not new to them, and they handled it with care. However, as officers from revenue and other financial services began joining the agency, many of whom had very little training in dealing with the criminal provisions of the laws, such graft cases came to light more frequently. Officers joining the ED, irrespective of their service cadre, should be given training on how to deal with and invoke the criminal provisions of the PMLA, he said.
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