Cleansing The Cadre

IT was a conscience vote with a difference. But when over 130 IAS officials of the Uttar Pradesh cadre took part in a secret ballot under the aegis of the Uttar Pradesh IAS Association to identify the 'most corrupt' members of their tribe on December 14, the cracks in this elite cadre widened to a chasm. It was the culmination of the rumblings of the 'young turks' within, who were adamant that the 'cleansing of the service' had primacy over the need to present a united facade. And the perception that the service was divided was an acceptable price to pay to dispel the notion that all cadre officials were content to be branded corrupt.

The results of the voting, which took place in Delhi, Lucknow and various districts of Uttar Pradesh, are not yet known. But those who have been in the forefront of the move to identify the 'most corrupt' officials, say the results will be made public. "The general body of the Association authorised the move and it will be appropriate to declare the results at the next general body meeting which should take place in the last week of January," S.R. Lakha, secretary of the Uttar Pradesh IAS Association, told Outlook.

The idea behind the secret ballot was to declare the three officials from among the 500-strong Uttar Pradesh IAS cadre with over 100 votes against them, as the most corrupt. Sources feel that at best only two bureaucrats are likely to be identified by this yardstick after the December 14 vote.

This first in the annals of the history of the civil service, however, has not been easy. "In our belief, there are an increasing number of officials who have been amassing wealth and misusing official powers. And some of us are uncomfortable with this trend and the consequent loss of respect for the IAS among the people," says 1979-batch official Vijay Shankar Pandey, posted with the Uttar Pradesh Textile Corporation, who is among the prime movers of 'Operation Clean-UP'.

The instinctive reaction among bureaucrats opposed to the move is that "the image of the service will suffer", but the young turks have been at pains to emphasise that their image "couldn't get any worse". As for the fact that it could be defamatory, the attitude of the pro-secret ballot group can be summed up in one line—sue us and then we will give the courts proof.

Those in favour of this move, such as Pandey and Lakha, say the vote is only an opinion, "though an informed one", on their colleagues' reputation. And it hasn't been easy to express it. "We are all equally at risk; there is nothing to stop anyone from voting against me if I have done anything wrong. Why are those who oppose the move scared? We are supposed to be a well-educated section of society whose integrity is beyond doubt. If that is given, there is no question of any official using his vote in a malicious way," adds Pandey.

Their logic is simple. Says Lakha: "After the idea was first mooted last year, on February 2, the general body unanimously resolved to go ahead with the identification of the allegedly corrupt officials. And autho-rised a 32-member executive committee to decide the methodology. In August, the general body met again and passed by 92 votes to 26 the proposal of holding a secret ballot. It is incorrect to say that only some of us wanted it. The will of the Association was reflected and the turnout is always around this much on a contentious issue. The point is, all the arguments against the move were heard and only then was a decision taken. Those who disagree with it cannot expect to have it their way when they are in a minority."

But such arguments cut no ice with the president of the Uttar Pradesh IAS Association and Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Revenue, A.P. Singh, and others, who were not in favour of washing the services' dirty linen in public. In fact, in a last-minute bid to scuttle the secret ballot, Singh issued a notice on December 10 postponing the voting. He cited representations made to him by senior officials pointing out that the secret ballot would be a "deed in haste" and amount to "criminal intimidation".

Singh wrote that the "enthusiasm and zeal" of some of his fellow bureaucrats should be within the rule of law and warned that "we may become shuttlecocks in the court of law" if there is voting. But the voting went ahead anyway. Says Lakha: "Our purpose has been served. And IAS associations from Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Maharashtra are interested in following our example. I am happy that well over a 100 bureaucrats voted. If there had been no attempt to confuse the issue the figure would have been 200-plus." 

But the move has already taken its toll. Two high-profile principal secretaries in the state administration—Neera Yadav and A.P. Singh—and the Agricultural Production Commissioner B.N. Tiwari have quit the IAS Association. But office-bearers of the Association in favour of the move are promising to make it an annual affair. The battle-lines are drawn in ever sharper relief with war expected to break out when the results of the vote are announced.