A group of 109 former civil servants has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over changes in pension rules, saying they were shocked and profoundly upset as the new amendment “attempts to impose a silence”. The revised guidelines make it obligatory for retired government employees who have worked in select intelligence or security-related organizations to take permission from the head of the organization before making any publication.
The consent is expected to write on the issues related to the domain of the organization, including any reference or data about any personnel and their designation, and expertise or knowledge gained by virtue of working in that organization, among others, they said.
In the open letter, the former civil servants said that the practice of the retired bureaucrats writing about their experiences and articles on different aspects of the work done by them during their functioning years or remarking on current undertakings utilizing their domain knowledge is universal and appreciated worldwide.
“We were surprised, and deeply disturbed, by the recent amendment to the Central Pension Rules notified by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions on 31 May 2021,” said the letter written by them under the guidance of the Constitutional Conduct Group.
The former bureaucrats also said that they couldn’t comprehend why there was a requirement for such an alteration to the Central Pension Rules when there already exists, an Official Secrets Act, 1923 and the state can, under it, prosecute officials and former officials who reveal information prejudicial to the state.
“If writing about certain matters amounts to grave misconduct, the government can certainly take action, as per law, to deprive the former official of his or her pension,” the letter said.
It is true of India, as of any other country, that the government’s version of events, either current or past, is seen as the point of view of the party in power and is not, necessarily, reflective of the whole truth, it said. It is a result of this that the perspectives and diaries of past specialists, unrestricted by the limitations of office, have esteem. The new alteration to the Pension Rules endeavors to force a quietness that will truly influence grant and be a lasting obstruction to a comprehension of the goals of our security concerns, it said.
Officials who have spent a lifetime in security-related issues are probably not going to be flippant and uncover delicate mysteries, the former civil servants wrote. They also said they believed that the framers of the new rules have not thought through the consequences of the order.
In 2008, the UPA government tried to introduce such an order for officers who had served in the IB and RAW. The order was widely criticized and eventually withdrawn, the letter said.
The signatories to the letter include former Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, former foreign secretary Shyam Saran, former home secretary G K Pillai, and Najeeb Jung, former lieutenant governor of Delhi.
