Night of shame continues……

These complaints were similar to the ones circulated when I was being considered as a prospective candidate for the post of commissioner of police and earlier, for empanelment for the post of director of the CBI. The suspended bureaucrat had succeeded in prejudicing the then chief vigilance commissioner, who was the chairman of the selection committee to shortlist candidates for the post of director  of the CBI. As was conveyed to me later by more than one member of the committee, the chief vigilance commissioner had prevailed on the committee that my inclusion would lead to a public uproar!

That is the power of false propaganda and false complaints in government, or for that matter in public life. All you need is a committed and vengeful detractor with a word processor. If he has a couple of celebrity accusers to support him, as my sworn enemy had in an ageing advocate and a prominent politician, then you’ve had it. They can make the most preposterous and frivolous complaints against you, but before consigning these petitions to the dustbin, the system demands they go through ‘due process’. These complaints will invariably end up on your desk   and you will spend your lifetime responding to them and pleading your innocence. You are always on the back foot defending yourself and it is up to your seniors to accept your explanations or reject them. The irony is, even if your defence is accepted, the onslaught of these complaints leaves an impression in the back of your superiors’ minds that there must be something wrong with you. At every stage of your career—be it promotions, foreign trips, grant of awards, Empanelment, etc.—these complaints return to haunt you. You pay a heavy price for discharging your duty by taking legal action against powerful people.

The unscrupulous bureaucrat lodged bogus complaints against me in every conceivable forum—the prime minister’s office, the MHA, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the Delhi government, the office of the lieutenant governor et al. I have lost track of how many hours I spent responding to them.

 To be continued……