While Govt Fights Electoral Bond Narrative-IR Awards 1000s of Crore Purchase Orders During #MCC

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Wise Men don’t Keep Monkeys as Bodyguards

Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is not new for India. Conducting itself while MCC is in force is not new for Indian Railways. The stand of ECI is clear that tenders cannot be awarded while MCC is in force. Even though the tenders from IREPS continue to be finalised and Purchase Orders issued!

#Railwhispers has raised, on umpteen occasions that the #team which is getting selected for #advising and #running-railways severely lacks #commitment, #credibility and #competence. #Incompetence of hon’ble #Minister’s former #Advisor has been talk of town since he was brought back from retirement. His lack of #technical-knowledge and competence has already cost #IndianRailways billions of dollars (Billion rupee is just ₹100 crore!), his work on PhD in psychometrics of #emotional-intelligence has cost #career of hundreds of seniormost officers of Indian Railways.

#SudheerKumar listening attentively to his PhD guide as other senior railway officers watch. Dec. 13, 2022, “KMG: Never A Bystander – A Standard & Deeper Analysis: पार्ट-2”. This relationship led to a single #Tender to buy a service which was not in accordance to common prudence and ethical conduct of senior management. This approach affected career of several upright officers.
The epitome of #SudheerSense-pay more to get less.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav at a press conference after the release of his advisor Sudhir Kumar’s book. No stone was left unturned in the promotion of this book, that too when its author did not even know till December 2018, which bird is called ‘Emotional Intelligence’!

Though he was unceremoniously removed, his long shadow is still to be seen on the way Indian Railways is conducting itself. #SudheerSense abounds-that’s in short.

We published this on Feb. 08, 2023, “KMG का आतंक! समय बताएगा कि कौन सच के साथ था!”

Incompetence Abounds-Recent Embarrassment to the Government

Model Code of Conduct (#MCC) is not new for India. Conducting itself while #MCC is in force is not new for Indian Railways. The stand of #Election Commission of India (#ECI) is clear that #tenders (unless global in nature or in specific instances) cannot be awarded while #MCC is in force. We dug up instruction of 2009, 2019 and 2024. These instructions have not changed.

ECI categorically said, “the Commission has no objection to sanctioning of works and processing of tenders, subject to the condition that finalisation of tenders and award of works shall be deferred till the completion of election process”.
If we see 2009 #instructions contained in #ECI’s letter No. 437/6/2009-CC&BE, Dated: 5th March 2009

Same was #reported in 2019 as well as can be seen in this article – “Election Commission gives railways approval for floating tenders”.

Alert Received

We were alerted that the tenders from #IREPS continue to be #finalised and #POs issued! Input was received from #ICF which even finalised a #consultancy tender after the #enforcement of #MCC. When we spoke to the General Manager, #ignorance was pleaded and it was told that information was received yesterday (27 March)! When we checked up other #PUs, the number of #POs issued after #MCC kicked in started to run in to hundreds or possibly thousands. This does not include tenders of #ZonalRailways or handled by other departments.

  1. #ICF has finalised 73 big tenders and issued POs between March 15 to March 28. 2024.
  2. #CLW has finalised 48 tenders and issued POs between March 15 to March 28.
  3. #RCF has finalised 62 tenders and issued POs between March 15 to March 28.
  4. #PLW has finalised 25 tenders and issued POs between March 15 to March 28.
  5. #BLW has finalised 34 tenders and issued POs between March 15 to March 28.
  6. #MCF has finalised 20 tenders and issued POs between March 15 to March 27.
Some screenshots of recent POs

When MCC was enforced, what did #MTRS do as head of #Stores department and all #ProductionUnits? Not only has he failed to control stores department, it is alleged that #MTRS has pressed for early finalisation of tenders.

Instructions of #Election-Commission are very clear – precedence is also clear, then why this mistake?

Some other tenders and POs

So how can #MTRS or #GeneralManagers who clearly were recruited before 2009 can plead of ignorance? #ECI has been consistent in its instructions. Is it not a case of #incompetence leading to such gross #misunderstanding of instructions of ECI? Or officers are not able to postpone their likely benefit upon release of #purchase-orders.

As we mentioned in “AMRS has not learnt the lesson-But it is MTRS who is blame worthy!”, why has #MTRS failed to act and save #government from #embarrassment? But the way #AMRS was protected and encouraged by #MTRS now is raising serious questions on why Mr #NavinGulati was transferred out and #SatishKumar brought in? Was it that Mr #Gulati was not ready for such ‘inaction’?

Role of #MTRS

The shenanigans of stores department are by now well known. Escapades of #AMRS, lifestyles of other stores officers of #PUs like #RCF is now talk of town. #CBI has already booked stalest two #PCMMs and several other stores officers in recent past from all corners of the country. This shows the cultural rot in #Stores department.

We also reported that how few stores officers are gaming the system, and how #AjeetYadav protected the money makers. Ajeet Yadav came to #RailwayBoard on back of #VKYadav’s love of his surname is mastermind-he still continues despite being transferred-why delay in release of this controversial officer? Point is what has #MTRS who has famously spent more than 10 years in Production Unit done about this serious infraction?

Embarrassment of Government by Incompetent Railway Officers

Despite very direct inputs on #Vigilance-Trimurti, #AMRS, supporters and funders of #AMRS at #Gorakhpur-Nepal and #Kapurthala-Amritsar jaunts, officers like #Ganesh, #RaviPrakashBharati, #PremLochab, #RamNiwas, #Nakra, #BipinKumar, #JitendraKumar, #NaveenKumar, #Shamsi, except for veiled action on Bipin Kumar, no action on other officers has been taken.

Why was #electrical-lobby rewarded? Was it because they all assisted #Advisor to carry on plunder by his factories and helped him feed his ego? Naveen Kumar’s assignment in #UPMetro reeks of naked favouritism.

It is learnt that #MTRS is following the footsteps of #AMRS to visit #RCF on 29 March. Would he take up the #Vigilance-Trimurti of #RCF – CVO Ravinder Kumar Verma, DyCVO Binod Bazad & CVI Arvind Kumar Tripathi – who are #mechanical officers? Would #CRB and #MTRS answer for such flagrant #violation of #MCC?