Haryana government is misusing its authority to penalise Ashok Khemka

The government of Haryana is blatantly misusing its authority to penalise a bright, upright officer, Ashok Khemka, by issuing him a second charge-sheet in a matter of months. Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda should realise that his arbitrary action will harm his party not just in Haryana but across India. Corruption will be a major issue during the 2014 general elections as well. By seeming to penalise an officer for blowing the whistle on some land transactions that involved the son-in-law of the Congress president, the Haryana chief minister is adding insult to injury, not serving the cause of his party, leave alone of his people or probity in public life.

Khemka is now charged with low sales at the Haryana Seeds Development Corporation, where he had been appointed managing director, probably in the hope that this would keep him at arm’s length from Revenue and other departments where corruption germinates on a regular basis and where his presence could lead to more exposures. As it happened, Khemka discovered corruption in the procurement and sale of seeds by the corporation, which allowed some officials and private individuals to pocket seed subsidy meant for farmers. The game was simple: procure seed at an inflated price from favoured individuals and sell it to farmers at a price they find comparable with other prices by subsidising the sale with funds from the subsidy scheme. The scale of corruption was petty, so were the minds of those Khemka’s official notes on the subject exposed. Hence the present set of charges, without even giving Khemka a chance to explain his side of the case.

The Centre should advise Hooda to hold his horses and bring Khemka over on deputation, to take advantage of his energy, dedication and analytical bent of mind.