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News India Live, Digital Desk: An RTI revelation on the functioning of the Maharashtra government has raised serious questions. The case pertains to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s ministry, where just 9 minutes after the death of an officer, important policy decisions related to his department were taken and files were forwarded. The opposition has termed it as “digital fraud” and “unethical administrative haste”.
What is the whole matter?
According to the information received, a senior officer of Ajit Pawar’s department had died due to prolonged illness or sudden deterioration in health. According to hospital records, as soon as the officer was declared dead, his login or the digital files in his charge were given a seal of approval within just 9 minutes.
The opposition alleges that taking decisions in such a hurry indicates that someone else was clearing those files in a ‘backdated’ or ‘illegal’ manner.
sharp questions from the opposition
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) and Shiv Sena (UBT) have expressed strong objection to this.
Question 1: When the officer was in hospital or had died, who used his digital signature?
Question 2: Is there any ‘parallel power’ working in the department which is flouting the rules at the behest of the ministers?
Question 3: Which important financial or tender related decisions were taken in these 9 minutes?
government defense
Ajit Pawar camp and government spokespersons have termed these allegations as baseless. He argues that in the era of Digital India, many processes happen on ‘auto-mode’ or are pre-scheduled. However, technical experts say that policy decisions require manual intervention, which is doubtful if done within 9 minutes.
What will be the next step?
After this revelation, there is a possibility of huge uproar in the upcoming session of Maharashtra Assembly. Opposition parties have demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the matter and making the related digital logs public.
Key Points:
Event time: Just 9 minutes after the officer’s death.
Department: Finance and Planning (under Ajit Pawar).
Controversy: Violation of digital signatures and administrative ethics.
North India Statesman