Today’s RTI,YouTube and internet era could become an effective defence shield for government whistleblowers who face the retaliatory wrath of the almighty state when they expose waste, fraud and corruption. At least that is the view of Jayashree JN, who is running a unique blog and transparency initiative to protect her IAS husband, MN Vijayakumar (Karnataka 1981 batch) from reprisals. Vijayakumar has been a thorn in the side for politicians by pointing out corruption to his seniors. He has been transferred seven times for his trouble. Jayashree’s blog, fightcorruption.wikidot.com, aims at getting her husband the visibility he needs to continue to act as a conscientious objector.
gfiles: Is your fight against the individual or the system?
Jayashree JN: The fight is against the system which allows most corrupt officers to cause irreversible damage to society. In a good system individuals are not noticed, but the same is not true of a bad system. These individuals undermine the system itself. The fight, in a way, is against the almost total absence of the system. Even if there were a semblance of a system, what has been happening to my husband would never have taken place.
gfiles:Your husband has written to the President of India about harassment and threat to life by his seniors.What was the response?
JNN: His letter to the President was routed through the Chief Secretary very recently. It is too early to expect a reply.
gfiles:You have also reported this matter to the police.What action has been taken by them to protect you?
JNN: Nothing, except placing a beat-book in a neighbour’s house, which has been moved nearer our house a few days ago. When the truth comes out, why this happened will also be known.
‘My husband tried to make available files to citizens on the internet [http://bngregcommr.freespaces.com]. Two days before the launch, the corrupt officers, including PB Mahishi, Chief Secretary, shunted him out’
gfiles: Did you seek the court’s intervention?
JNN: No.Finally,it is the same state police who have to provide protection.For the time being,creating awareness about the threats is itself the protection. My husband consciously decided not to approach either the court or the CAT for the sole purpose of establishing the level to which the corrupt would stoop to protect themselves. He suffered humiliation and harassment knowingly. Approaching the court or CAT would have given him only personal benefits but would not have helped him in his fight against corruption or strength ened the hands of honest officers.
gfiles: Your fight against corruption is now globally known and appreciated. Can you name, besides your husband, other whistle blowers in Karnataka?
JNN: Manjunath,who lost his life fighting corrupt practices, was also from Karnataka. Excluding those who might have made some noise either a few months before retirement or after retirement, I have not come across any other whistle blower in the real sense in Karnataka.
gfiles: Do you think public support can bring about a positive change in the system and strengthen your cause?
JNN: Of course. After the website [http://fightcorruption.wikidot.com] became well known, we have received support from people across the country and abroad. Some people have worked extensively with me and we have been able to expose major instances of bad governance and mal administration. Most important among them is the exposure of deliberate dismantling of systems meant to curb corruption by none other than the Chief Secretary him self. The exposure is highly relevant for Karnataka as it has been rated as the fourth most corrupt state in the country by Transparency International. We have a Right to Information Forum of which I am the Secretary, and we are trying to create a demand for good governance in Karnataka.
gfiles: You fear that your husband might meet the same fate as Manjunath and Dubey. But they were not IAS officers and so relatively vulnerable. Can a parallel be drawn?
JNN: Any person seriously fighting corruption at high levels is very vulnerable. My husband cannot be an exception to this.In fact,he is more vulnerable as those who want to harm him have exhausted all other methods of harming him.The only thing left for them is to physically silence him. To draw a parallel, as early as October 2006 my husband had submit ted, based on a large number of studies of the fate of whistle-blowers, a list of 10 ways in which he could be harassed. All the ten methods have been used against him to prevent him from pursuing the serious corruption issues he has raised.What he had deliberately excluded was fatally harming the whistle-blower.
The existing AIS Rules, under which every civil servant must work with absolute integrity at all times, already provides for whistle-blowing. What is needed is a court ruling on this by the competent court’
gfiles:Your husband has been fighting corruption for 25 years.You have joined him now.What compelled you?
JNN: My husband has not just been fighting corruption for 25 years, he has also been making efforts to introduce sim ple innovative systems to curb corrupt practices and bring in transparency in administration. As early as 1992, when nobody had even thought of Right to Information in India, he set up a computerized information booth in Dharwad zilla panchayat. Quite likely,it was the first such effort in the world. Recently, as Regional Commissioner, Bangalore, in February 2007 he tried to make available files to citizens on the internet. His efforts can be seen at http://bngreg commr.freespaces.com. The work was done by him in less than 20 days. Just two days before the launch, the corrupt officers, including PB Mahishi, Chief Secretary of Karnataka, shunted him out. This was not the first instance when my husband got transferred for either exposing corrupt practices or for creating systems to curb corrupt practices. His recent efforts exposed people at the top, and the serious threats increased.
Even though my husband initially refused to go to a place he was transferred to in September 2006, when he received reliable information regarding plans to fatally harm him, he decided to report for duty at that place. I urged him not to report till I had understood all the issues he is fighting against so that, in the extreme eventual ity of losing my husband, I should be able to continue his fight. I do not want his 25 years to go in vain. I have seen many cases of wives miserably fighting for jus tice after losing their husbands. I didn’t want it to happen in my case. In fact,I did not want such a thing to happen to my husband at all. So I started documenting his struggle so that it would be helpful to anyone who wants to fight corruption at high levels. I used the RTI Act extensively to clearly show the discrimination against him and the reasons for discrimination, harassment and humiliation. As threats became more serious, including threats to me, I decided to go public.
gfiles: Are you satisfied with the support from public and social groups?
JNN:Yes. In addition to comments in the guestbook on my website, I receive many private messages from individuals and groups all over the world.The media has played a vital role in securing this support. I have received many mails from women IAS officers and also wives of other officers. It is heartening to know that many honest officers have encour aged their wives to take up issues in the public interest. Details are given on my website.
gfiles: Is lack of political will the root cause of corruption?
JNN:This is a major misconception.What is forgotten is that unless the top bureaucracy willingly supports the politicians either for personal gains or fear, no politician—however powerful—can be the root cause of corruption.While everybody is saying that a Whistle-blower Act is needed for honest officers to come out openly, my husband has taken a stand that correct interpretation of the existing AIS Rules, under which every civil servant must work with absolute integrity at all times, already provides for whistle-blowing. What is needed is a ruling on this by the competent court and I have taken up this issue.The fight against corruption will become more effective when lakhs of honest government servants are liberated from the clutches of the corrupt by getting such a ruling at the earliest.This, together with making assets of government servants public, can have an immediate, dramatic effect on corruption. Our forum has taken up this issue also.
gfiles:What do you think is the total financial loss to the government because of corrupt practices your husband has exposed?
JNN: My husband has lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta.At this juncture, all I can say is that it runs into a few hundreds of crores of rupees
