More CCTVs, cabinet notes on Kindles: What to expect after oil ministry leaks

Two junior employees of the petroleum ministry, a clerk and a peon, are among five persons arrested by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police on Thursday, allegedly for leaking confidential government documents and details of policies used for pricing as well as imports to corporate houses in return for money. So what’s the big deal even if this is the first such development with regard to the Narendra Modi government which is due to complete nine months next week? The developments seems to be the harbinger of two bigger things. One, the petroleum ministry will soon see CCTV cameras being installed all over and virtually every square inch of the sensitive areas of the ministry will now be covered by them.( _Firstpost_ was the first to have written about offices of several sensitive ministries being put under CCTV cameras way back on 22 August, 2014) [caption id=“attachment_2110577” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] This will inevitably lead to more ministries being put under CCTV surveillance, particularly all those which have a fair share of public dealing and large financial transactions routinely taking place. It would also be a good move to rid the official corridors of touts and suspicious elements.  It will be interesting to see how much funds Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocates in his Union Budget this month-end for devices like CCTV cameras to curb corruption in government offices. The second possible fallout of today’s arrests is even more significant and can trigger an unprecedented move by the central government: putting all cabinet notes on Kindle devices. The Modi government has already embarked on this as reported by The Indian Express earlier this week here. The move to put cabinet notes on Kindle devices may seem a bit unrealistic and difficult to implement it without compromising on efficiency aspects. But the government wants to implement this move ostensibly to save paper but the real motive undoubtedly is to plug leaks. Despite efforts by PM Modi and his security and intelligence apparatus overseen by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the government is as much a leaky bucket as the UPA government was. The Congress party has already poked fun at the Modi government over the move to bring in Kindles, saying that the move clearly showed that the Prime Minister did not trust even his own ministers. “The PMO, it appears, has passed a ’no-confidence vote’ on the entire Cabinet. While ‘unilateralism’ and ‘autocracy’ have become hallmarks of style of functioning of the PM, the latest decision is a clear affront to the constitutional scheme of applying collective wisdom of Union Cabinet on all important issues of policy and legislations," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had said on Monday. Significantly, it is not just news leaks that the government is afraid of. Surjewala offered a hint when he said, “Is it because some Cabinet colleagues are raising their voice against a spate of issues being bulldozed through as ordinances or is it Modi’s fear that someone will point out the obvious absence of dialogue, discussion and democratic functioning in his apparatus?” Arrests in the petroleum ministry would inevitably give a shot in the arm of the Modi government which will make Cabinet notes on Kindle devices a reality sooner than expected. The bottom line is this: Ministers, bureaucrats and clerical staff all beware. Big brother will be watching!