26th October 2013
The other way Sanjiv Bhatt is being maligned: that his wife got a Congress ticket
Modi's machine has been working full time to malign Sanjiv Bhatt, given the MASSIVE threat he represents to Modi's entire career (and his continued chances of staying out of jail).
The other method to malign him is that he is a "member of Congress" because his wife got a Congress ticket. Well, I know of MANY politicians who are married to public servants. Being married to a public servant is not a crime. It is NOT violative of any conduct rules or any such matter.
I don't know about Congress's methods in giving tickets, but if they choose to give a ticket to Sanjiv's wife, so be it. His wife – by supporting the gang of thugs known as Congress – has lost my support, but does that mean Sanjiv's testimony as a professional is contaminated? NO.
Then there is this allegation: that Sanjiv Bhatt canvassed for his wife during the elections. Now, this is probably violative of the AIS Conduct Rules but given the circumstances (he was under suspension – and angry with Modi) I would imagine this misdemeanour would not rank anything more than a small warning. It does not IN ANY WAY take away one bit from Sanjiv Bhatt's testimony.
Further, in my view, such a rule is wrong, anyway. I've written against such a rule in BFN, and advocated LIBERTY even for public servants. Public servants in Australia have full freedom to both be members of political parties and canvass for their preferred candidates – being, after all, citizens; they can even take leave of absence, contest elections and return to their post if unsuccessful in becoming MPs.
I DON'T see any problem with Sanjiv Bhatt canvassing for his wife's election during his suspension. The mere technical violation of a stupid conduct rule doesnt' mean anything to me.
I would like the Conduct Rules to be modified to ensure LIBERTY to public servants, and proper whisleblowing provisions included to protect the public from CRIMINALS like Hiteswar Saikia and Modi.
Dear Sanjeev,
I would like to state on record that I did not campaign for my wife even for a single moment. I only accompanied her to the Collector Office for filing her nomination papers. And even this was done under prior intimation to the Government. The singular act of accompanying her to the Office of the Returning Officer was my only involvement with her entire election contest. It may be pertinent to note that she officially became a candidate only after the acceptance of her nomination papers and not before.
Regards,
Sanjiv Bhatt
You don’t need to go defensive, Sanjiv? There is nothing wrong if your wife gets a Congress ticket and you support her candidacy. The article is very clear about it.
Those who do wrong need give reasons and excuses. You are not that guy.
Sanjeev ji.
Good point. And yes, a nice blog. Though I had come here sometime back because of a link on twttier, today I explored it more. Good to see such a blog when it was felt that the days of blogging revolution was over.