Just Transferred: The Untold Story Of Ashok Khemka

Description

Twenty-seven years in service and fifty-three transfers: thats an average of six months in each posting. Meet the forever-in-transit man of the Indian bureaucracy, Ashok Khemka. The IAS officer shot into the limelight in 2012, when he cancelled the mutation of a land deal between realty major DLF and a company which belonged to Congress president Sonia Gandhis son-in-law Robert Vadra. With the Congress party in power, most people called it a suicidal move. But, true to his reputation for being scrupulously honest, Khemka didnt budge. Throughout his career, Khemka has suffered at the hands of his political masters for his refusal to compromise. Be it being stripped of his official car for defying a chief minister, or being charge-sheeted for frivolous reasons, the actions of those with vested interests have not been able to shake his indomitable spirit. Why has the man never given up against a system that always tends to go with the flow? Why do political parties use Khemkas example to score brownie points during elections and conveniently forget the man afterwards? Why are there just admirers and no takers for the officer when it comes to his deputation with the central government? And, most importantly, will honest officers like Ashok Khemka continue to suffer under successive regimes? Offering an insiders view of Indias administrative machinery, Just Transferred is the riveting story of a man whose example may well become an inspiration to civil servants across the country. Dedication Prologue 1. The Outsider 2. Getting into the IAS 3. Baptism by Fire 4. Ashok Weds Jyoti 5. Ghanai Ziddi Hai: The Bansi Lal Years 6. Go Take a Walk: The Chautala Years 7. Nobody’s Man 8. Crusader against Corruption 9. Citizen Khemka 10. The Vadra Bombshell 11. The Empire Strikes Back 12. Seeds of a Scam, Harvest of Vengeance 13. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished 14. Curtains for Hooda 15. The Khattar Years: The More Things Change … 16. The Years Go By Epilogue Authors’ Note Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Index Acknowledgements About the Authors Plate Section Footnotes About the Book Copyright