Former Home Secy Somaiah shares experiences in bureaucracy

When Ved Marwah was the Police Commissioner of Delhi, the then Home Minister Buta Singh wanted to suspend him for a "security breach" as his official car had "intruded" in the route of the visiting Russian Prime Minister, a new book has claimed.

When Ved Marwah was the Police Commissioner of Delhi, the then Home Minister Buta Singh wanted to suspend him for a "security breach" as his official car had "intruded" in the route of the visiting Russian Prime Minister, a new book has claimed.

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This and several other anecdotes have been mentioned in the book "The Honest Always Stand Alone", written by former Home Secretary CG Somaiah and released on Thursday by former President APJ Abdul Kalam.

Recalling the incident, Marwah claimed that the former Home Minister wanted to suspend him for the "security breach" even as he was dropping then senior Congress leader Natwar Singh.

Somaiah in his book mentions how he had prevented any punitive action against Marwah despite the then Home Minister "insisting" on it.

Kalam mentioned that his association with Somaiah was for over 20 years when he was the Director of National Physical Laboratory, Hyderabad and Somaiah was the Comptroller and Auditor General of India from 1990 to 1996.

"There were over 1500 audit objections when I took over...We requested him to look into it and he sent a team of officials...They finally reduced the objections to 10 after the technical queries were answered," Kalam recalled.

Referring to the book, the former President said, "The honest become role models for others. They are not alone".

Kalam also underlined the need for honesty and integrity.

Somaiah himself was not present at the book release function due to ill health but Kalam, Marwah and his family members recalled his days in bureaucracy.

In the book, Somaiah shared his experiences as an IAS officer, from his first posting in Orissa as Assistant Collector to tackling terrorism in Punjab as the country's Home Secretary.

The book takes the readers back to the days of Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister and gives glimpses into the discussions that took place at the highest political level.