New Delhi:
A parliamentary committee has recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the appointment of the CEO and Managing Director of the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Atul Rai.
The parliamentary committee on privileges wants an investigation into whether undue favour was shown in appointing Atul Rai. The report of the committee, tabled today in Parliament seeks a separate probe into the "facts that point towards a definite collusive effort on the part of Joint Secretary and Secretary to accord undue favours to Rai." Vinod Rai, who is now the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, was the Finance Secretary when the appointment was made in 2007.
The committee report expresses "amazement" at the "swiftness with which the file moved among the "higher ups" in the department, including the views of the secretary of the other departments and approval of the then Finance Minister. The vital decisions took place between May 30 and June 1, 2007. The committee says that the approval of his voluntary retirement granting him permission to take up the IFCI CEO job happened within 24 hours.
The report says, Rai was a director in the Ministry of Finance and dealt with matters concerning financial institutions including IFCI. He was also the government nominee director on the board between August 2005 and May 2007. And service rules lay down that "only a pensioner" can take up a commercial appointment.
A IFCI sub-committee reportedly offered him the position and he accepted it. This was in contravention of government rules at the time that clearly said that as a serving employee of a related department or ministry, Mr Rai could not have been appointed.