RED SALUTES TO COM. R. CHANDRAMOULI – FOR HIS SERVICES TO THE CADRES IN CENTRAL EXCISE

            On this May Day, Com. R. Chandramouli, our former All India President and present General Secretary of the Chennai unit and Core committee member of the AIB, has left the department on VRS.  His VRS was accepted and he was relieved today.

          

         In fact, he had tendered his VRS last year itself.  His close friends had prevailed upon him to withdraw it.  However, since he was not prepared to do so, they requested him to at least put the organization in proper shape before going ahead with his personal decision to go on VRS.

          

            Left to themselves, due to the pathetic manner in which the department has treated their community and exploited them, most of the Superintendents (particularly who joined as Inspectors from 1985 t0 1996) feel that it would be better to quit on VRS.  However, most of them stick on because of family commitments.  Com. Chandramouli could not be weighed down due to such considerations.

          

            In his long innings since joining as Inspector in 1988-89, he has constantly been the torch bearer of the Chennai Unit, whether in the Inspectors’ Association or in the Superintendents’ Association, as a team leader.  His sharp wit (often understood much after the thunder had landed) and blunt straight talk (which the authorities preferred to treat as not heard at all, in their own interest) made him a tough representative of the cadre.  His memory of events and their sequence was amazing, that few could argue with him on the veracity of the same.

          

            All along his career, he had strong relationship with sister associations within the department as well as in other departments of the Central Government.  This tendency in him, led him to forge strong ties even with the organization representing not only all the Officers in Central Government, but also of all PSUs and consequently, the umbrella organization (All India Public Sector Officers, Bank Officers and Confederation of Central Gazetted Officers Organisations - AIPCOC) chose him as their All India Joint Secretary.

          

           His knowledge on service matters and legal foundations enabled him to associate with most of the service matter cases fought in very many fora.  The last one being the Bharathan case where he impleaded on behalf of the AIACEGEO before the Hon’ble Tribunal at Chennai and also before the Hon’ble High Court of Madras.  In both those interventions, he had sought permission to hold adhoc DPCs pending a decision on the merits of the matter, because the unfilled posts posed grave risk of getting abolished. He had taken a lot of pains to get the 2118 temporary posts of ACs approved. But once the Hon’ble CAT, Chennai gave a speaking order on the merits of the case and seeing that the CBEC was selectively implementing the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the matter of N R Parmar, he took a strong view that there cannot be discrimination among zones and that the NRP judgment should be uniformly applied and for all the DRs, right from 1959 (if it were about justice).  This he also stated before the Member (Admn) during a discussion subsequently.  When the CBEC filed an SLP, he received a copy of the Notice and immediately authorized the current Secretary General to file counter in the Hon’ble Supreme Court.  Ever since 11.4.2018, he was present for each of the hearing before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, missing only the last one, because he had to fill in the papers related to his VRS at Chennai.  When he learnt about the shortage of funds with the Association to conduct the case and also for travel, he in fact took out his personal LTC to come to Delhi during the final phase of hearings and for briefings of the Sr. Counsel in the case.  That was his dedication.

          

           Similarly, in the matter of the re-organisation of the Customs, he felt that the CBEC was, as usual, trying to give a raw deal to the Central Excise side, reserving the best for the Customs brethren and as per the request of the AIB, took steps to get a petition filed before the Hon’ble Tribunal at Chennai.  Due to the directions from the Hon’ble Tribunal, the CBEC had to contain its actions.

          

           He has been involved in very many key discussions at the All India level and actively associated with cases pertaining to the ratio between Central Excise and Customs and Recruitment Rules for Group A.

         

            He had however to put up with the bitter taste of his entire experience being ridiculed, ignored and the Organisational position held by him also disregarded by his then SG and cronies.  However, he continued his work.  He continued to air his views within the forums and within the AIB.  Many mistook him to be an accomplice to whatever his then SG had done or not done.  But those who were closely associated with the AIB and who had not yet pawned their conscience, could say that he was trying to stem the rot, by fighting within the four walls.  But when the SG, even after promotion, refused to lay down office, and was hell bent on conducting the Association according to his own personal tastes, Com. Mouli exercised the powers vested in him as the President, by the Constitution of the AIACEGEO, and convened a Convention at Chennai, where a new team was elected to represent the Superintendents.  He was clear and categorical that the earlier convention at Daman had decided against having ACs as Office Bearers of AIACEGEO and that was the prime reason for the ACs present there to form a Welfare Association of Promotee IRS Officers at that very venue and converting it into a full-fledged Service Association at Kolkatta, with which Association the AIACEGEO had got fraternal relations. 

     Even though in the Convention at Chennai (during informal discussions on formation of the new AIB) Com. Mouli was requested to continue as President, he declined, saying that he was on the way to his VRS and that the postponement of the decision was only to pass on the baton to safe hands. 

          

            In order not to miss his valuable insights, inputs and feedbacks, we would continue to have him on our Core Committee.

          

            However, when he got his desired relief on VRS, we deem it in the fitness of things, to offer our felicitations and heartfelt thanks to him, on behalf of the entire cadre, all over India.

         

           RED SALUTE TO COM. CHANDRAMOULI .

  LONG LIVE ASSOCIATION.

R. Manimohan

SG, AIACEGEO