Two Circles: New Delhi: Monday, June 22, 2015.
India had
signed a number of memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with several countries
during the last decade. Even current Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed
several such agreements in last one year on his trips to numerous countries.
But the
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has confirmed that several files pertaining to
these MoUs were never even “opened” and have, in fact, been destroyed last
year.
According to
information provided by the Division of Internal Security in the MHA, in
response to RTI queries, the department destroyed a total of 339 files after a
government decision dated June 11, 2014. In fact, the RTI response, even
confirms that these files were neither archived nor digitised before they were
destroyed.
The 339-odd
files included several of those pertaining to agreements signed by India with
other countries to tackle cross-border and international terrorism, the list
provided by the MHA confirms. The RTI response also adds that no action was
ever taken on these files that have now already been destroyed. The files
related to agreements on terrorism that have been destroyed, include agreements
with countries such as USA, Germany, Australia and Israel, etc. among others.
List of
some of the important files related to terrorism that have been destroyed by
the MHA:
· March 25, 2011 dated file of Joint Indo-US working group
on counter-terrorism
· 2005 file on Draft agreement between India and Cyprus to
counter terrorism.
· 2005 Draft agreement between India and Russia.
· 2006 Seminar on ‘Prevention and Crisis Management of
Biological Terorism’ held during July 9-15, 2006
· Minutes of the ninth meeting of Indo-US Joint working
group held in Washington DC on November 28-29, 2007
· Files from 2005 joint working
· Files from 2005 joint working group of Kazakhstan-India
to tackle terrorism
· Files from 2005 of joint working group between Australia
and India.
· 2009 MoU between India and Germany to fight organised
crime.
· Draft agreements prepared in 2007 between India and
Maldives to tackle international terrorism, organised crimes, smuggling, money
laundering and coastal security.
· Files of meeting between India and Israel in 2011 to
tackle terrorism.
· Files of a meeting held in 2005 to review and suggest
scope of improvements in the functioning of the United Nations to tackle
terrorism.
Last year,
after reports in the media, CPIM MP P Rajeev had raised questions in the
Parliament that the Indian government had destroyed about 1.5 lakh files that
included those related to the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. However, Rajnath Singh,
the Home Minister, had refuted the claim in the Upper House of the Parliament,
making clear that a total of around 11,100 files were disposed to clean up the
workplace, as mandated by Cabinet Secretariat.
He had also
made it clear that no files concerning Mahtama Gandhi’s assassination, or those
related to Lord Mountbatten, Lal Bahadur Shastri or Dr Rajendra Prasad have
been destroyed as was alleged in the House, and a section of media.
.JPG)
.JPG)
