News laundry: New Delhi: Saturday, 16 March 2024.
“Done and dusted.”
With shaky hands, Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd) tapped this WhatsApp text away to a lawyer from his Noida home, minutes after the Election Commission of India tweeted that it had received electoral bond data from the state-run State Bank of India.
The 77-year-old transparency campaigner had been jittery amid speculation that the SBI may drag its feet on sharing the details on Tuesday. But his phone soon buzzed with messages informing him of the ECI’s tweet from Association of Democratic Reforms, a non-partisan think tank and a petitioner in the electoral bond case, and lawyers.
“Now, it’s official,” Batra broke into a nervous smile. He had his reasons, after a years-long battle fought through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The original petition, which has come to be known as the ADR v/s Union of India case, after all, cites a few documents Batra had acquired in the last six years.
Delivering its verdict in the case on February 15, the Supreme Court had termed the electoral bonds a way of political funding through anonymous donors since 2018 unconstitutional and asked the SBI to reveal datasets of bond buyers and parties that encashed it by March 6. However, the SBI sprang a “silo” surprise. Unimpressed, the apex court persisted and put the largest bank in India on notice. The bank then transferred the datasets to ECI on Monday.
‘Talk a lot but can’t write’
Beyond the court, newsrooms have looked up to the sprightly Batra for information on electoral bonds. His Noida house is the first port of call for journalists on electoral bonds.
“I talk a lot but I can’t write,” he told News laundry.
What is it that he wants to talk about? Transparency in governance, reforms, bureaucratic negligence or anything else that concerns the people. But any discussion on a broken water purifier and water pump is summarily dismissed or delayed. “The family” household chores “comes last for him. But whatever he is doing is for the nation,” said his wife Jyotsana, a social worker.
Her words “take risks, speak up” are what uplifts him.
Multan to mission mode
Batra was born in Multan in an undivided India in 1946. During Partition, the family, like a million others, crossed the Indian border. “When we moved to this side, I was an infant. I don’t remember much,” he said, eager to move onto a more exciting phase of his life as a Navyman.
He joined the Navy in 1967 before graduating from Meerut University, participated in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, rescued people struck by natural calamities during a super cyclone in Odisha (1999) and an earthquake in Gujarat (and built their homes); went beyond his official duty to empower women and the differently-abled; and undertook literacy initiatives.
A hydrographer in the Navy, he was transferred to Delhi in 1992, and worked in South Block in Delhi. During this time, he maintained an unofficial file called “HRD” which contained ideas how the Navy can lend its helping hand to the poor and disadvantaged. Some of these ideas a low-floor bus for the differently-abled and roping in wives of armed forces during natural calamities became a reality.
In 1998, his ideas culminated into a book, “Outreach”, brought out by the Navy in association with 14 ministries and NGOs, including Unicef and Unesco. It was unveiled by President KR Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Bihari. Batra had earlier approached Sonia Gandhi for publication of the book through the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. She agreed. But Batra later pulled out after she joined politics. “I was a serving officer and could not be involved with a party for the book,” he said.
On the day he retired in 2002, the family waited for a reception. Unmindful, he continued to work from South Block till 8pm. “My daughter picked me up and we went to a photo studio for a photo. This was the last time I was in uniform,” he reminisced.
The press information bureau, in a release, lauded for introducing vision to various issues related to widows, and disabled and needy servicemen. It went on to appreciate his relief efforts in rebuilding the Moda village in Gujarat's Jamnagar district. It’s rare for PIB to issue a press release commending a commodore rank officer for his services.
After retirement, he stayed true to his commitment to work ethics and community service. He would write letters to editors and send photos to them about issues that needed to be highlighted. “I would take pictures from my Nikon camera,” he said.
Inside and outside government, he has remained the same: altruistic.
 |
| Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd) |
With shaky hands, Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd) tapped this WhatsApp text away to a lawyer from his Noida home, minutes after the Election Commission of India tweeted that it had received electoral bond data from the state-run State Bank of India.
The 77-year-old transparency campaigner had been jittery amid speculation that the SBI may drag its feet on sharing the details on Tuesday. But his phone soon buzzed with messages informing him of the ECI’s tweet from Association of Democratic Reforms, a non-partisan think tank and a petitioner in the electoral bond case, and lawyers.
“Now, it’s official,” Batra broke into a nervous smile. He had his reasons, after a years-long battle fought through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The original petition, which has come to be known as the ADR v/s Union of India case, after all, cites a few documents Batra had acquired in the last six years.
Delivering its verdict in the case on February 15, the Supreme Court had termed the electoral bonds a way of political funding through anonymous donors since 2018 unconstitutional and asked the SBI to reveal datasets of bond buyers and parties that encashed it by March 6. However, the SBI sprang a “silo” surprise. Unimpressed, the apex court persisted and put the largest bank in India on notice. The bank then transferred the datasets to ECI on Monday.
‘Talk a lot but can’t write’
Beyond the court, newsrooms have looked up to the sprightly Batra for information on electoral bonds. His Noida house is the first port of call for journalists on electoral bonds.
“I talk a lot but I can’t write,” he told News laundry.
What is it that he wants to talk about? Transparency in governance, reforms, bureaucratic negligence or anything else that concerns the people. But any discussion on a broken water purifier and water pump is summarily dismissed or delayed. “The family” household chores “comes last for him. But whatever he is doing is for the nation,” said his wife Jyotsana, a social worker.
Her words “take risks, speak up” are what uplifts him.
Multan to mission mode
Batra was born in Multan in an undivided India in 1946. During Partition, the family, like a million others, crossed the Indian border. “When we moved to this side, I was an infant. I don’t remember much,” he said, eager to move onto a more exciting phase of his life as a Navyman.
He joined the Navy in 1967 before graduating from Meerut University, participated in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, rescued people struck by natural calamities during a super cyclone in Odisha (1999) and an earthquake in Gujarat (and built their homes); went beyond his official duty to empower women and the differently-abled; and undertook literacy initiatives.
A hydrographer in the Navy, he was transferred to Delhi in 1992, and worked in South Block in Delhi. During this time, he maintained an unofficial file called “HRD” which contained ideas how the Navy can lend its helping hand to the poor and disadvantaged. Some of these ideas a low-floor bus for the differently-abled and roping in wives of armed forces during natural calamities became a reality.
In 1998, his ideas culminated into a book, “Outreach”, brought out by the Navy in association with 14 ministries and NGOs, including Unicef and Unesco. It was unveiled by President KR Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Bihari. Batra had earlier approached Sonia Gandhi for publication of the book through the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. She agreed. But Batra later pulled out after she joined politics. “I was a serving officer and could not be involved with a party for the book,” he said.
On the day he retired in 2002, the family waited for a reception. Unmindful, he continued to work from South Block till 8pm. “My daughter picked me up and we went to a photo studio for a photo. This was the last time I was in uniform,” he reminisced.
The press information bureau, in a release, lauded for introducing vision to various issues related to widows, and disabled and needy servicemen. It went on to appreciate his relief efforts in rebuilding the Moda village in Gujarat's Jamnagar district. It’s rare for PIB to issue a press release commending a commodore rank officer for his services.
After retirement, he stayed true to his commitment to work ethics and community service. He would write letters to editors and send photos to them about issues that needed to be highlighted. “I would take pictures from my Nikon camera,” he said.
Inside and outside government, he has remained the same: altruistic.
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