A callous UP government compels a widow to run from pilar to post
Teacher’s widow awaits pension,
Waiiiiiiiiiiiiiting to meet the President
By Bhuvan Bagga in New Delhi
FOR THE last three years, the widow of a Rampur school principal has been running from pillar to post to get his pension. Noor Saba has also been trying to meet the President, but to no avail. Noor also filed aright to information (RTI) application with the President’s secretariat to know why she hasn’t got an appointment.
Last week, the Central Information Commission (CIC) rapped the President’s secretariat for not giving specific reply to Noor. “The President’s secretariat is cautioned to be more definite in its responses to the RTI applications,” the CIC order stated.
An official from the President’s secretariat said: “The information Noor sought has been gathered and would be provided to her. Her application for meeting the President has been forwarded again.”
Noor’s ordeal began two decades ago when her husband, Masood Umar Khan, died. “He had received India’s highest honours. In 1961, Dr Rajendra Prasad gave him the meritorious service medal and in 1975, he got the President’s efficiency award,” said Noor. “After my father’s death, no one from the education department in UP bothered to give pension or subsistence allowance to us,” said Abid Umar Khan.
UP family takes RTI route to get an appointment with Patil
“In 2002, as amark of protest, we wrote to the Prime Minister to take all the medals the government gave to my father. All this even as we carried on our fight against the UP administration in court. My mother first sought an appointment with the President on June 9, 2005. Half adozen letters later, we haven’t get an appointment,” Abid said.
It was then that someone suggested the RTI route to the tired and helpless Khan family. “We asked the President’s secretariat to explain the circumstances and the reasons for not giving us an appointment. We also sought a reply on the action taken on our application to know whether it has been rejected by the President or is still under process,” Abid said.
“We thought an RTI application would spur them into action, but their vague responses and insufficient replies agitated us even further. The CIC response has finally given us some hope.
The commission has asked the secretariat to respond to our specific queries at the earliest,” Abid said. When MAIL TODAY contacted the President’s secretariat, the chief public information officer at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Faiz A. Kidwai, acknowledged the delay and CIC’s rap. “There were some issues regarding this case. Our officer on special duty PR Archana Dutta will issue aclarification soon.
There seemed to be some confusion vis- à- vis the communication with Rampur’s district magistrate,” Kidwai said. When asked why Noor hasn’t been able to get an appointment with the President, Kidwai put the onus on President’s personal section. “Iwouldn’t be able to comment on this.
The matter comes under the President’s personal section. Moreover, it’s the President’s prerogative,” he added. Meanwhile, Noor and her son are still awaiting aresponse from the President’s secretariat as per CIC’s order.
“We think our request for meeting Pratibha Patil has been expedited, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” Noor said.
bhuvan. bagga@ mailtoday. in
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