With reference to the report, "PMO not okayed Najib Shah for CBEC chief, yet" (September 24), the uncertainty over Najib Shah's appointment as chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs is unprecedented in the history of the organisation. That at this crucial stage of transition to the goods and services tax regime the CBEC should continue without a regular chairman for no justifiable reason is unacceptable.
As a former officer of the CBEC, I had the privilege of working in close cooperation with Shah in highly sensitive investigations. During his tenure as director-general of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), he galvanised the organisation in terms of intelligence collection and investigation. This was evident in the detection and thorough probe of a series of import-export-related frauds amounting to thousands of crores of rupees in tax evasion by some business houses, including one that is known to wield enormous influence in the corridors of power. It is generally perceived that with the present dispensation at the Centre, the clout of this business house has risen phenomenally.
A large number of serving officers suspect Shah is paying the price for being upright and uncompromising. Any more procrastination by the government on his appointment as regular chairman would only reinforce their suspicion, irrespective of whether it is well-founded or mere conjecture.
This apart, the fact that Shah had to wait for a year to become a CBEC member makes one wonder if there is indeed something more than meets the eye. The credibility of the Narendra Modi-led government is at stake. The onus is on him to come clean on the issue.
S K Choudhury, Bengaluru
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