Even After Disintegration Of OFB, Sadistic And Those With Vested Interested Continue Attack Ordnance Factories

For the past more than two years many sponsored and maligning articles against the Ordnance Factories are being published including by many retired Army Officers who are now working for the private corporates. Some Articles were rebutted by OFB itself and some by the Trade Unions. The Prime Minister on the 15 th of October, 2021 once again inaugurated the 220 years old Ordnance Factories into 7 Companies amidst boycott of the Inaugural function by the 76 thousand strong Employees and their family members.

The 7 Corporations have now come into existence and the employees are complaining that there are utter confusions and industrial unrest in the Factories since the Corporations have started altering the serving conditions of the employees in violation of the Cabinet decision. They are telling that in this regard their Federations have already submitted representations to the Department of Defence Production. In this situation even after the orporatization Articles abusing the Ordnance Factories are still being published in leading dailies.

On 16 th of October, 2021 in one of the leading daily one Phartendu Kumar Singh an India Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) Officer has written an Article in which he has stated that “an appropriate obituary to the OFB is warranted”. He has also criticized the Trade Unions by stating “The Factories were also subjected to recurrent whims and fancies of Labour Unions preventing corporate work culture in premises”.

To know the reaction of the Trade Unions on this article www.indianpsu.com contacted C.Srikumar / General Secretary of AIDEF who once issued a Lawyer Notice / Defamation Notice to a retired General for writing a mischievous article against the Ordnance Factories and its employees. In his comments and reaction on the article are published here.

“First of all he is a serving Government Officer governed under CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964. How he can write maligning article on another Government Organization and wanted to celebrate the obituary of a great Government Organization which is a clear misconduct. Rule 9 of CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964 prohibits that a Government employees cannot publish any article criticizing another Government Department. It has to be also seen whether he has taken permission from his superiors to publish such a maligning article against Ordnance Factories. In any case we don’t have to react to such type of false, fabricated and sponsored article, since these types of articles are being written by its Authors for their own sadistic and egoistic pleasure. However, I can only say that these are the people who has no knowledge of costing and prizing of OFB Products and when these people served in the Ordnance Factories have taken all benefits and privileges from the General Managers and even then put spoke in each and every proposal to show their bookish knowledge. In fact more than Rs. 900 crore are being added to the cost of the product which the Ordnance Factories have to spend for the expenditure of the Accounts Department. The Federation were demanding to remove this Rs. 900 crore from the cost of OFB products, so that the Armed Forces are benefitted. However, the Government has not agreed for the same. Prior to 1990 IDAS Officers used to contribute a lot for the growth and development of the Ordnance Factories by giving constructive and valuable suggestions. Slowly they have started missing and many of them were having the mindset that their job is only to say “No” or to go on putting spokes on the proposals of the Ordnance Factories / OFB. This author should come out openly about his contribution for reducing the cost in the Ordnance Factories when he was posted in the Ordnance Factories. He must have published his article to enter into the good books of DDP who somehow wanted to justify their ill conceived action of destroying the pioneer Defence Industry through Corporatization. May be it was his desire to get some attention of Media with half baked knowledge. As regards his allegations against the Officers it is for the IOFS Officers to respond. The ultimate fact remains that OFB has been made a scape goat for all the wrong doings of multiple agencies who had no stake and accountability in the performance of the Ordnance Factories. History will not pardon such sadistic persons. He has got no right to abuse the constructive Trade Unions of the Ordnance Factories who are playing a vital role in the growth of Ordnance Factories and thereby achieving indigenization of all its products to the tune of 93% which is a record for a domestic Defence Industry. The Trade Unions do not require the Certificates of such sadistic, egoistic and half baked knowledge person who have not even contributed an inch to the growth of the Ordnance Factories from where they have taken the bread and butter”.

Views expressed here are those of C. Srikumar, General Secretary, AIDEF