All central government employees, including officials of Army and para military forces, were on Monday warned of “action” if they raise service matters related grievances to the Prime Minister, directly.

Warning employees, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said such submission of representations directly to other authorities by-passing the prescribed channel of communication, has to be viewed seriously and appropriate disciplinary action should be taken against those who violate these.

As per these instructions, wherever a government servant wishes to press a claim or to seek redressal of a grievance, the proper course for him is to address his immediate official superior, or head of his office, or such other authority at the appropriate level who is competent to deal with the matter in the organisation. Writing to higher authorities, can rightly be treated as an unbecoming conduct, it said in a directive.

“In spite of these instructions, it has been observed that government servants including officers and officials of para military forces and Army personnel continue to represent directly to the Prime Minister, Minister, Secretary (Personnel) and other higher authorities, directly,” the DoPT said.

It is reiterated that the existing instructions may be brought to the notice of all government servants including officials of para military forces and members of armed forces and “action taken against those who violate these instructions”, it said.

The forms of communication also include e-mails or raising it through public grievances portal etc, the DoPT said.

Apparently bowing to public pressure, the Karnataka government on Monday decided to hand over the probe in to the murder of renowned scholar MM Kalburgi to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

“Karnataka government will write a letter to CBI for investigation in renowned scholar MM Kalburgi’s murder,” Karnataka Law Minister TB Jayachandra said.

The case is currently being probed by Karnataka Police CID.

A former Vice-Chancellor of Hampi University, MM Kalburgi was shot dead at his Kalyanagar residence in Dharwad on Sunday morning by unidentified gunmen.

77-year-old Kalburgi was an associate of rationalist Govind Pansare of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, who also fell victim in similar circumstances in February, and had drawn the ire of some right-wing Hindu outfits like VHP and Bajrang Dal with his remarks about idol worship by Hindus.

A winner of central and state “Sahitya Akademi” awards, he had also suggested the need for a better state anthem.

Part of his works on “Vachana”(verses)” literature had also come under criticism of the state’s majority “veerashaiva” (Lingayat) community, a liberal Shaivism founded by 12th century philosopher, poet and social reformer Basaveshwara.

His funeral is currently under way at Dharwad.

Returning to power in 1980, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had considered a military strike on Pakistan’s nuclear installations to prevent it from acquiring weapons capabilities, a declassified CIA document has claimed.

Such a consideration by the then Indian Prime Minister was being made when the US was in an advanced stage of providing its fighter jets F-16 to Pakistan, says the September 8, 1981, document titled ‘India’s Reaction to Nuclear Developments in Pakistan’, which was prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

A redacted version of the 12-page document was posted on the CIA website in June this year, according to which the then Indian government led by Gandhi in 1981 was concerned about the progress made by Pakistan on its nuclear weapons programme and believed that Islamabad was steps away from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The US had the same assessment.

“In the extreme case, if Indian concerns increase over the next two or three months, we believe the conditions could be ripe for a decision by Prime Minister Gandhi to instigate a military confrontation with Pakistan, primarily to provide a framework for destroying Pakistan’s nuclear facilities,” the then highly sensitive CIA report claimed.

At the time of writing of the report, the CIA said Gandhi had not taken any such decision in that regard.

According to the report, as Pakistan was in an advanced stage of producing plutonium and highly enriched uranium for use in nuclear weapons, Gandhi evidently responded to the threat by authorising Indian nuclear test preparations.

“In February (1981), excavation was begun in the Thar desert to permit the underground explosion of an Indian test device on short notice,” the CIA said, adding that in May, preparations had been completed by India for a 40-kiloton nuclear test.

The CIA said India reportedly was to explode the device about one week after the expected Pakistani test.

“Evidently, the Indian Government calculated that a Pakistani nuclear explosion per se would not constitute a national security threat, and that the damage to India’s image of pre-eminence in the region could be minimised by a resumption of the peaceful nuclear explosive (PNE) programme,” the CIA said.