It is being discussed that today is a big day for the political
developments in India when the Supreme Court is expected to put forward its
views on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) affidavit in which the
central investigating agency of India has detailed out the changes made by the
government of India (under scanner for
its role in the scam) in the CBI’s status report in the coal blocks
allocation irregularities. The affidavit named all those who met the CBI
Director Ranjit Sinha and described all that was changed after back-to-back
meetings with Ashwani Kumar, Minister of Law and Justice, and officials from
the prime-minister’s office and the coal ministry.
CBI has filed two affidavits to explain its transgression after
the issue surfaced with a report in the Indian Express on April 13(1) this year, on April 26 and May 6. April
30 when the Supreme Court heard the first affidavit was a sad day for the
Indian democracy and it reflected in the apex court’s observation.
The bench headed by Justice R M Lodha had said: “You don't
need to take instructions from political masters. If it’s deliberate,
intentional, why was it done? Was it decided to do so? All these things should
not happen. Is the law minister entitled to ask for the report under the CBI
manuals? Our first exercise will be to liberate CBI from political
interference. This suppression by CBI is not ordinary, there is a
very disturbing feature in the affidavit.” – The Economic Times, April
30, 2013(2)
On April 26, while filing the first affidavit, Ranjit Sinha
admitted in the Supreme Court that the status report on coal block allocation
scam was shared with the political executives including the law minister “as
desired by him”. The court slammed the CBI for sharing the report and for
violating the SC’s guidelines and asked the agency to file a detailed affidavit
naming all those who met the CBI and pushed for the changes as well as the
changes made.
The apex court termed it as a ‘massive
breach of trust - a matter that shaken its foundation’.(3)
While hearing the case on March 12 on two Public Interest
Litigations on irregularities in the coal blocks allocation, the apex court had
set the norm. According to the media reports including this Business Standard
report(4), the court laid out: The
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government appears to be headed for a trouble
similar to the one it faced in the telecom scam. The Supreme Court directed the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to share the details of its coal scam
findings with politicians or the executive.
It was politically explosive and the country heard the explosion.
There has been a political chaos in the country after CBI’s affidavits and SC’s
initial observations over the first affidavit. But as expected, this has also
met the same fate as most of the terror explosions in India have – they remain
unsolved.
The difference is, in terror explosions, faces behind them are not
known most of the time, be it the intelligence failure or any other reason, but
in politically explosive developments like this, a whole nation of over a
billion knows very well who all are responsible.
Even, then, they do not move. They simply refuse to take
responsibility. They deny every principle of accountability that a democratically
elected public office commands.
Today, the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice R M Lodha is
going to hear the coal block allocation scam and given the developments of the
past, it is expected that the top court is going to make life tougher for the
government.
But given the political scenario in India where corruption and
unaccountability has become a chronic problem of every political outfit, it
would take highly scathing remarks by
the Supreme Court if the law minister and the concerned officials are to go.
A political opposition that is gunning for heads then would become
even more aggressive in pushing for its demands to sack the rail minister Pawan
Kumar Bansal who is in the eye of a political storm after a bribe deal to
appoint an Indian Railway General Manager on a lucrative post in the Railway
Board, brokered by Bansal’s nephew and his election campaign manager in the
2009 Lok Sabha election, was unearthed by the CBI.
If the SC’s observations today force Ashwani Kumar’s ouster, the
government would be in no position to save Bansal.
The Manmohan Singh government has shamelessly defended these two
ministers till now refusing every demand of their resignation and so
compromising every ideal of an ethical political life. Even, the comfortably
numb Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has come forward to tell the nation that
there is no need for them to resign.
But what about Manmohan Singh’s accountability in this whole issue?
His office, too, is involved in this mess and he too, may face the top court’s
ire.
The government would be expecting a breather from the SC. But some
acidic words would make the life hell
for it. If that be the case, it would try all to dilute the negative
effects of SC’s remarks shielding behind irrelevant logics like it performed
well in the Karnataka assembly election and that should tell the nation (and to the top court) that the Congress
party led government is on the right path. As the Congress is expected to perform
well, be ready to listen to this sham today, again and again, when, by this
afternoon, on the counting day of the Karnataka assembly election, trends
declare the Congress party has performed well.
That would give the Congress a fresh arsenal to hit back on its
political adversaries.
So be prepared to witness yet another round of ugly political war today
and in the aftermath with unparliamentarily war of words following and flowing freely
in the air.
But be clear of one thing. SC response on the matter that makes
life even tougher for the government
would not push the government to move because this is a bold new Indian
politics that doesn’t believe in the universal values of political morality.
If political morality has any chance left in the Indian political
scenario of the moment, it has to be a forced one.
What is needed from the Court No. 4 of the Supreme Court of India today
is some response that makes the life hell for this government. Only then we can
expect that some ‘forced morality’
will prevail in an otherwise immoral political atmosphere.
(1) GOVT VETTED COAL SCAM REPORT, CBI WILL TELL SC
(2) COALGATE: THIS SUPRESSION BY CBI IS NOT ORDINARY, SC TELLS
GOVT
(3) SUPREME COURT LAMBASTS CBI OVER AFFIDAVIT ON COAL SCAM, CALLS
MATTER A 'MASSIVE BREACH OF TRUST'
(4) COAL SCAM: SC ASKS CBI NOT TO SHARE PROBE DETAILS WITH GOVT