Shiban Khaibri
An English teacher did not take lightly a boatman’s grammatical mistakes in conversing with him while enjoying a boat ride some time back on a famous Lake and asked him curiously, “Haven’t you been to a school to learn some grammar?” The boat man in his mid thirties, replied that he hadn’t been . The teacher retorted, “I am afraid, you have, thus, wasted your life.” Only after a few minutes, the gentle cool breeze started behaving in some menacing way which compelled the boatman know from the learned teacher, “Sir, we are likely to face an emergency, do you know how to swim?” The teacher replied in total negative . “Then in that case, I am afraid, Sir, “you are going to lose your life”, said the boatman. What, if the status report on the investigation of coalgate was punctuated with some grammatical errors , why that “compelled ” the Union Law Minister to access it reportedly in a properly convened meeting with the Director of the CBI along with two Joint Secretaries, each from the coal ministry and the PMO’s office? A little of bad grammar in proper seal would have been better than a good grammar with tampered seal. The refuge under the rudiments of language called grammar, could not fructify in its real objective and the UPA2 had to face the worst ever embarrassment for the whole exercise which should have not even been thought of, as the investigation draft report on the coalgate was primarily to deal with the decisions, omissions and commissions of the Government. The implicit, thus, became explicit in that, the apprehensions of many, that the premier investigation agency of the country was not fully autonomous and independent of the control of the political executive was corroborated by no less an authority than the Chief of the agency on Tuesday , April 30 by saying that ” I am a part of the Government, I have not shown the sensitive information to an outsider but to the Law Minister”. The Supreme court did not take the developments lightly and observed that ,” our primary task was to make the CBI independent of political interference in letter and spirit and ensure that it was free of all external influence , intrusion and considerations.” It expressed total displeasure about the pretext of the Government to have “vetted’ the status report prepared by the CBI investigation team and termed it as an attempt to alter the report and the CBI’s attempt to mislead the court on whether it had shared the report with any one was “tantamount to a vital erosion of trust”. The Honb’le court had some pertinent questions to ask — namely, why it was not disclosed to the court by the CBI that the draft report was shared with the political executive; what changes and at whose instance, were made in the draft report ; why earlier the Additional Solicitor General had reported that the report was not shared with any one; who were the two officers in the PMO and coal ministry who had asked for the report and the procedures in vogue with regard to the ongoing investigations. The Additional Solicitor General , Harin Raval had to pay the price for the flip flop by tendering his resignation , claiming that the “SG made me the scape- goat”, following a virtual war between the two leading legal officers of the government over the draft fiasco.
The government at the centre, as a result, is in tight corner and virtually in a suffocating state, not knowing how to get retrieved from the morass of denials, lies and manipulations, let alone from the extent and magnitude of the scam in allotment of coal blocks. The crisis which could have been avoided has been duly invited by the Government on its own, by trying to cover up the reported interference of the Law Minister with the professional working of the CBI. The Prime Minister has made his position more precarious, preceding to the developments of April 30, by openly saying that he would neither sack the Law Minister nor tender his own resignation . The question is that of propriety, that of the fair play, that of the logical justifications of the very concepts of inquiry and probe, the honest standards of polity, the trust of the people and above all morality and ethics. The beans have been spilled and very much openly, the investigating agency saying that the coal ministry did not cooperate and furnish the details in full, to help the investigation. In other words, the ministry has attempted to stonewall the probe, create humps in the process to know some truth about the massive irregularities.
If on the front of performance, the Government falters, that is extremely bad but when some of its institutions or wings are suspected to throttle the truth and the reality of where went the things wrong, it is immoral and unethical- aiming at circumventing the process to fix accountability. The Honb’le court has observed, “On the one hand , your (coal ministry’s) joint secretary wants to see the CBI’s draft investigation status report meant for the court and on the other hand, the ministry does not furnish the information which the CBI requires, you cannot play hide and seek with the court, we will ensure that all answers are given.” The shadows of the impropriety of the nature under reference, has the potentiality of reaching the PMO’s gates, perhaps sensing that, Manmohan Singh had to clarify,” I have not studied the Supreme Court’s observations , whatever action is called for will be taken after studying it.” Does it mean the exit of the Law Minister? That has to be seen, as the point of importance and sensitivity is as to what was the Law Minister’s interest to see (vet grammatically) the report .? About the joint secretary in the PMO’s office, under whose instructions, did he venture to have access to the report exclusively meant for the Apex Court, shall also have to be made known. Crisis in the Apex Court and chaos in the Parliament, all against the functioning of the UPA2, has demonstrated that its credibility is definitely plummeting. Opposition has fired on all cylinders and has compared the coalgate with the infamous Watergate. It has stated that the Government has become totally insensitive. This government’s whole exercise of vain fully trying to come ” clean” with an eye on 2014 elections , has , in short, resulted in the commissioning of perjury, violating of the directives of the Apex Court and even committing of the contempt of the court which shall further be known on May6 , the date, which the bench of the three Honb’le justices has fixed for the matter and as per the CBI’s Director, “CBI will answer all the queries of the Supreme Court on May6, 2013.”
It is a natural corollary that when a government weakens, investigations have to be not only independent and above any sort of suspicion but must be carried out in an air of clarity with professional acumen. The problems faced by the UPA2 both at the Honb’le court and in the Parliament, could have not taken place in a worst time when China has virtually not only challenged us in Ladakh and assessed our level of “prepared to meet any threat” but mocked at our Government’s guts to evict their intrusion. The reports are that they are making their grounds more stronger with no hope of going back. The acid test conducted by them on our Government’s stand leads to the pigeon and cat story, in which the pigeon is shutting its eyes thinking the threat was over, as seemingly done by the government by putting forth all types of alibis and excuses from an “acne on the beautiful face to be treated with a lotion” to “they also come, we also go” to “a mere local problem” etc; which a self respecting country, the biggest democracy of the world can ill afford to employ as a befitting remedy. Let us pray not to see any further worst by this Government
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