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| UPA needs to clear the air | | The present regime's hamhanded efforts to hide the truth has a pattern in all this, which needs to be thoroughly investigated | | Sunita Vakil | 10/1/2011 11:08:56 PM |
| It was a belated damage control mode that saw Finance
Minister Pranab Mukarjee and Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday bury the hatchet and try to put an end to the controversy over a recently disclosed Finance Ministry note which questioned the role of the latter in preventing the 2G Scam. With Mr Mukharjee ridiculously trying to shield the Home Minister and putting the onus on his Ministry's officials, it appears to be yet another attempt at cove up. But with more skeletons tumbling out of the 2G Scam cupboard, this does not seem to be a good enough response to end the climate of suspicion and cynicism about govern- ment functioning in the country. Though the clarification by the Finance Minister was welcome but it was not sufficient to clear the confusion on the ongoing controversy. The UPA needs to do a lot of explaining. The mere denial of its leaders in parroted phrases cannot sell as more vociferous denials of the record of meetings between Mr. Chidambaram and the then Telecom Minister A.Raja over the method of allocating 2G Spectrum have been laid bare now. Indeed, there is something more to the 2G Scam than meets the eye. It is the Congress that needs to come clean on the issue. Predictably,the Prime Minister has expressed full faith in Mr P.Chidambaram whose role in the 2G spectrum scam while he was Union Minister for Finance is now being questi- oned. Despite being in the know of what was happening, Dr. Singh did not act to halt the loot and plunder scheme, executed by A.Raja and endorsed by his own trusted lieutenant, in its tracks. As things go, the UPA Government's ham handed attempts to hide the truth are failing miserably in their purpose as more and more murky details are tumbling out of its cupboard raising pertinent questions about the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's claimed "Zero Tolerance" towards corruption. With the recent disclosures made in the 2G Spectrum scam, it has now emerged that the then Finance Minister Mr. Chidambaram suppressed an important fact. Earlier its was claimed that there was no record of the crucial meeting between him and A.Raja over the method of allocation of the 2G spectrum. But with the surfacing of the record of the meeting and the subsequent note prepared by the Finance Ministry, Mr Chidambaram has come under a cloud. The habit of covering up under the stewardship of Dr. Singh has come to such a pass that even when a note detailing the entire scam landed on the PM's desk earlier this year, he failed to act when he should have. Notwithstanding the startling revelation establishing the omission of the Home Minister with respect to the sale of 2G Spectrum, the PM continues to stand by him. It is quite unfortunate that Dr. Manmohan Singh has gone on defensive over his failed ministers first it was former Telecom Minister A. Raja and now in the case of Home Minister Chidambaram. It is therefore not surprising that the opposition has blown the buggle against the C ongress led UPA government with its leaders going on record to say that the PM instead of protecting ministers, should be protecting the truth.
It has now become almost a ritual with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to blame the opposition for conspiring to "destabilise" the government whenever his credibility is at stake. Indeed, by accusing the opposition, Mr Singh has essentially made a last deitch attempt to save his reputation and gain the sympathy of the people. It is laughable that he is blaming "other forces " for his and the government's mounting woes. Perhaps the Congress feels that instead of allowing the opposition to capitalise on the various scams and scandals , it is better to lay the blame at the former's door. But, unfortunately for the Congress, the strategy to somehow wriggle out of the situation will not work. This bizarre expectation of a regime that has glorified corruption as a virtue carries neither conviction nor credibility. The reality is that rattled by the disenchantment among the people over the scandalous conduct of its senior ministers, There is a palpable worry in the party over diminishing support. So these statements are nothing more than a diversionary tactic to quell the gathering anti corruption protests.
It may be recalled that the Manmohan Singh government celebrated its second birthday of UPA 2 with promises of making course corrections on certain issues. However, the perception is that the government is moving from one crisis to another, be it the 2G Spectrum scandal, the Adarsh Housing scam or the Commonwealth Games mess. Even on economic reforms the UPA 2 has been dragging its feet. By no stretch of imagination can this government be called a success. Scam after scam tumble out of its closet and the controversies just refuse to die down. It has also not fulfilled its 2009 election promise of bringing back black money within 100 days of coming to power.
Prices of essential commodities have shot up. What makes it bad is that Mr. Singh's government has utterly failed to deliver, be it with regard to controlling inflation or rooting out corruption. It would be apt to say that it the UPA government has survived, it is because the opposition parties are in disarray.
In this backdrop, the Monmohan Singh's declaration that "UPA will serve its full term" is pitifully inadequate. The fact the he is unperturbed by rampant corruption in his government and that the 2G scam look place right under his nose is stunningly shocking. That he is personally clean is no defence against presiding over a corrupt cabinet. By choosing to remain politically inactive and allowing his ministers to engage in various scams, he has indeed committed a grave error. His personal integrity would have been commendable had he removed tainted ministers from the government the moment their guilt came to the fore . But sadly, he has elected to indulge in constant mudslinging and opportunistic politics.
The Prime Minister can no longer remain silent. It is high time that he addresses the people directly to clear the air on the mammoth scam. The government needs a strong political will to bring out the complete truth. But can the UPA government with its commitment to "coalition dharma" act? |
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