Political slugfest over the CAG’s report on allocationof captive mines to the private companies has followed an irritatinglypredictable routine so far and is unlikely to change any time soon. Sharp exchangeof charges and stalling of Parliament have become the tried and tested strategyto score political goals, nothing more, every time a scam surfaces. Have youheard anyone from either the ruling coalition or the opposition even talk aboutthe need for an effective anti-corruption mechanism? It is a political dramaour political parties have fallen in love with.
Take another look at the goings on. The coalition inpower says it wants debate in Parliament and blames the opposition for not onlyshying away but also undermining Parliament. And then, the prime minister getsup and says he is taking “full responsibility” for the decisions that led tothe scam (he was heading the coal ministry during which, CAG says, privatecompanies made windfall gains to the tune of Rs 1.86 lakh crore), but adds thatthe CAG’s findings are “clearly disputable” and “flawed on multiple counts”.
In effect, the prime minister has trashed the CAG’sfindings. Shockingly, it comes at a time when country’s premier investigatingagency, the CBI, says it will soon file FIRs against at least six companies forgetting coal blocks through misrepresentation of facts, false information andforged documents. Some even sold off the coal blocks and made a killing. Morethan 20 companies are being investigated for wrongdoings. It also says theofficials played dubious role, allotting coal blocks without evaluation andrunning elementary checks. A TV channel displayed minutes of the screeningcommittee (which both processed and vetted allocation) meetings that showed 17companies were allocated coal blocks even when they didn’t even show up to maketheir presentation.
The ruling coalition’s strategy is clear. It wants adebate in Parliament, trash the AG’s findings, get the matter referred to thepublic accounts committee (PAC) of Parliament and then wash its hands offsaying that it has fulfilled its responsibilities. Fixing responsibility andpunishing the guilty are none of its business. That was exactly what hadhappened in the cases of 2G and CWG scams. If A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi, theprinciple accused in those scams, went to jail (they are now out on bail) itwas because the courts of law intervened. Nothing came out of the lengthydebates in Parliament that followed its stalling.
The principle opposition party, the BJP, knows thiswell and hence, is reluctant to participate in debates. They are sticking totheir demand for the prime minister’s head. Their strategy is to keep the focuson the scam by stalling Parliament and once the session is washed out, take theissue to people through public rallies and marches. The objective is to encashit during the election. Fixing responsibility or punishing the guilty are notin its agenda either. When it was in power, the BJP-led government too hadfollowed the method of allotting coal blocks. Now, along with the UPAgovernment, several State governments ruled by the BJP are also in the dock foropposing auctioning of coal blocks and getting them allotted to their favouritecompanies.
Stalling Parliament only undermines its role as aneffective instrument of the government’s answerability. Political slugfest thatdoesn’t lead to finding a solution to the problem of corruption heightens thedisillusionment of people towards their political leaders. The moot point,therefore, is how long this can go on.
