HVK Archives: Unwarranted assurance
Unwarranted assurance - The Observer
Editorial
()
24 April 1997
Title : Unwarranted assurance
Author : Editorial
Publication : The Observer
Date : April 24, 1997
Prime Minister I K Gujral's performance in the Lok Sabha during the
vote of confidence was typical of the man and the values he stands
for. The keynote was building bridges and winning friends. As it
were, an extension of what has come to be known in diplomatese as
the Gujral doctrine. It was surfeit of goodwill shorn of the
theatrics and other standard rhetorical devices. Call it consensus
or by any other name, the theme-song came through as the genuine
article because there was not a false note to it. To the extent
that he nearly succeeded in disarming the opposition BJP into
voting for him.
But for all its success in substituting bonhomie for rancour, Mr
Gujral's bravura performance slipped in one vital aspect. There
was no call for the Prime Minister to assure that "there will be no
witch-hunt". It is true that a lot of political leaders are being
hauled up in court for their acts of commission and omission. It
is also true that the Congress, by virtue of having ruled the
country but for two brief interregnums, has figured
disproportionately in such a list. The two together lead to a
legitimate inference that the message is meant for the Congress.
Such a perception drove Opposition leader A B Vajpayee to quip if
this was an offer of protection against prosecution. A rhetorical
question does not need to be answered. But the problem for Mr
Gujral and his government is that most viewers of the televised
debate would have drawn the conclusion that Mr Vajpayee wanted.
Mr Gujral's statement is also unfortunate because it does not
correspond to facts. The plain truth is that it is not either the
Narasimha Rao government or his successor government led by Deve
Gowda which had initiated the prosecution of political leaders. It
was the courts acting on the petitions of alert citizens that had
taken up and supervised what has, in retrospect, appeared as a
campaign against corruption and corrupt politicians. Ongoing
investigations into myriad scams like the hawala, urea, telecom and
JMM bribery case cannot by any stretch of imagination be equated
with witch-hunt. The Prime Minister should refrain from giving the
impression, even unwittingly, that his government entertains ideas
about influencing the course of ongoing investigations.
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