Author: Our Political Bureau
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: May 28, 2004
URL: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/706601.cms
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on
Thursday defended the tainted Bihar biggies in his ministerial team saying
that "till they are convicted, they would be presumed to be innocent."
On a day when he pledged "to provide
a government that is corruption- free, transparent and accountable" in
its governance charter, coalition pressures saw the prime minister repeating
the political folk wisdom that conviction alone can force a minister out
of the government.
There has already been a cultivated
tolerance for corrupt politicians, which was on display when the moral
guardians of the ruling regime, the Leftists, refrained from commenting
on the presence of leaders like Laloo Yadav and Prem Chand Gupta, the new
company affairs minister who faces serious charges of foreign exchange
violations. "I saw reports about Mr Gupta. I don't want to comment on it,"
said Prakash Karat, polit bureau member of the CPM.
The prime minister's stance of studied
indifference is distressing for a large section, which has been expecting
a different governance paradigm under Mr Singh. If the prime minister's
indulgence of the tainted ministers from Bihar is anything to go by, coalition
partisanship is sure to take precedence over demands of honesty and morality
in public life.
The presence of Prem Chand Gupta
in charge of company affairs, which is expected to set things right in
the corporate world, is baffling for many as the affairs of his own company
are not above board. The enforcement directorate had slapped a penalty
of Rs 10 crore on the minister last year for violating foreign exchange
laws.
If a report of a legislative committee
of Bihar is anything to go by, Mr Singh's junior minister in agriculture
Taslimuddin is a habitual offender and cases against him range from extortion,
cheating and rape to dacoity and attempts to murder.
Taslimuddin's disreputable
past had got media attention when Deve Gowda made him a minister of state
for home in '96. Public uproar forced Taslimuddin to leave the government.
Fatmi, another RJD member from Bihar
in the government, is being investigated by the state police for his alleged
links with mafia leaders who are members of Dawood Ibrahim's network. According
to investigators, criminals demanding ransom received and made telephone
calls to Fatmi. A DSP of Bihar police is quoted in state records as saying
that Fatmi was hatching a conspiracy to kill the then Darbhanga SP, Shobha
Ahotkar, an intrepid police officer.
Jaiprakash Yadav, another RJD member
in the government, was sacked by chief minister Rabri Devi in '00 after
an arrest warrant was issued by the vigilance department for his alleged
role in granting recognition to a B. Ed college, even though it did not
fulfil the requisite conditions.
