Author: Balbir K. Punj
Publication: The Asian Age
Date: February 13, 2009
Introduction: 'The Marxists spared no effort
to keep the CBI out of the Lavalin probe. Two of Delhi's topmost lawyers were
flown to Kochi to argue the case while '72 advocates sought to build a legal
wall around any attempt to send the probe to the CBI
With Lok Sabha elections around the corner,
theatre of the absurd is at its best in the country. The CPI(M) supermo Prakash
Karat is busy building his Third Alternative, promising a stable government
at the Centre with a collection of several regional leaders, each of whom
wants to be Prime Minister, and the Marxists themselves split down the middle.
The absurdity of this claim is matched only by Mr Karat's daily rant against
MNCs and his promise of promoting self-help while his party, as seen in the
Lavalin case in Marxist-ruled Kerala, is ready to strike under-the-table deals
with the same hated MNCs as long as the "prize" is of the right
size! A deeply divided Marxist party is seeking to build a "stable government"
under the Third Alternative with competing and highly self-willed prime ministerial
candidates, from Mayawati to J. Jayalalithaa. It wants to unfurl a corruption-free
government, though its own top leaders are facing corruption charges; and
it wants to promote national selfsufficiency when its hands are tainted with
dubious deals with international companies! Perhaps, this is where politics
begins to resemble a farce but ends as a tragedy.
To the utter discomfiture of the entire Left
in the country, the war in Kerala is not so much between the ruling CPM and
the main Opposition, the Congress, it is within the Marxist party itself.
State CPM secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has been named as an accused by the CBI
in the Lavalin case. The Politburo has sought to defend him by claiming that
the CBI has acted under political pressure of the Congress which is seeking
revenge for withdrawal of support to the UPA government in July last year.
The corruption case relates to a contract
given to a Canadabased engineering firm, SNC Lavalin, for the repair and retrofitting
of three hydropower stations in Kerala in 1995. Even though the Indian engineering
giant Bhel was prepared to do the job at a lower cost, the state government,
then under the Marxist rule, preferred the Canadians. Mr Vijayan, who was
then the power minister in the Left Democratic Front government, himself led
a delegation to Canada to finalise the contract.
The Rs 370 crores contract was a total disaster.
The work Lavalin did was far from satisfactory. And though Lavalin's quotations
were much higher than what Bhel had quoted for the same project, the deal
was granted to the Canadian firm on the promise that it would give Rs 88 crores
worth of equipment for a cancer treatment centre at Thalasserry. Yet, in the
final contract there was no link between the two and no obligation on the
p firm to fulfil its promise to the j cancer centre. Surprisingly, the t Canadian
firm did not keep the money in a government account, c but preferred to park
it in the b account of its Indian agent who b demanded a certificate from
the s state that the work had been done satisfactorily, when it was- s n't,
before releasing funds. Tha- t lasserry is a Marxist stronghold e and the
constituency of present l Kerala home minister, Kodiyeri e Balakrishanan,
a lieutenant of c Mr Vijayan. t The Marxist government d spared no effort
to keep the CBI c out of this probe. Two of Delhi's i topmost lawyers were
flown to e Kochi to argue the government's case and, including government's
own advocate-general f and other top local lawyers, as many as 72 advocates
sought to build a legal wall around any attempt to send the probe to the CBI.
The Kerala high court wondered why the state was avoiding a CBI probe and
insisted on the central agency investigating the case and submitting a report
to it. This was a huge setback for the Vijayan faction.
Last month, the CBI sent its report to the
high court, documenting Mr Vijayan's key role in the scam. To bypass the procedural
requirement - all projects above Rs 100 crores require a sanction from the
Centre - the ministry under Mr Vijayan sliced the Rs 370 crores project into
several small projects, a violation of all international norms in project
bidding. Also, SNC Lavalin was itself a consultant for the selection of bidders.
But on some pretext the bids were cancelled and the consultant was given the
contract.
The CBI now has to get the state government's
permission to initiate prosecution as officers, serving and retired, are involved
in the case. The state government thus has one more chance to block the prosecution
though this might bring it in direct conflict with the high court. The Marxists'
latest move is to seek the advice of the governor on this issue and delay
the matter as much as possible.
That this seedy affair of favouring a Canadian
MNC over an Indian PSU burst out right on the eve of elections is the worst
thing that could have happened to the Marxists, especially for Mr Karat who
is busy building the Third Alternative. The Marxists have, for so long, been
trying to paint themselves lily white by asking for every case to be entrusted
to the CBI for probe. But in the Lavalin issue, where they are the accused,
they turned turtle.
The image of the Marxist cadre as a solid
phalanx in politics has also been shattered by the deadly combat in which
Kerala chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Mr Karat are engaged. The Marxists
are in the habit of painting the Bharatiya Janata Party as a demon but the
public would be drawing a comparison between Marxists' political gyration
to get out of the Lavalin case with the BJP leader L.K. Advani's proclaiming
in the 90s not to contest elections till the alleged corruption charges, thrown
on them in the hawala case, were lifted by the courts even though there was
no evidence except some notes in a diary.
Balbir K. Punj can be contacted at punjbk@gmail.com
