Author: Editorial
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 10, 2011
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/359957/Credibility-in-doubt.html
Disband the panel of Kashmir interlocutors
Irrespective of which Pakistani agency picked
up the bill for the Union Government-appointed interlocutor on Jammu &
Kashmir Radha Kumar's visit to Brussels to attend a conference or whether
or not she accepts further emoluments from the exchequer for her services,
it is absolutely imperative that the Ministry of Home Affairs should come
clean. The Ministry cannot ignore the application filed under the RTI Act
seeking details of Prof Kumar's foreign travels. Hence, she must disclose
full details, as must the other two interlocutors. In response to the RTI
query, the Ministry had requested Prof Kumar to make available the necessary
information. Enraged at what she possibly views as the Government's audacity,
Prof Kumar has refused to do so and also said that she is willing to give
up her remuneration to protect her privacy. For the past 11 months Prof Kumar
has been accepting a hefty compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh per month from the
Government, which places her at par with public servants and thus brings her
under the ambit of the RTI Act. There is no reason why the Government should
make an exception for her. Instead, Prof Kumar must be compelled to make public
her travel records, especially given that her colleague on the panel, Mr Dileep
Padgaonkar, is already under the scanner for accepting the hospitality of
the Kashmiri American Council run by Ghulam Nabi Fai and funded by the ISI.
The Government would be well-advised not to cave in under pressure from 'intellectuals'
who have scant respect and lesser regard for their country and who have been
protecting all those who junketed at the expense of agencies not known to
be friendly towards India. Indeed, it is surprising that rather than take
a tough stand, the Ministry of Home Affairs has gone out of its way to protect
and placate Prof Kumar.
The whole affair has now become murky and
needs to be looked into without any further delay. Mr MM Ansari, the third
interlocutor on the panel, has justifiably raised his voice against both Mr
Padgaonkar and Prof Kumar for accepting junkets to attend 'conferences' on
Kashmir funded by the ISI. In popular perception, that raises a big question
mark on their ability to fulfil their task in a fair and unbiased manner.
For Prof Kumar to take umbrage over Mr Ansari's comments and threaten to resign
from the panel is not only churlish but also serves to fuel speculation that
she has a lot to hide, which may not necessarily be true. Be that as it may,
it is amazing that the Ministry of Home Affairs should rush to her defence;
there is no reason for the Government to cover up for her travels to foreign
shores. This, and the transgressions of the two interlocutors, have diminished
the credibility of the panel. The sooner it is disbanded, the better it shall
be.
