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Communist Party of India (Marxist) veteran and best parliamentarian
of the year Somnath Chatterjee expresses concern over leakage of
important information the Central Bureau of Investigation in
sensitive corruption cases and questions the moral ethics of
Opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee in using such
surreptitiously-obtained information to launch a political battle.
However, at the same time, the CPM leader tries to extricate
himself from allegations that his criticism of CBI was to provide
an escape route to fodder scam-accused Bihar Chief Minister Laloo
Prasad Yadav who, he feels, should step down from the Government
post owing to moral responsibility.
A spate of corruption scandals cutting across party lines, he
admits, has sullied the image of politicians as a whole,
notwithstanding the fact that not a single corruption charge has
been levelled against any Left leader.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Observer of Business and
Politics, Mr Somnath Chatterjee discusses the future political
scenario, given the inherent instability of the United Front and
does not rule out the possibility of a snap general elections.
Excerpts :
Why did the CBI Director allegedly leak the information to the BJP?
There are so many assumptions. I do not know whether the (CBI)
Director has leaked it.
But what is worrying me is how Mr Vajpayee. who claims to be the
leader of a party which is based on morals. ethics and propriety,
is using an information which he has obviously surreptitiously
obtained. I do not know at which level of the CBI he has got it.
Because the particulars that he has given like how many pages
report it was, what are the inquiries made, who has studied and who
has given another report of so many pages these things are not
known to anybody. I asked the Prime Minister and he does not know.
Therefore, this information has not been officially obtained.
I really wanted to say that the BJP is taking recourse to a
procedure which is not proper. And the CBI is a vast organisation.
I do not know who is giving information and who is not. The only
thing is that after, reading the letter, as a member of the
Parliament, I feel concerned because even from most important
investigating agencies, informations ace available to important
Opposition leaders. I have never said that the Director has done
it.
The BJP is claiming that the party has got all this information
through media.
No... I've not seen anything.... please let them point out their
press. On the other hand, I heard Mr Vajpayee on the TV that
everybody in Patna seems to know all this thing. I do not know
anything about it personally. Therefore, let them point out that
this has all been published in details.
Do you think that a sustained no by the Bihar Chief Minister to
step down from his post would help the BJP to make electoral gains?
You see, I do not know... it's not very easy to say that who will
gain and who will not gain but this gives a very bad message to the
people. That's why we are concerned. You see, today because of
the activities of some politicians, in Congress and other parties,
politicians as a class are under a cloud. It has not helped us.
The people are laughing at us. If you go abroad, the people laugh
at us. They say this is a country which is full of corruption. And
where the former Prime Minister is facing charges. And everybody
seems to be corrupt.
Therefore, at least the message should be given to him that office
is not the final thing in life. And for politicians also there
should certain values and ethics. And that's why I pointed out on
Wednesday in the House that significantly the country should
remember that not a single allegation has been made against Many
Left politician. This has some significance. But we Have to
zealously guard it.
Initially the Left parties had raised a number of objections on
various issues relating to the Budget. Now it seems that there has
been a considerable climb down in their tone and tenure. Is it
because you are not too sure about the durability of this
Government?
You see, our several views are so well known. I need not reiterate
them here. One thing, please remember why we had not joined the
Government although our party had taken very active steps in
forming the United Front and also Mr Gujral's Government. There
has to be a Government. We do not want, at the moment, an election
which would not be good for the country or do anything which would
help the BJP. Therefore, we felt that although we do not agree to
all that is being done and is being said, let us not rock the boat.
Let there be a Government. We'll let our position known. There is
not the question of softening the stand. We know that on our own
we cannot defeat any budget provision. With 53 persons, we cannot
defeat any budget provision, and the CPI is with them. Even if we
have 41 people or 53 members, we cannot defeat it but we have gone
to the highest person Mr Gujral. He has assured us that he will
look into some of our contentions.
Notwithstanding the Left Front's warning that it will pull out of
the Government in case the Congress joins the Government, TMC chief
G K Moopanar has suggested that it would be in the interest of the
Government if the Congress also joins the coalition. What is the
problem with the Left on this issue?
You see the people of this country deliberately voted against the
Congress. They removed the Congress Government in no uncertain
terms. And now the Congress should not come in this process just
to add to the Government's stability.
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