HVK Archives: If horses could laugh!
If horses could laugh! - The Statesman
Editorial
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10 July 1997
Title: If horses could laugh!
Author: Editorial
Publication: The Statesman
Date: July 10, 1997
IF the Government have lost their balance and are living on their nerves,
they are giving a pretty convincing demonstration of it. They removed
Joginder Singh from the CBI on the eve of his retirement; the Prime
Minister complained about him but added in the same breath that he has
promoted him, which he has not. Laloo Prasad Yadav is immediately relieved:
He will support Gujral and the Prime Minister will retain in his Government
three Laloo loyalists. They appoint R C Sharma, singularly unqualified for
the position and in violation of established rules. He can play around
with the fodder case just enough to fool the Patna High Court. He will be
found out soon enough. Next they decide to remove the Director of
Enforcement, M K Bezbaruah, sign the papers, then get cold feet. Someone
along the line realises that the only way to move him is to promote him
above his peers but that would play havoc with the objective of teaching
him a lesson to leave jam and Kesri alone. They now seek to immobilise Mr
Bezbaruah by creating a new position of Director-General and filling it
with a former policeman of no particular distinction and on the contrary, a
whole file of minus attributes.
Why do they risk so much? The reason is simple and contemptible. Jain and
Kesri must be saved at all costs. Sonia is upset that Joginder Singh is
getting Quattrocchi back for interrogation over the Bofors kickbacks and
Letters Rogatory are being issued to the countries where Quattrocchi sent
all the money he received in Geneva. Then there is the fear of disclosures
in the last case of the Hindujas. Sharma sat on .the A E Services file
implicating Quattrocchi for seven years; he has a record of achievement to
his credit. He has already justified the trust placed in him.
On June 19, Intelligence Bureau police terrorized officials in Enforcement
Directorate dealing with the interrogation of Jain and Kesri, they took
notes of who had said what about these notables to Enforcement and left,
beating up our reporters who were witnesses and taking with them a wallet
and identity card. There has been no apology and no expression of regret.
On July 8, they went back to Enforcement Directorate, broke open the locked
cupboards of their Deputy Director, Ashok Aggarwal, in charge of
interrogations in the Jain case while the poor man was in hospital and took
away some papers without a panchnama of what they had taken. If the effort
was to humiliate the Director, Mr Bezbaruah and force him to resign, they
have failed.
A message is also being sent to the judiciary: the Law Minister has said
that Government want to restore the primacy of the Executive in appointing
judges and to curb public interest litigation among other reforms. Our
reply to the Law Minister; - go fish!
There is no longer any pretence. No effort to come up with justifications,
however fanciful. The gloves are off. The message is shouted from the
house-tops. It is the policy and high purpose of this Government that
Ashok jam, Sitaram Kesri and Sonia Gandhi be protected; if they are in
conflict with the law, so much the worse for the law. The refrain is
constant. This Government claims it is the last bulwark against the BJP!
If horses could laugh, their time is - now, now, now!
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