Author: Shalini Singh
Publication: The Times of India
Date: October 20, 2010
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/A-Tale-Of-Two-Scandals/articleshow/6775618.cms
Introduction: With no one nailed in the 2G
scam, will the probe into Games corruption fare any better?
It is almost too good to be true. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh appears to be delivering on a promise made in August that those
guilty of corruption in the Commonwealth Games projects will be handed out
severe and exemplary punishment. A probe panel has been directed to submit
a report in three months, and Organising Committee (OC) chief Suresh Kalmadi
has been snubbed by the PM and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The UPA government seems to be doing the right
thing, offering a welcome palliative for a nation greatly wounded by the enormity
of corruption that now threatens to destroy it. Citizens are beginning to
believe in activism again, while the media, which campaigned relentlessly
to bring corruption to the surface, is celebrating outright. The sweet scent
of victory wafts powerfully from headlines like "PM and Sonia snub Kalmadi",
"Payback time for CWG villains" and "Nail the corrupt",
among others.
Like Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities,
this could be the making of a larger, emerging story of great sacrifices being
made for the sake of principle. But it is probably too early to celebrate
considering that the government's track record in prosecuting people in high
office on charges of graft is virtually zero. The UPA government's non-performance
in the larger, over Rs 1 lakh crore 2G-spectrum matter is a closer, even more
sobering reality. Like the Games, the 2G scam too is a high-visibility issue
raised by the media. Yet, despite a similar promise of justice by the PM and
multiple investigating agencies corroborating the evidence over the past year,
justice is nowhere in line of sight.
In the telecom case, like the Games matter,
the CBI, CVC, CAG and Enforcement Directorate have been carrying out investigations.
A year ago, the CBI registered an FIR against unknown persons in the department
of telecommunications (DoT) for causing a huge loss to the public purse. Since
then, there has been deathly calm. When pulled up for its inaction in the
Supreme Court just a fortnight ago, the CBI counsel sought six months' time
to investigate further in India and overseas.
Since the CAG is making strides in the probe,
telecom minister A Raja appears to be attempting to block the inquiry by floating
an argument that a "policy decision" is above scrutiny. A PIL has
been filed in the SC to ensure the CAG investigation is not derailed and reaches
its logical conclusion.
The Games scam appears far tougher to nail.
Unlike the spectrum scam, where just the DoT is under the scanner, the Games
investigation brings multiple agencies including PWD, CPWD, NDMC, DDA, the
Delhi administration, the lieutenant governor's (LG) office and the OC under
the lens. Second, if in the wrong, Kalmadi could not have acted on his own.
This would lead the paper trail to senior IAS officers outside the OC, Sheila
Dikshit, sports minister M S Gill, LG Tejendra Khanna and other political
leaders in the Congress who are already busy blaming each other. Third, unlike
the spectrum scam, which involved DoT dealing with five to six licensees,
the Games scam involves roughly eight agencies giving out hundreds of contracts
and tenders in India and abroad.
The Games money trail is leading to international
locations, offering a legitimate reason to seek an extension of the government's
self-imposed three-month deadline. The Ayodhya matter and misappropriation
of funds from the 1982 Asiad Games prove that, historically, multiple extensions
following the first one are the norm for most such investigations.
But the most important reason why this investigation
has very little chance of succeeding is because it seems to implicate the
Congress. Who is Kalmadi? A member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha on a Congress ticket since 1982. He has been a Youth Congress leader
from Maharashtra and minister of state for railways in the Congress government.
Ditto for Gill, Dikshit, Khanna and Jaipal Reddy. The heavyweights being linked
to the Games scam are Congress stalwarts. Any chink found in their character
allows the BJP and other opposition parties to tear into the Congress. It
is highly unlikely that the Congress will itself facilitate this political
embarrassment.
Nailing the corrupt in the telecom matter
is far easier. The entire incident took place between May 2007 and November
2008 and all seven-eight files, which were handled by a clutch of five or
six DoT officials, are in the CBI's and CAG's possession. Despite clinching
evidence, the perpetrators of the 2G spectrum scam continue to hold their
political and bureaucratic positions, allowing them to routinely obfuscate,
delay and defend their actions.
In contrast, the Games embezzlement involves
multiple authorities of varying scale in multiple time zones and a dirty trail
seeming to lead to loyal Congressmen. That's why expectations of quick redressal
by prosecuting even one of the possible accused by February 2011 can be equated
to blind faith.
These unhappy comparisons force the logical
conclusion that, despite the PM's skilful window dressing, the Games investigation
is equally likely to see several extensions till it fades from public memory.
Or, at best, small fish will be forced to take the blame. To belie the popular
belief that justice is too good for some people, and not good enough for the
rest, the PM must demonstrate that this public trial of a scam is not another
sham.
