To hang or not

I do not want to go into the merits of the order of the Chennai High Court granting an interim injunction staying the execution of the three accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
However, to get some clarity on the whole matter, we have to first understand whether the present agitation by the Tamil activists is for the abolition of death penalty altogether or only to stop the execution of the three accused in the Rajiv Gandhi case. If it is the former, it calls for a nationwide discussion by legal luminaries at the national level and a comprehensive amendment to criminal jurisprudence.
If the agitation is against the execution of the three persons convicted in the instance case, it has to be clearly understood that not only the judiciary at various levels has examined the case in great detail and come to the conclusion that this is one of the rarest of rare cases warranting the extreme penalty. Various clemency petitions have been examined in great detail and found to be devoid of any merit.The case for stopping the execution of the three persons mainly hangs on the 11-year delay in taking a decision on the mercy petition filed before the President.While this inordinate delay in deciding on the petition is inexplicable and indeed deplorable, this alone cannot be the reason for stopping the hanging of the accused in the present case.If this
 argument is to be accepted, it will open a Pandora's Box and a plethora of demands for stopping the execution of all the others with similar penalties including terrorists like Afzal Guru will follow. At the same time, it has to be examined why the decision on the petition was delayed for such a length of time and what steps are being taken to avoid such delays in future.

Anna-in and out

Anna Hazare-in and out

Sri.Anna Hazare is a relatively little known Gandhian  till a few months back when he undertook a fast to root out corruption and for enacting a comprehensive Lok Pal  Bill to bring to book corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. The Central Government has succeeded in making him a cult figure by bungling and blundering at every stage.

First, they made him end his fast by giving all sorts of assurances making him believe that all his views will be incorporated in the Lok Pal Bill which has been delayed by nearly four decades.

Then they introduced a toothless Bill which excluded from its purview various categories of people including the Prime Minister and the judiciary.

When this was not acceptable to him and all sections of people who want to root out corruption at all levels, instead of calling him and other people for a discussion and arriving at a legislation acceptable to all, they started calling him names and threw challenges at him.

When he again announced an indefinite fast   the Government in desperation dug up some old files and threw corruption charges against him which was not swallowed by anybody.

One senior Minister made an absurd statement that Parliament is the supreme body and when a legislation is introduced in Parliament , it has to be discussed only there and not outside. Applying this logic, if Parliament unanimously enacts a legislation legalizing corruption, can it not be opposed by anybody outside Parliament?

Another ridiculous argument was that indefinite fast amounts to attempt to suicide which is a cognizable offence and cannot be allowed, thus ridiculing one of the major weapons in Gandhiji’s armour in his war for independence.

Finally, when the D-day drew near, they threw caution to the winds and threw him in Tihar Jail(along  with Raja and co)throwing all democratic norms to winds. They could have achieved some semblance of respectability  at least if they had stuck to their guns. But when the groundswell of protests grew to alarming proportions they had to eat a humble pie and order his release thus highlighting their total inefficiency in handling the matter and showing how thoughtless unplanned their actions are.

 In the Lok Sabha, which,the Government claims,is sacrosanct, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister make contradictory statements regarding the circumstances leading to the order for his release showing the utter lack of co-ordination in the functioning of the Government.

The funniest part of the whole story is the Government is now begging him with folded hands to come out of jail agreeing to almost all his conditions thus making a complete 180 degree turn

Tamilnadu Budget

Tamilnadu Budget

The AIADMK’S first Budget presented on Thursday   evokes mixed feelings. The shower of freebies announced perhaps with an eye on the vote Bank cannot be sustained forever. In fact, no nation or State can achieve progress in industrialization or agricultural production merely by offering freebies. Gujarat, which is counted among the most developed States in India has not offered any freebies, but has created the necessary infrastructure for people to work hard and achieve self sufficiency. I hope this freebie phase is purely temporary and soon steps will be taken to achieve real growth.

The most welcome feature of the Budget is the announcement of schemes to augment water supply to the city. The creation of three new reservoirs, restoration of six water bodies at Nemam,Thorumazhisai,Porur,Ambattur,Korattur,Madhavaram etc, increasing the capacity of Cholavaram  reservoir ,proposal to eliminate disproportionate water supply to different locations by replacing old pipelines, and envisaging a project to establish a 400mld desalination plant are steps in the  right direction and are long overdue. If these projects are implemented with the zest our Chief Minister is capable of will not only reduce the demand-supply gap in the water needs of our fast expanding metropolis but also avoid flooding during monsoon.Who Cn forget the zeal with which the rainwater harvesting scheme was implemented during her last regime?

cag report

The details available from the   CAG report on the functioning of the Organising Committee of the CWG clearly indicates that the whole foul operation has been meticulously preplanned .It appears to be a turn-key project entrusted to Mr.Suresh Kalmadi to siphon off  public funds with the active connivance of everyone concerned. It is inconceivable that  even with a long timeframe of 7 years, the committee thought it fit to start  awarding contracts at the last minute thus creating an artificial excuse  for throwing to winds all laid down norms  .All the elaborate set  of guidelines of CVC have been flouted with contempt.

The report also states that Sri.Suresh Kalmadi  was appointed Chairman of the Organising Committee by the PM(O)despite  serious objections from various quarters in 2004.Was it after the present UPA Government took over? If it is so, then what happens to Sri.Ajay Maken’s statement that the previous NDA Government appointed Mr. Suresh Kalmadi?

While the report will no doubt be further examined by the Public Accounts Committee and other forums, the very fact that such serious charges have been leveled by an august body like the CAG  shows the enormity and seriousness of the issue. It is therefore absolutely essential that the matter be examined in depth by the appropriate agency and the guilty brought to book expeditiously. It is also necessary to formulate clear guidelines on such matters ,with specific guidelines on the authority structure for permitting deviations under genuine emergent circumstances .

T.S.Krishnamurthy

cwg scandal

CWG scandal

It is pathetic to see the Government and the opposition trying to pass on the blame on each other  for the appointment of Mr.Suresh Kalmadi as the chairman of the CWG Organising Committee .Sri. Ajay Maken also argues that the Host City contract was signed by the then  NDA Government wheras  it should have been signed by the Delhi Government. Without going into the merits of the case, the whole stnking episode and the arguments and counter arguments raise very uncomfortable questions on the very functioning of the Government at the Centre.

-Is it true that the Host city contract should have been signed by the Delhi Government and not the union Government?

-If so, were not the concerned ministers or the bureaucrats advising them not aware of the proper procedure?

-If so, what does it speak of the concerned persons?

-If a mistake has been committed, is it not incumbent on the successor Government to rectify the position by resorting to some emergency steps?

-Are there no laid down procedures for the appointment of  the chairman of the Organising committee or the signing of the contracts? If so, were they followed?

The most unfortunate aspect of the whole stinking episode is that nothing is being done even now to plug the loopholes and frame proper guidelines for the conduct of such events in future. Instead, precious Parliamentary time and the taxpayers’ money are being wasted in meaningless blame games and infructuous arguments. Is there no way to fix accountability for this criminal waste of public money?

Tamilnadu Budget

Prime Minister’s role

The statement of Mr.Montek Singh Ahluwalia that  the Prime Minister or his office cannot be held responsible for the irregularities committed by his colleagues goes against the basic principles of accountability. Of course, no one has so far questioned the personal integrity of the present Prime Minister. But a Prime Minister cannot function in isolation. Does not the RBI or  the Government of India question the Chief Executive of  a Bank when a massive fraud takes place in his institution even though he has not personally authorized the transactions? It is true that the Prime Minister cannot indulge in micro-management, but when  massive scams of mind boggling  magnitude keep surfacing every now and then ,can he really disown at least vicarious responsibility? What then is the role of the Prime Minister if he does not have at least an overall view of what his colleagues are upto  particularly when major violations are taking place under his very nose? Is he expected to keep an ‘arm’s length ‘ relationship on such occasions also?

In this context, one is tempted to recall the time when Sri.Lal Bahadur Sastri was the Railway Minister. When a major train accident took place in Ariyalur, he tendered his resignation owning moral responsiblity. According to, Mr.Ahluwalia’s   theory  of ‘micromanagement’, he need not have resigned because he was not driving the train. The Prime Minister need not do micromanagement, but he cannot shut his eyes to mismanagement and corruption among his colleagues.

pm's role

Prime Minister’s role

The statement of Mr.Montek Singh Ahluwalia that  the Prime Minister or his office cannot be held responsible for the irregularities committed by his colleagues goes against the basic principles of accountability. Of course, no one has so far questioned the personal integrity of the present Prime Minister. But a Prime Minister cannot function in isolation. Does not the RBI or  the Government of India question the Chief Executive of  a Bank when a massive fraud takes place in his institution even though he has not personally authorized the transactions? It is true that the Prime Minister cannot indulge in micro-management, but when  massive scams of mind boggling  magnitude keep surfacing every now and then ,can he really disown at least vicarious responsibility? What then is the role of the Prime Minister if he does not have at least an overall view of what his colleagues are upto  particularly when major violations are taking place under his very nose? Is he expected to keep an ‘arm’s length ‘ relationship on such occasions also?

In this context, one is tempted to recall the time when Sri.Lal Bahadur Sastri was the Railway Minister. When a major train accident took place in Ariyalur, he tendered his resignation owning moral responsiblity. According to, Mr.Ahluwalia’s   theory  of ‘micromanagement’, he need not have resigned because he was not driving the train. The Prime Minister need not do micromanagement, but he cannot shut his eyes to mismanagement and corruption among his colleagues.