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CVC did not name any Minister: PM

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 11. A clarification by the Cabinet Secretary, Kamal Pande, notwithstanding, the Congress today demanded a parliamentary inquiry into a complaint allegedly made by the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), P. Shankar, to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, about "Union Ministers demanding money and other favours from public sector undertakings".

The issue also saw Prime Ministerial intervention today when Mr. Vajpayee told presspersons before leaving for Moscow that no Minister's name was mentioned in the discussions the CVC had with him last month. "I don't understand how such reports have appeared.

The Cabinet Secretary has already given his clarification and after that everything is clear. No Ministers were named in the discussions," he said. Mr. Pande, who was also present at the meeting, issued a clarification on Monday that at no point did Mr. Shankar mention any name or make any allegation against any Central Minister. He said the CVC briefed the Prime Minister last month on the completion of one year of the reconstituted Central Vigilance Commission and the various initiatives taken in the past year. "In that meeting, the CVC also dwelt on the need to remove the misplaced fear of vigilance in the minds of senior public sector executives which often led to hesitation on their part in making decisions.

The CVC delineated various measures which could be taken to build both autonomy and accountability in the functioning of the public sector undertakings (PSUs)," Mr. Pande had said in his note.

Notwithstanding the Cabinet Secretary's clarification, the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, has written a letter to the Prime Minister demanding an immediate, independent parliamentary inquiry into the allegations made against the Ministers and also the revelation of their identities. Ms. Gandhi's letter, dated November 10, was released today. In the letter, Ms. Gandhi said they were "shocked" to read about "interference" in the affairs of PSUs by Cabinet Ministers.

"The reported misuse of the PSUs for personal or political benefits has apparently been played to such a degree that it has forced the Chief Vigilance Commissioner to personally bring the matter to your notice. Of equal concern is that fact that, even after the issue has been highlighted by the media for several days, no action seem to have been taken at your level," the letter added.

Ms. Gandhi also alleged that instead of strengthening the PSUs through professionalisation and greater autonomy, the members of the Cabinet had "apparently attempted to run them as their personal fiefdoms". She also criticised the disinvestment policy saying that the Government was keen on disposing of and privatising PSUs without a clear declared policy or parliamentary scrutiny, without any thought to strategic industries or workers' interests. At the same time, it was allowing "exploitation of those very PSUs by its Ministers". Ms. Gandhi said serious thought needed to be given to the framing of rules and regulations to protect the PSUs from ministerial interference amounting to misuse and to make such interference punishable with severe penalties.

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