The Hindu : Congress raises new questions on caskets for martyrs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

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Congress raises new questions on caskets for martyrs

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB.18. The Congress today raised new questions on the procurement of caskets and body bags by the Vajpayee Government during the Kargil war and charged that the Defence Ministry had procured them at higher prices.

Citing documents on a website, the party sought to know why aluminium caskets were procured at $ 2,500 a piece when they were available at lower rates from a product costlier than aluminium. Also, was some other company asked to furnish the items or if a tender was floated?

The AICC spokesperson, Abhishek Singhvi, asked why did the Government pay 90 per cent of the money as advance without bank guarantee even before the caskets were loaded for despatch, especially since the consignment was rejected. Since the consignment of aluminium caskets was not found acceptable on technical grounds, why did the Government not communicate the specifications before placing the order?

Even the official procurement agency for the United States Army purchased the caskets in 2001at $ 1,200 a piece. Mr. Singhvi alleged that India paid a higher price for the body bags also. Referring to an official note on the proposal, he said the document showed the cost as $ 27.5 a piece, which became $ 85 when the order was placed.

The Congress also charged the Central Government with interfering with Constitutional institutions and cited the latest instance of appointing members to two separate bodies, the National Commission of the Scheduled Castes and the National Commission of the Scheduled Tribes, by dissolving the National Commission of SC and ST.

He said that while Parliament had approved the bifurcation of the Commission, the tenure of the members of the earlier Commission could not be curtailed except on certain grounds. Even though the amendment was carried, the Government had not yet notified the framing of rules prescribing the tenure and service conditions. The tenure of the members of the parent body was for three years. The Congress also circulated a letter written by four members of the parent body, Vijay Kumar Chauhan, G. Sampath Kumar, Veena Premkumar and Narayan Singh Kesri, to the President, seeking his intervention.

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