The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : Rejecting what is useless

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Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Rejecting what is useless

The United Progressive Alliance Government's decision to reject the Phukan Commission's report comes as no surprise. The early hints that it would refuse to accept the findings of a body, which was constituted to inquire into the allegations of corruption in defence deals mentioned in the Tehelka videotapes but dodged that task, were strengthened following the revelation that Justice S. N. Phukan had enjoyed out-of-turn hospitality from the Defence Ministry while conducting his probe. In rejecting the report, the Defence Minister has implied that the Commission, which recommended further inquiry in 13 of 15 cases after finding procedural irregularities, did not take its findings to the warranted conclusion. Hence the official assertion that the "conclusions arrived at by Justice Phukan are bereft of reasoning." More significantly, the UPA Government has maintained that the Commission did not, by its own admission, address a key section, Clause b, in its terms of reference. This clause, which bound the Commission to inquire into whether "illicit gains were made by persons in public office, individuals and any other organisation as alleged," was a vital part of the job entrusted to it.

While the Defence Minister's withering description of the Commission's findings as a "part report" is based on this omission, no enlightening answer has been provided to the question of why the corruption issue was not taken up at all. The Commission, first chaired by Justice Venkataswami and then by Justice Phukan, was wound up in October 2004 after three-and-a-half fruitless years. `Lack of time,' the usual excuse, could not have possibly prevented the Commission from looking into the vital question of whether "illicit gains were made by persons in public office, individuals and any other organisation as alleged." This is fresh proof, if evidence were needed, that commissions of inquiry as opposed to police investigations are mostly a waste of time and money. The Jain Commission took 72 months to submit its `interim report' on Rajiv Gandhi's assassination — and what a fanciful ride it turned out to be. The Liberhan Commission is yet to submit its report 13 years after the vile and barbaric act of demolition of the Babri Masjid. Three-and-a-half years might seem reasonable in comparison, but the Phukan Commission could not have been allowed to continue its inquiry after its credibility had been undermined. L'affaire Bofors demonstrated that the Joint Parliamentary Committee route was a set-up, a desperate and failed attempt at cover-up and crisis management. The issue projected by the Tehelka sting operation and videotapes was systemic corruption in defence procurements; the exposé should have been referred straightaway to an investigating agency. It is correct that the UPA Government has handed over the matter of the 15 defence deals to the CBI but what good is likely to come out of this exercise so many months after the happenings?

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