Political Diary

New Delhi, 14 March 2015

Singed By Hot Coal

SINGH PAYS FOR SILENCE

By Poonam I Kaushish

Political Delhi continues to suffer from the Rs 1.86 lakh crores Coalgate gripes that saw coal mining rights being assigned without transparency to private firms. Whereby, a fresh blast of coal dust hit the Congress and stunned former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with him being accused for illegal allocation of a coal block to Kumar Mangalam Birla’s Hindalco at the coat of a public sector company. Leaving the Sonia’s Party walking on hot coal suspended over a deep pit!

The saga has its genesis with Hindalco applying for two coal blocks Talabira II, in Odisha in 2005. His application is rejected by the coal screening Committee headed by then Coal Secretary Parakh as the blocks were earmarked for public sector Neyveli Lignite Corp. But two letters to Coal Minister Manmohan Singh and meeting Parakh later, the Coal Secretary overturned his ‘considered’ decision rejecting Hindalco’s proposal and allots the blocks to the private company.

In his 75-page order CBI judge Parashar has indicted Singh for criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust by a public servant “for taking extra undue interest and a conscious effort to somehow accommodate the Birla firm resulting in a windfall for the firm and huge loss to the country.” Indictments, which attract a maximum sentence of 10 years.  The former Prime Minister has to appear in court on 8 April.

Besides, the ex-Prime Minister can't bank on CBI support when he approaches the Supreme Court to challenge the trial judge's order notwithstanding the agency's report seeking closure of the case on the fallacious plea that there was no material evidence to prosecute anyone in the alleged irregular allotment of the coalmines.  

Ironically, Manmohan Singh now has the dubious distinction of being the second former Prime Minister to be made accused and likely to be charge sheeted. He follows in the footsteps of his “political guru” and a predecessor Narasimha Rao, the first Prime Minister to be accused and convicted for corruption in the JMM Bribery case in 2000. 

Either which way, the smash-up of Manmohan Singh’s pristine clean image has been damaged beyond repair. True, none doubt his personal honesty, but what good is that integrity when he turned a blind eye to the innumerable corrupt deeds of Ministerial colleagues and coalition partners caught with their hand in the till. Justifying every scam, as “compulsions of coalition politics.” Sic.

Specially, against the backdrop that not only was he heading the Coal Ministry for some time when the scam happened but also because most of the 142 coal fields allocated between 2004 and 2009 were given at undervalued rates instead of using the auction route to favoured private parties who instead of extracting coal sat tight (only 28 of 86 captive coal blocks produced coal) thereby causing the national exchequer a loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crores!

More damning, ex Coal Secretary P C Parakh said that he had informed Singh about the potential fraud inherent in the discretionary allocation of the captive coal fields and objected to it in writing in 20004. Still all the coal blocks were allocated without auction.

Reportedly, the modus operandi was simple: Favoured private firms first negotiated a price with the High Command, paid up and then mines allotted to them allegedly on the recommendation of Sonia’s political secretary Ahmed Patel. In fact, he made plain to the Congress that he had no role or interest in determining who the beneficiaries should be.

The scandal came to light in 2012 when the CAG questioned the Government's practice of awarding coal mining blocks at a concession to companies without competitive bidding resulting in this mindboggling loss. This bombshell paralyzed Parliament with the BJP demanding his resignation.

Making matters worse for Singh, the NDA Government has already garnered over Rs two lakh crores from 31 coal blocks auctioned this year. This also underscores the CAG’s estimates of loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crores to the national exchequer during Singh’s tenure as correct.

For the Congress the timing couldn’t have been worse especially post its disastrous wipe-out in the Delhi Assembly polls and down to a mere 44 MPs in Lok Sabha. Today the Party is caught between a rock and hard place as the buck stops with Manmohan Singh and through him Sonia’s door.

Sonia’s fear stems from the likelihood that if the Prime Minister is implicated it would impliedly nail her as he was “her man”. She does not want a Bofors repeat which indicted her late husband Rajiv who lost the 1989 elections. Hence the solidarity march to Singh’s residence and assertion, “We are fully behind him. And will defend him with all our might.” Sic.

Alongside, she is busy readying a battalion of top Congress lawyer-leaders to defend Singh including ex Union Finance Minister Chidambaram who had trashed the CAG’s report by averring, “When coal is still under Mother Earth how can there be loss?” Today, he would be eating his words as the mines auction have already netted the NDA Government over Rs 1.86 lakh crores and counting.

Asserted a senior BJP leader, “Coalgate is the only issue where we can nail the Manmohan-Sonia link”. Specially, the email trail between the PMO, Coal and Law Ministries.

Meanwhile, the Rahul brigade dispirited by their icon’s vanishing act feels it has found an issue. Left to them, they would like Manmohan to spend at least a weekend in Tihar jail so that they marshal their rank and file to take some political space. They feel Manmohan's personal integrity is something that would lead to sympathy.

It remains to be seen if Prime Minister Modi who has minced no words in bringing the corrupt to book will act against Singh and the Gandhi family or let him breath easily.

What now? As a starter we could take a leaf from US and Westminster. In America post the Enron scandal, the Senate’s Ethics Committee ensures Senators avoid situations where they benefit personally from their official acts such as an inside financial deal with an industry seeking a legislative favour.

Clearly, all eyes are on what happens next. It is time our leaders understand that there are moments when cynical calculations of political expediency become repugnant. Remember, in a democracy, public office is more about perception of integrity, honesty and trust. One has to appear clean besides being clean.

Manmohan Singh doesn’t tire of averring that Caesars wife must be above suspicion. “I am upset, but this is a part of life. I will establish my innocence,” asserted the 82-year-old former Prime Minister. The buck stops with him. Now, please walk the extra mile! ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)