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Stink of the scandal SC calls CMs’ bluff |
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Thorium reactor
Editor's Column
All sorts of walkers
Lots of money, but none for development Chatterati The jargon disease
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Stink of the scandal As
charity often begins nearer home, petrol pumps were distributed to relatives and friends of politicians during the NDA regime and the bitter taste of that scandal is still fresh. What had happened was patently wrong but in August 2002 when public criticism mounted, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee cancelled nearly 3,000 outlets approved by one of his ministers after June 2000, there was a spate of cases filed in various courts. The Supreme Court has — after a detailed study by a committee set up by it — finally affixed its stamp of disapproval on the ugly proceedings in the then Petroleum Ministry, permitting allotment of petrol pumps, gas agencies and kerosene outlets in only a handful of borderline cases. What is to be noted is that the allotments have not been cancelled merely on the ground of political patronage. What has also been kept in mind is whether the authorities made the allotment at the cost of merit and ignoring public interest. Of the 409 cases, more than 100 were approved on merit and 297 allotments were found being not in accordance with the guidelines. The cancellation of so many allotments only proves that parameters were flouted en masse. The whole process was so vitiated that it became a byword for political corruption. The naked dance of favouritism does not stop at allotments in such cases. While politicians helped some of their near and dear ones through this open loot, there is no reason to believe that money would not have changed hand in some cases. After all, leaders of the kind who take cash even for asking questions in Parliament might not have given all petrol outlets gratis. By undoing this mischief, the Supreme Court has sent a strong message to future purveyors of favours — in case they are listening. Such wholesale misuse of political power may not be taking place today but there is no guarantee that oil PSUs have become paragons of virtue after the expose. There is need to ensure that even retail manipulation is eliminated. That will be possible only if the process of allotments is absolutely transparent and no authority is allowed to use “discretionary powers”. These almost always translate into shady deals. Those who grab petrol pumps by paying huge amounts as “speed money” make good the “investment” by fleecing the customers, whether it is through adulteration or by manipulating meters. |
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SC calls CMs’ bluff The
Supreme Court has rightly dismissed the chief ministers’ petition seeking more time to implement its earlier directive on police reforms. The Bench headed by Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, now retired, ruled that its slew of directives issued on September 22, 2006, were “self-executory” and hence “no question of further grant of time”. The court’s tough posture is commendable because the state governments have never been sincere in their commitment to police reforms. The chief ministers do promise to streamline the police administration, but chicken out when it comes to brasstacks. The Bench rightly observed that the chief ministers promised to implement the Dharma Vira report 26 years ago and repeated the same thing now without any political will to implement it. Two directives of the court — a fixed tenure for police officers like DGPs, IGPs, SPs and SHOs and the setting up of Police Establishment Boards to deal with the transfer and posting of personnel — need to be implemented promptly because political interference has adversely affected the police administration at various levels in most states. The people, too, are losing faith in the police because it is used as a tool by ruling politicians to settle scores with their opponents. Clearly, the apex court is firm on ending this menace once and for all and has, therefore, dubbed the chief ministers’ petition for more time as “delaying tactics”. The Centre, too, had to draw flak for its failure to heed the court’s directive on setting up a National Security Commission. As the court’s objective is to insulate the police machinery from political interference in all respects, it expressed its displeasure on the manner in which the commission was constituted on January 2. If the Centre is keen on improving the police administration, it must show it in action by March 31, in tune with the apex court’s directives. A half-hearted approach won’t do. The same is the case with all the states. With police reforms on the judicial scanner, the Centre and the states have no choice but to implement them in letter and spirit. Any dilatoriness further will only invite the apex court’s contempt. |
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Thorium reactor IN a year which might well see the coming to fruition of the Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation deal, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) would do well to strike a note of confidence and independence in starting work on the Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR). The thorium-using AHWR has been on the drawing board for several years now, and while the design studies have been completed, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board is evaluating some safety aspects. For the first time, DAE Secretary Anil Kakodkar has come out with a definite announcement with regard to the AHWR, stating that construction would begin this year, and the reactor would be ready in five or six years. He and his colleagues should ensure that this happens. The 300 MW AHWR is the final stage of India’s much-touted three-stage nuclear programme. While the first stage comprises Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) utilising natural uranium as the fuel, the second stage will field Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR) using a plutonium-based fuel. India had to strongly resist the putting off of its Fast Breeder programme under the safeguards regime for the Indo-US deal. Reprocessing of spent fuel from PHWRs will provide plutonium, which can be used in FBRs along with thorium to breed uranium-233. Reprocessing has also been a bone of contention in the deal. It is this U-233, along with more thorium, which will be used in the AHWR. While India has acquired the expertise needed for PHWRs with several reactors under operation, there is only one Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR). Construction started about a year ago for a 500 MW Prototype FBR. The AHWR will complete the cycle, enabling us to use our vast thorium reserves. Even the AHWR is only the first step in the third stage. India will quickly have to validate the technology and move on to more advanced reactors and technologies. While the deal with the US will enable us to buy large reactors and the necessary fuel to fulfil our growing energy needs, an independent cycle using thorium will give us some measure of autonomy in this critical area. |
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Nature has left this tincture in the blood,/ That all men would be tyrants if they could.
— Daniel Defoe |
Editor's Column
The
Emergency Raj was not even five months old and most people were feeling uncertain about the future of democracy in the country. Parliament had failed to stand up against the Emergency; Opposition leaders had been sent to prison; the Press had almost been silenced. Chief Justice A.N. Ray had constituted a Full Bench of the Supreme Court to review the Keshavanand Bharti judgement, which Indira Gandhi had always thought was blocking her way. For two days the Full Bench had listened to the fierce arguments for and against the Keshavanand Bharti judgement. On the third day, Nov. 12, 1975, to be exact, I thought of going to the Supreme Court – for the first time – just to witness the fate of the famous verdict being decided. The sight was impressive in the jam-packed courtroom. Justice Ray led the procession of judges, 13 of them. They had hardly sat down when Nani Palkhiwala got up to raise some objections. Chief Justice Ray cut him short, got up and announced: “THE BENCH IS DISSOLVED”! The one-liner stunned everyone present in the courtroom and the country. Most people thought that the judges were sharply divided on the vital issues involved and that Chief Justice Ray might have apprehended that a majority of the judges would uphold the Keshavanand Bharti judgement. Mrs Gandhi had the reason to feel frustrated, but many felt relieved that the country had been spared the sight of another onslaught on the independence of the judiciary – which scrapping the 1973 judgment would have been. Mrs Gandhi has not been the only Prime Minister who had a disdain for the Keshavanand Bharti judgement. Irrespective of their political affiliation, those who followed her, Parliament and the Executive – all wanted to see it buried. The Keshavanand judgement actually asserts the independence of the judiciary and its power to review all laws passed by Parliament. But for those in power and Parliament it has indeed been a sort of nagging thorn. At core is the question of democratic values deeply embedded in the Constitution, particularly the Fundamental Rights of the citizen and the responsibility of the judiciary to ensure that these are not encroached upon by laws passed by a prevailing majority in Parliament or in a State legislature. The power of review, with which the judiciary has often frustrated the politicians’ agendas as lately evident from their worry about the fate of the reservations for jobs and seats in educational institutions and their keenness to undo the sealing orders of the Supreme Court in the Capital. The politicians, irrespective of their political hue, want the right to protect their vote banks and without being asked any question by the judiciary. In essence, the question is whose will ought to prevail: The politicians, who believe that winning a majority gives them an absolute right to do whatever they want, or of the Constitution of which only the Supreme Court can be the final arbiter. Last week’s judgement on the Ninth Schedule by the nine-judge Bench led by Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal in effect makes it clear that the Constitution strikes a fine balance of power between Parliament, the Judiciary and the Executive and that none of them enjoys sovereignty, which lies only with the Constitution. At issue was politicians’ keenness to place the laws convenient for them on the Ninth Schedule so that the Supreme Court could not invalidate them. The verdict of the Supreme Court, in fact, goes beyond the Keshavanand judgement by making it clear: “This court, being bound by all provisions of the Constitution and also by the Basic Structure Doctrine, has necessarily to scrutinise the Ninth Schedule laws.” To add some finality, the landmark judgement adds: “The framers of the Constitution have built a wall around certain parts of fundamental rights, which have to remain forever, limiting the ability of the majority to intrude upon them. That wall is the Basic Structure Doctrine.” In forthright words, it goes on to say: “The unchecked and rampant exercise of this power (to include laws in the Ninth Schedule) shows that it is no longer a mere exception. The absence of guidelines for exercise of such power means the absence of constitutional control which results in the destruction of constitutional supremacy and creation of a parliamentary hegemony and absence of full power of judicial review to determine the constitutionality of such exercise.” “Parliament has the power to amend the provisions of Part III of the Constitution so as to abridge or take away fundamental rights, but that power is subject to the limitation of the Basic Structure Doctrine,” the Bench asserted. To stress the point further, it said, “Take the example of Freedom of Press which, though not separately and specifically guaranteed, has been read as part of Article 19 (1) (a) [Freedom of speech and expression]. If Article 19 (1) (a) is sought to be amended so as to abrogate such right (which we hope will never be done), the acceptance of the respondents’ contention would mean that such amendment would fall outside judicial scrutiny when the law curtailing these rights is placed in the Ninth Schedule as a result of immunity granted by Article 31-B.” The judgement further said, “Since the power to amend the Constitution is not unlimited, if changes brought about amendments destroy the identity of the Constitution, such amendments would be void. Secularism is one such fundamental right and equality is the other. It is impermissible to destroy Articles 14 and 15, or abrogate or eliminate en bloc these fundamental rights. It may be noted that Parliament can make additions in the three legislative lists, but cannot abrogate all the lists as it would abrogate the federal structure.” The court thus reminded the government that equality, rule of law, judicial review and separation of powers formed part of the Basic Structure. “There can be no rule of law, if there is no equality before the law. These would be meaningless if the violation was not subject to judicial review.” The Bench said, “The Doctrine of Basic Structure contemplates that there are certain parts or aspects of the Constitution including Article 15, Article 21 read with Article 14 and 19 which constitute core values which if allowed to be abrogated would change completely the nature of the Constitution.” The Ninth Schedule was introduced into the Constitution way back in 1951 when Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to ensure that the land reforms and the need to abolish zamindari did not run into hurdles in the courts. This was an exception, but the government later on found it convenient to use the Ninth Schedule route to escape judicial scrutiny of many laws. As of now, as many as 284 laws have been into what eminent lawyer Harish Salve describes as a laundry bag. The court has now reiterated its right to rummage through the laundry bag and decided whether a particular law has tripped on any of the fundamental rights or not. Apparently, the Supreme Court thinks that the constitutional scheme is being undone by the legislature resorting to the Ninth Schedule. The politicians believe the Supreme Court is trying to legislate on policy and governance, an area under the purview of Parliament and the Executive. Actually, the court is the watchdog of both. By asserting its right and role, the judiciary does not want a confrontation. But, the politicians cannot be trusted that they will behave and won’t resort to stratagems to fight it out with the judiciary. The reservations question may turn out to be a test whether there will be a confrontation between Parliament and the judiciary or not. Hopefully, wiser counsel will prevail among leaders of all parties. Rocking the constitutional scheme does not help the country, not even the politicians
themselves.
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All sorts of walkers
PEOPLE walk for a variety of reasons. An average person normally walks about 5000 steps in a day, say the experts. For those of us who need to take at least a few thousand more every day, there is the morning or evening walk. Apart from the resultant exercise, one is also treated to a variety of entertainment programme on such occasions, more often than not. The park which I happen to frequent along with my better half presents a particularly amusing assortment of walkers, day in and day out. Our walk is thus punctuated with smiles and giggles, as we have our fun at the expense of our unsuspecting fellow walkers. It is another matter that others probably find us just as amusing, from their perspective. There are all sorts of walkers in our park — weighty ones and reed-thin ones, the aged and the young, the married and the soon-to-be, the fitness-freaks and the social walkers, the brash and the courteous, the cellphone lovers and the beauty-lovers. All of them love walking, but their reasons are vastly different, for sure. While my wife and I are certainly fitness-conscious, we also realise that the walk gives us an opportunity to actually talk with each other (a rare occurrence, between husband and wife, nowadays). Another couple, whom we cross repeatedly every day, walk as if they have nothing to say to each other, and never ever open their mouths. A third two-some, who are also daily walkers, are just the opposite. They chatter non-stop as if there is no tomorrow! Yet another couple that we usually encounter presents a very one-sided picture. The wife talks, and the husband nods. We are not sure if he actually listens to her, but he does go on nodding, without ever stopping, as if his name is Noddy. People tell us that this last mentioned couple is the most common one in our society. I am thankful that we are not in this category, as of now at any rate! There are of course those who walk as if their life depends on it, and it probably does, for they are grossly over-weight. One such worthy, apparently in his mid-fifties, keeps looking down at his huge stomach while patting it, after every few steps, to see if it has gone in a bit since last time. One feels sure that the exercise is doing him a world of good, and one just hopes that he doesn’t get disheartened by the lack of instant results. It is, however, the cellphone walkers, whose tribe is rapidly increasing, who cause us the maximum amount of mirth. One such die-hard was, on one occasion, so engrossed in his conversation with god-knows-whom, that he walked as if in a trance, waking up only when a pretty lady passed by. What happened was that between the conversation and the stares, he forgot to walk on the path for a bit, and to the delight of some unashamed onlookers like us, soon found himself right in the middle of the pond! It is another matter that he still had time to say a sweet goodbye on the phone, before extricating himself sheepishly, and making a quick exit toward his car. Those who prefer to skip their walk on most occasions just do not realise what they may be
missing! |
Lots of money, but none for development IN a few weeks time, Punjab’s voters will have a chance to elect another government. It is a privilege that democracy offers them. Side by side they would be coaxed, cajoled and offered almost everything under the sun. Money, caste, religion and clan politics would be in full display. Observers of Punjab’s political landscape are asserting that this would be one of the costliest elections so far. They say money would flow like liquor and other intoxicants to humour ‘dear voters’. They may not be wrong. This means that Punjab has great wealth to display and devour during elections. Already, high pitch rallies, vikas yatras and propaganda through media has been a costly affair. For weeks, leaders from all levels, particularly the aspirants for the coming Assembly elections have been busy forcing transporters to provide trucks and buses, taxis and tractor trailers. They were collecting funds and buying supporters with cash and liquor to add to the crowds. If the ruling party brazenly exploited officials, the Akalis had the huge resources of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee at its disposal. If the party in power cared little about misusing taxpayer’s money, the Akalis are unabashed in wasting the money of the faithful, intended for religious purposes and charity. One cheats the public and the other does not spare even God. For the first time the Akali Dal officially celebrated the birth of its leader, which is a taboo under established Sikh tenets. Increasingly the political culture is becoming more akin to a private limited company, collecting huge funds, adopting modern management and public relations techniques and dispensing favours and enriching leaders. Politics is becoming more of a family business. There are scores of political dynasties: Badals, Amarinders, Dullos, Ranas, Bajwas, Sandhus, Chaudhrys and many more, poaching all the political parties. It is plutocracy at its worst in Punjab. How do these rallies help the political debate on basic issues? The Punjabis shall have to look elsewhere than the political class to understand the reasons and solutions for the agrarian crisis, drug addiction, ever-rising unemployment, high cost of living, the rising crime graph and corruption. The Akalis, the Congress has alleged, had left Punjab bankrupt and their leader had amassed huge wealth by all sort of means. It is now the turn of the Akalis to level similar allegations. The Congress promised to punish the Akalis and put them behind the bars forever and the same threat the Akalis are holding against the Congress. The public, perhaps, knows this is hoodwinking, but cannot do much as the choice remains limited. A healthy democracy means availability of choices and constant participation. Sadly, both are missing. The way our elected legislators of different hues behave inside and outside Assemblies and Parliament often leads to cynicism. As far participation, it is limited to the ritual of voting once in five years - and that too can be denied or manipulated as it happened in Punjab for years during militancy. Unemployment has been on the rise, standing at some 35 lakh this year. With education in a mess, we shall be adding an army of unemployable, half-baked youth. This in turn would cause social tensions and push up criminal activity. Health care has suffered the worst and the state no longer considers its duty to provide safe drinking water, clean cities and towns and hospitals. Schools and health institutions are in bad shape, suffering both from paucity of funds and manpower. Yet Punjab is awash with funds and the state government can rightly boast of a big financial recovery. By most yardsticks, Punjab is in a happy financial position. Till November 2006, revenue receipts had nearly doubled: Rs 16,996 crore against a bare Rs 8,930 crore five years back. So is the plan size, up from 1,794.39 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 3,825.41 crore in 2005-06 and Rs 4,500 crore this year. The fiscal deficit has been reduced from Rs 4,458 crore to Rs 2,654 crore despite increase in revenue expenditure from Rs 12,710 crore to Rs 21,429 crore. Fiscal deficit as percentage of gross state domestic product too is down from 5.33 to 1.28. The government claims that Punjab is now spending less on salaries, pensions and other revenue expenditure. It asserts that capital expenditure has increased, which means more spent on development projects. For good financial performance, the state has earned Rs 152 crore as a debt waiver. In addition, the government of India has finally written off Punjab’s security burden of Rs 3,372 crore. For this year, Punjab’s total revenue would be Rs 20,040 crore. What sum is this? Punjab’s plan performance has been good. Capital expenditure this year shows a total Rs 1530 crore against a mere Rs 471 crore five years back. The state provides free power to farmers and other poor and less privileged sections. Octrio has been abolished, and the state, while keeping the army of tax collectors, is sparing Rs 170 crore per year for the civic bodies. Panchayats too for the last three years got more funds. There are concessions for others also. In appeasement, the two parties match each other. Also, roads are in a better shape. Farmers have consistently got better price for their produce and with less hassles. Yet they are not happy, as the government has been insensitive to their debt burden, poor yields from the land and land acquisition through deception and force. Farmers’ debt burden is the result of bad economics, and this cannot be good politics. How all this gets translated into votes is anyone’s guess, as issues have taken a backstage. Foul language and threats and counter-threats are the staple food of the politicians. It is money that is talking politics. |
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Chatterati THE annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas opens new avenues in both directions. A project by Indian doctors in America to help set up emergency medical services in India, with a standard telephone helpline number and networking of various hospitals, will hopefully will come through. The 42,000 physicians of Indian origin in the US have been working together to set up the components of such a service in India. This will include providing ambulances and having trauma specialists at the hospitals. The second thing which is very much in demand is that many Indians overseas, especially first and second generation immigrants, are very keen on adopting Indian children. The ministry is busy forming guidelines for this. In the meantime, Indian art and artifacts are also in great demand. The ever-popular Ganesha and Buddha images, and Indian artists themselves, have become a sudden rage abroad. The Kashmiri pashmina shawls are always appreciated. Mangoes and Indian masalas ,with chai, are also much sought after. At the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas jamboree, hard-nosed NRI entrepreneurs spoke very disparagingly indeed about the pachyderm called Indian officialdom, and how the bureaucracy allegedly delights, now and again, in stalling investment proposals! Minister of state in the PMO, Prithviraj Chauhan, was constantly on the back-foot and on a noticeably weak wicket indeed – with a volley of bouncers being hurled from the other end. Right to work anywhere compromised The brutal murder of large numbers of migrant workers in Assam may not have put paid to the National Games; but it is likely that with army operations having been intensified, and security alerts having been raised substantially, the games will look more like a police and paramilitary affair than something the youth and the common citizens of Assam can enjoy. Clearly, the Centre has been ignoring signals that violence was about to erupt in a large scale in Assam and in the entire North-eastern part of the country. But equally, it seems nobody has been paying any serious attention to the outstanding issues there. The problem goes well beyond that of migrant laborers from Bihar in Assam. They are not the only soft targets, as the murdered and burnt bodies in Punjab have proved. Poor migrant labourers from Rajasthan are also often victims of violence. Prosperous states like Punjab, who attract large numbers of such migrant labour, need to understand how vulnerable they are. This is clearly an issue for both states to worry about, and for the Centre to tackle. The freedom of movement to work is constitutionally enshrined. But the need and the ability to protect those who travel, must now become a concern that politicians have to address seriously.
Congress readies for changing times Sonia Gandhi visited her AICC head office at 24, Akbar Road, after a long time. Her absence was being felt by many in several ways. What is more, a lot is being read into her participation in the AICC office meeting. She met up with a few select leaders from states here. Keeping in mind the elections in several states, maybe Sonia has realised she needs to pull up her party office-bearers. The pending AICC reshuffle, and Rahul Gandhi’s emerging role, are issues leading to impatience at the grass-root, party-worker level. The Punjab elections results will obviously have an effect on its neighborhood states. The All India Congress Committee is missing out on organisational skills, crisis managers and grass-root party workers like Gulam Nabi Azad. What keeps the smile on a Congressmen’s face today is that the opposition parties are in a much worse state than they are. The party faithfully hopes to see more of Sonia, Rahul and hopefully Priyanka at the AICC office. The other interesting aspect that has come out with Rahul not joining the AICC is that other MPS his age are getting fairly impatient of waiting, and are aiming to be Chief Ministers of the states they come from. Experience and patience does not seem to be their criteria. If the young aim high, what happens to the generation in-between, and those too young to give up their ambitions? These are vexatious questions that will have to be answered fairly soon. |
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The jargon disease
I once received an invitation to lecture at “The University of Excellence”. Invitation rejected. Only this week I received another request, this time to join “ethics practitioners” to “share evidence-based practices on dealing with current ethical practices” around the world. Why do people write like this? The word “excellence”, of course, has long ago been devalued by the corporate world – its favourite expression has long been “Quality and Excellence”, invariably accompanied by a “mission statement”, and thereafter by every export company and amateur newspaper in the world. There is something repulsive about this vocabulary, an aggressive language of superiority in which “key players” can “interact” with each other, can “impact” society, “outsource” their business - or “downsize” the number of their employees. They need “feedback” and “input”. They think “outside the box” or “push the envelope”. They have a “work space”, not a desk. They need “personal space” – they need to be left alone – and sometimes they need “time and space”, a commodity in demand when marriages are failing. These lies and obfuscations are infuriating. “Feedback” means “reaction”, “input” means “advice”. Thinking “outside the box” means, does it not, to be “imaginative”? Being a “key player” is a form of self-aggrandisement – which is why I never agree to be a “key speaker”, especially if this means participation in a “workshop”. To me a workshop means what it says. But today, a “workshop” – though we mustn’t say so – is a group of tiresome academics yakking in the secret language of anthropology or talking about “cultural sensitivity” or “core issues” or “tropes”. Presumably these are same folk who invented the UN’s own humanitarian-speak. Of the latter, my favourite is the label awarded to any desperate refugee who is prepared (for a pittance) to persuade their fellow victims to abide by the UN’s wishes – to abandon their tents and return to their dangerous homes. These luckless advisers are referred to by the UN as “social animators”. In northern Iraq in 1991, I was once ordered by a humanitarian worker from the “International Rescue Committee” to leave the only room I could find in the wrecked town of Zakho because it had been booked for her fellow workers – who were very “stressed”. They were stressed, “stressed out”, trying – no doubt – to “come to terms” with their predicament, attempting to “cope”. This is the language of therapy, in which frauds, liars and cheats are always trying to escape. Thus President Clinton’s spokesman claimed after his admission of his affair with Monica Lewinsky that he was “seeking closure”. Like so many mendacious politicians, Clinton felt the need to “move on”. Some newly popular phrases, such as “tipping point” – used about Middle East conflicts when the bad guys are about to lose - or “big picture” - when moralists have to be reminded of the greater good - are merely fashionable. Others are simply odd. I always mixed up “bonding” with “bondage” and “quality time” with a popular assortment of toffees. We are not using words any more. We are utilising them, speaking for effect rather than meaning, for escape. By arrangement with |
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