The New Indian Express
First Published : 21 Nov 2010 11:27:00 PM IST
Last Updated : 21 Nov 2010 11:45:16 PM IST
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought refuge in rhetoric as his office indulges in the classic passing of the buck to explain his silence on the 2G scam. The good doctor has reiterated for the nth time his promise to take action against anyone who was guilty of any wrong, all sufficiently vague to let every crook off the hook. The PMO has in a detailed affidavit to the Supreme Court blamed the Union law ministry for the silence, citing long procedural red tape to explain the total silence and inaction by the prime minister. Unfortunately, neither the rhetoric nor the excuses are working in that former telecom minister A Raja has been in the news since 2008, and senior leaders like Sitaram Yechury and Subramanian Swamy brought it to the prime minister’s notice as did other MPs, political leaders and sections of the media over the months.
The inaction is inexcusable and Singh must realise that there is nothing more crippling for a prime minister than to be seen as weak. His promises, thus, are not convincing as it is clear that he does not have the power and the authority to bring erring ministers on line, let alone take action against them. A Raja was left alone to have his way, just because of the supposed compulsions of coalition politics and the Congress fear that the DMK would withdraw support. It thus, allowed the situation to deteriorate to a point where the scam assumed unprecedented proportions and finally the party gave the nod to the government to act against its minister.
The DMK has accepted the action, its cadres putting a token show of defence of the sacked minister. The point here is that honesty that Prime Minister Singh professes cannot be restricted to just himself. As the head of government he has to ensure probity and the ostrich like approach whereby he sticks his head in the sand whenever corruption stares him in the face, only makes him complicit to the act. The Supreme Court has recognised this, and therefore asked for the explanation. It will be interesting whether it accepts the long winded explanation in the affidavit whereby procedural delays and the law ministry are held responsible for the inaction by the PMO. As the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh is the last word on government, and like an ordinary citizen he definitely cannot pass the buck.
The New Indian Express
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