10-11-2006, 11:34 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Personal vendetta </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Meanwhile, India's defence is weakened
Cynical as it may sound, the filing of charges of corruption against former Union Defence Minister George Fernandes, former Navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar and former president of Janata Dal (U) Jaya Jaitly by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday shows that the dirty tricks department of the Government, which had fallen on bad times during the NDA regime, has been restored to health by the Congress. <b>Whenever the Congress has been in power at the Centre, it has thought nothing of using agencies of the state - the IB and the CBI, for instance - to wage vendetta against its political opponents or for the benefit of powerful individuals close to the party's first family</b>. Till such time she was in power, Indira Gandhi did it brazenly; PV Narasimha Rao tried to be crafty; the power behind the present dispensation does so unabashedly with her factotums in the UPA Government more than eager to do her bidding.<b> If the manner in which the CBI was used to defreeze the Bofors payola stashed in the London bank accounts of Italian wheeler-dealer Ottavio Quattrocchi and drop charges of corruption against Mr Satish Sharma who allotted petrol pumps to only those who met demands that do not require elaboration marked the restoration of Congress raj, the filing of bogus charges against Mr Fernandes and others shows that this regime can go to any extent to malign </b>Opposition leaders and silence voices of dissent by taking recourse to calumny and worse. The consequences, of course, are inconsequential for those who are incapable of thinking beyond themselves, leave alone thinking of the nation and the demoralising impact such skulduggery can have on the defence forces. It is laughable that a politician who has spent an entire life shunning ostentation and a Navy chief whose integrity is unimpeachable should be accused of sullying their hands with bribe money. It requires a certain political gene to compromise national interest for personal pecuniary gain: The Bofors deal exemplifies this assertion.
The reputations of those who have been named by the CBI are unlikely to be tarnished because the days when Government could spit and run are over; this is not the same country over which Mrs Gandhi presided and which she ruled through gross abuse of power. <b>But the impact of this dark deed will be felt where it shall hurt India the most</b>: In the corridors of South Block and in the headquarters of our defence forces. At a time when India urgently needs military hardware ranging from fighter aircraft to field guns, fabricated charges against individuals responsible for earlier purchases cannot but bring the process of fresh acquisitions to a grinding halt. It will be only fair to expect bureaucrats, defence officials and the Defence Minister - who is not really a part of the cabal that now rules the roast - to be reluctant to append their signature to any decision. With acquisitions delayed and the conventional strategic balance between India and Pakistan beginning to tilt in the latter's favour, we may as well forget national security and defending our territory against aggressors. Is that the ultimate aim of those responsible for Tuesday's abuse of state power? The patently false charges may gladden the hearts of those who see no shame in using calumny as a weapon of offence. But what about weakening India's defence preparedness in the process?
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
Meanwhile, India's defence is weakened
Cynical as it may sound, the filing of charges of corruption against former Union Defence Minister George Fernandes, former Navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar and former president of Janata Dal (U) Jaya Jaitly by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday shows that the dirty tricks department of the Government, which had fallen on bad times during the NDA regime, has been restored to health by the Congress. <b>Whenever the Congress has been in power at the Centre, it has thought nothing of using agencies of the state - the IB and the CBI, for instance - to wage vendetta against its political opponents or for the benefit of powerful individuals close to the party's first family</b>. Till such time she was in power, Indira Gandhi did it brazenly; PV Narasimha Rao tried to be crafty; the power behind the present dispensation does so unabashedly with her factotums in the UPA Government more than eager to do her bidding.<b> If the manner in which the CBI was used to defreeze the Bofors payola stashed in the London bank accounts of Italian wheeler-dealer Ottavio Quattrocchi and drop charges of corruption against Mr Satish Sharma who allotted petrol pumps to only those who met demands that do not require elaboration marked the restoration of Congress raj, the filing of bogus charges against Mr Fernandes and others shows that this regime can go to any extent to malign </b>Opposition leaders and silence voices of dissent by taking recourse to calumny and worse. The consequences, of course, are inconsequential for those who are incapable of thinking beyond themselves, leave alone thinking of the nation and the demoralising impact such skulduggery can have on the defence forces. It is laughable that a politician who has spent an entire life shunning ostentation and a Navy chief whose integrity is unimpeachable should be accused of sullying their hands with bribe money. It requires a certain political gene to compromise national interest for personal pecuniary gain: The Bofors deal exemplifies this assertion.
The reputations of those who have been named by the CBI are unlikely to be tarnished because the days when Government could spit and run are over; this is not the same country over which Mrs Gandhi presided and which she ruled through gross abuse of power. <b>But the impact of this dark deed will be felt where it shall hurt India the most</b>: In the corridors of South Block and in the headquarters of our defence forces. At a time when India urgently needs military hardware ranging from fighter aircraft to field guns, fabricated charges against individuals responsible for earlier purchases cannot but bring the process of fresh acquisitions to a grinding halt. It will be only fair to expect bureaucrats, defence officials and the Defence Minister - who is not really a part of the cabal that now rules the roast - to be reluctant to append their signature to any decision. With acquisitions delayed and the conventional strategic balance between India and Pakistan beginning to tilt in the latter's favour, we may as well forget national security and defending our territory against aggressors. Is that the ultimate aim of those responsible for Tuesday's abuse of state power? The patently false charges may gladden the hearts of those who see no shame in using calumny as a weapon of offence. But what about weakening India's defence preparedness in the process?
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