As the coal block allocation scam threatens to snake right back to his office, Manmohan Singh has sought to present himself as a self-effacing person. But we must guard against such syrupy interpretations
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told media persons a few days ago that he was not above the law and that he was ready to face questions from the Central Bureau of Investigation in regard to the latest FIR filed by the agency and the controversy surrounding coal block allocations to Hindalco. This seems to convey the impression that the Prime Minister is indeed a self-effacing person, who, when it comes to modesty, outscores even the ‘humble farmer’, who was one of his predecessors.
But we must guard against such syrupy interpretations, specially in view of the corrupt environment that has prevailed in the corridors of powers in New Delhi in recent years. In fact, ‘Coalgate’ offers us evidence which seems to suggest, contrary to popular belief, that the rot set in almost immediately after Mr Singh assumed office. There are two reasons for this: First, the Comptroller and Auditor General’s damning indictment of the manner in which Mr Singh’s Government gave away coal — a scarce natural resource — to the private sector in a manner which lacked transparency, has been in the public domain since last year. Second, the correspondence then Coal Secretary PC Parakh had with the Cabinet Secretary at the time when the Government was contemplating introduction of competitive bidding of coal blocks.
The CAG gives us a chronological analysis of what transpired within the Government on the issue of allocation of coal blocks. This is the sequence of events: Within a month of assuming office, the UPA Government declared on June 28, 2004, that captive coal blocks would be allotted through competitive bidding. The Secretary (Coal) sent a note to the Minister of State in the Ministry on July 16 regarding ‘competitive bidding for allocation of coal blocks’. On July 30, the Secretary wrote that the present system of allocation (allotments by a Screening Committee), even with modifications, would not be able to achieve the objectives of transparency and objectivity in the allocation process. On August 20, the Secretary was asked by the Minister of State to prepare a draft Cabinet Note. Meanwhile on September 11, “a note was initiated from the PMO detailing certain disadvantages of allocation of coal blocks through competitive bidding”. A fortnight hence, the Secretary sent a draft note to the MOS in which he said “there was hardly any merit in the objections raised (by the PMO)”.
The CAG said the Secretary’s note spoke of the “different kinds of pulls and pressures experienced by the screening committee during the decision-making process” and spoke of the desirability of taking a decision in respect of all pending applications on the basis of competitive bidding. The MOS was not pleased by the stand taken by the Secretary. On October 4, he told the Secretary that the proposal for competitive bidding may not be pursued further as it would entail further delay in allocation of coal blocks.
But the clincher came on October 15, when the idea of competitive bidding was buried fathoms deep by Prime Minister Manmohan Sing’s office. Quoting from the file, the CAG said: “Secretary (Coal) stated that the policy of allotment of coal blocks through competitive bidding was discussed in the PMO and it was felt that... it would not be appropriate to change the allotment policy through competitive bidding in respect of applications received on the basis of existing policy”. So, the file was tossed around in this way for many months, solely with the objective of dumping the idea of competitive bidding. In fact the Government took eight years to prepare the legal ground for competitive bidding via amendment of the law, formulation of rules and notifications announcing competitive bidding via auctions for coal mines. This happened only on February 2, 2012.
Next, we need to see what the Secretary (Coal) had to say about the environment within the Manmohan Singh Government, as on March 22, 2005, (that is 10 months after Mr Singh became Prime Minister). In a letter to the Cabinet Secretary, he said “Coal mafia is not outside the Government. It exists in the Ministry of Coal... There are no easy and short cut solutions to the problem of coal mafia in the current political and administrative milieu of the country. Dealing with the coal mafia requires strong political commitment at Central and State Government level...”
Given this sequence of events and the CAG’s damning indictment of the Government’s policy on allocation of coal blocks which has resulted in a humongous loss to the exchequer, it is no surprise that the CBI’s investigators are knocking on the doors of
7 Race Course Road. Though many of his Government’s policies pertaining to disbursement of scarce resources (2G, Coal reserves etc) has been anything but transparent, Mr Singh has tried to put up a brave face by saying that he is not above the law and that he will ready to face the CBI investigators. That nobody is above the law in a democracy, is a truism that hardly needs reiteration. All citizens are aware of this and want all fellow citizens who hold public office like Mr Singh, to be particularly aware of this. We also know that this ‘humble submission’ by the Prime Minister is coming in the light of the close monitoring of the ‘Coalgate’ investigations by the Supreme Court, which ordered it in the first place.
We also know that this humble persona did not exist when the CAG’s report on coal block allotments was tabled in Parliament last year because Mr Singh watched from the sidelines as leaders of his party attributed motives to the then CAG, Mr Vinod Rai, and even accused him of harbouring political ambitions. Thereafter, a Public Interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court and the court ordered a CBI probe. As the investigating agency began its enquiry, Mr Singh’s Government tried to interfere with the investigations and even made a brazen attempt to doctor the CBI’s report to the court. Among those who attempted this were the then law Minister Ashwani Kumar, Attorney General GE Vahanvati, and some officials of the PMO. They were caught in the act and the Minister lost his job.
Where was the Prime Minister’s humble persona at that time when he sent his officials to doctor the CBI’s reportIJ Why did he have bureaucrats who lack basic constitutional etiquette working for himIJ Did he not know then that he is not above the lawIJ And did his law Minister and the Attorney General not know that they are not above the lawIJ