BY ARUN AGRAWAL
The trivialization of the debate on the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal bill involving Kiran Bedi in which even the former Chief Justice of India got involved should sadden every Indian whose expectation of strong anti corruption law is receding with each passing day.
The fact that even a person like Justice J S Verma has joined this debate is regrettable. Though it is true that the Supreme Court was one institution which kept up its fight against corruption (Justice Verma was one such judge), it is equally true that that there were many judges who were responsible for allowing corruption to become the monster that it has. The Supreme Court judges of the bygone era should not think that merely because they have a track record of honesty they have become spokesman for the judiciary as a whole and that their perception of an anti-corruption bill is the right one. The blunt truth is that they had their time in the sun and they did not make an iota of a difference to the system. It is best to remain silent and not stake their credibility to a point that corrupt ministers quote them. Or worse, people like me should be compelled to research their past.
Before coming to Justice Verma’s conduct in claiming DA as Chief justice of Rajasthan High Court in the context of his comparing Kiran Bedi‘s conduct in claiming excess travel bills, to that of a pickpocket giving the money to someone else, it needs to be pointed out that every individual can be accused of some wrongdoing at some point of his life.
Let us begin with Anna Hazare himself.
He was persuaded into celebrating his 60th birthday by his industrialist friend Firodia and he reluctantly agreed. Firodia was to reimburse the entire expenses incurred by the trust, which he did later on. Anna was accused of misuse of trust funds for celebrating his birthday. Anna did misuse the funds for the short period in which the funds were taken from the trust and then replenished. Does that make him unfit to lead the anti corruption movement?
The allegations against Kiran Bedi is that of enriching her charitable organization by saving on her travel entitlement. It was too trivial an issue for an ex-CJI to comment especially when he has remained silent on many other issues of corruption which were not so trivial. This was more so when he himself was accused by a sitting judge of claiming excess DA.
Kiran Bedi’s transgression was no worse, in my opinion, then that of Justice Verma’s claim of DA of Rs 100 (not Rs 250 as alleged by Justice Sethna) in year 1989-90 as Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court while staying for free in the state guest house handed over to the High court by the government. The difference was that this loss was to the public exchequer.
Though Justice Verma was exonerated by a bench of three judges of the Supreme Court while he was the CJI (1998 AIR 1344), the fact remains that there was an audit objection for part of the period in which he used the guest house in 1989-90, that an amount was shown as outstanding against his name and that the matter was regularized on 10.6.94 by Chief Justice Mittal (Rajasthan High Court) order stating: So if Hon’ble Chief Justice is ready to pay the charges at the rate of Circuit House, they may claim full DA during their stay at Jaipur.
The judgment also states: Admittedly, at no point of time did the High Court call upon any former Chief Justice to deposit the arrears of charges for occupation of the guest house after the charges were fixed in 1994.
Why did the High Court not call upon the ex-CJI to pay the amount? What would have been the implication if it did? If the claim was raised then it would imply that Justice Verma had wrongly claimed the DA and was rectifying it by paying the rate of circuit house later on. The judgment implied that the charges should have been claimed and paid for to rectify a wrong done earlier? Did Justice Verma make the payment after coming to know of the order?
Does the omission make him any less honest? For the record, after reading the judgment, I still believe that he is one of the most honest person in the country.
Is the author not being petty in raising the issue? Implying that an honest CJI wrongly claimed DA of Rs 100 per day twenty years ago? Yes he is, and that is precisely the point being made. Should we be debating the few thousands of honest people and forget the lakhs and crores of those whose agenda is to sabotage the anti-corruption bill?
Those who loot billions of dollars have a vested interest in allowing the debate to degenerate through their agents in the media and select individuals. The rationale behind their strategy is to discredit those behind the anti-corruption movement so that the status quo of corruption can continue. Is it then surprising that the paid media and the government controlled by the Congress appear to have joined hands?
The report of Press Council of India on paid news, allegations of paid news during the CWG 2010, dubious role of a media outlet in cash-for-votes scam, and the Niira Radia tapes are enough to suggest how pure and honest our media is. A turncoat like Swami Agnivesh, who was caught on camera spying on the anti-corruption movement of which he was a part, has become popular with this section of the media whose ethics match that of the Swami.
Did the media ever question the following acts of TA and DA involving our leaders?
- Lawyers MPs argue cases in the Supreme Court (and many must have done before Justice Verma) by charging their clients lakhs of rupees by skipping Parliament and drawing the pay of an MP. Has any journalist found it to be wrong?
- MPs claim their DA in Parliament by coming and signing the register and leaving after lunch. Most Bills are passed without quorum of one tenth of members.
- Thousands of crores have been spent on purchase of luxury jets for the travel of our ministers. Morarji Desai used to fly on a single ticket by Indian Airlines as PM of the country. What is the traveling cost of the minister to the nation now?
- No one rakes up the issue of Sonia Gandhi using Reliance plane on her sojourn to Russia, or Jayalalitha using Essar Group’s plane for her travel to Bangalore.
And then we have a senior journalist-cum television interviewer who confessed to stealing a book from A H Wheeler while on a train journey to Doon School, with the apparent mission (or brief) to run down select members of the Anna team. If Kiran Bedi is ineligible to take up the anti-corruption crusade then how is this particular journalist, who stole a book, be a spokesman for honesty? Or is it his argument that he is defending the corrupt as he too is making lots of money for his company through ads and does not part with a penny to the guests on the show?
Viva la corruption and those who are carrying on the agenda of the corrupt!
(Arun Agrawal is the author of the book Reliance: The Real Natwar. The opinions expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Canary Trap)
7 Comments
The TA/DA/expense padding syndrome is symptomatic of the government & public sector to which both Bedi & Kejriwal previously belonged. Anna does not seem to have attracted free speaking captains of industry/proven professionals to his top deck. The 2G scam does not render every business leader or professional manager suspect. The state owned sector is not the ideal breeding ground for ethics/governance. For the movement to gather still more critical mass, it should appeal to a wider section of society than merely former babus/judges who, after all, contributed to the “system”. TV channels are awash with former babus waxing eloquent on governance but these same worthies did not even lift a finger while in service in the hope of a gubernatorial assignment or a plum post retirement posting. We need to introspect on what should be the shape of the anti corruption movement going forward.
A really hard hitting write up. We need such factual revelations with a hard hitting message that petty indulgence is not to be welcomed even for mere debates.
Keep it up Arun, good to see you not merely being engaged with millions / crores but even with mundane petty amounts:)
– Sudha Ramalingam
dear Arun ji,
you are right. these are all the handy works of Congress-Govt-Corporate dirty tricks department to mudsling Team Anna. None dares to talk about Sonia’s Reliance Jet (off course Dr.Subramanian swamy talks always about it)travels. The worst is none publishes Swamy’s press releases against Sonia. How many months Nira Radia tapes were hushed up by our media fraternity
Dear Countrymen,
Vested interested individuals are making all efforts to malign the individuals who are spearheading the Anti-Corruption Campaign.Can anyone claim that he / she has not committed any sin since their birth knowingly or unknowingly. Let any top expert detective be detailed to check any such individual’s claim and I can assure you that the findings shall be as per your will.
We should be grateful to Anna Ji that he brought all Indians together irrespective of Caste / Creed / Colour, men / women, urban / rural, rich / poor, educated / uneducated,haves / havenots or any other such distinctions. This has created a scare amongst the Politicians and their accomplices who have been thriving on such divisions.
Dear Countrymen, let’s not let this moment of togetherness slip away by getting involved in trivials. Let’s remain united for this and force eveyone who matters to help in passing the Jan Lokpal Bill during the winter session.
Dear All,
This is not a reply or a retort, only a query. Is anyone of you aware of any movement that maybe calling itself “India against Hypocrisy” or something of similar import? Thanks
sudhakar
These are all divisionary tactics. Let not the nation forget that this year has been a year of Scams – 2G, CWG … Billions have been looted and we are talking of a couple of lakhs. Who has benefitted in Kiran Bedi claiming full TA – the NGO and not Kiran Bedi personally; and there is such a hulla-billow
It is expected that like Caesar’s wife, public figures should be above suspicion. Specially if they are spearheading an anti graft movement. The fact that the money is not going to her personally is immaterial. It is money that has been “stolen” from other NGOs, some of which are living hand-mouth. Claiming the same money from multiple organisations if she does 2/3 lectures in that trip cannot be simply washed away. Action was deliberate with an intention to defraud.
The tongue-in-cheek statement that it was not “public: money and that corruption deals only with swindling of public money is laughable to say the least and shows the depths to which she can fall (or should it be “rise” “How low can you rise?” – DH Laurence) ALL rpt ALL NGOs depend on the Government both for a subsidy and also for TAX-Drawbacks essential to their operation. So, it is finally PUBLIC MONEY.
Bedi, for a few dollars more has sullied her reputation that she had had.