[He could not stop A Raja from triggering the telecom scam, he could not stop alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks, he could not stop cabinet or party colleagues from straying. The chopper, the Tatra truck, the Commonwealth Games, the Adarsh scam, the list is endless and depressing.]
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31818&articlexml=Polibelly-Not-Corrupt-But-Singh-Presided-Over-a-12032015005055 Mar 12 2015 : The Economic Times (Mumbai) Polibelly - Not Corrupt, But Singh Presided Over a Corrupt Govt RAJESH RAMACHANDRAN *He could not stop A Raja from triggering the telecom scam, he could not stop alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks, he could not stop cabinet or party colleagues from straying. The chopper, the Tatra truck, the Commonwealth Games, the Adarsh scam, the list is endless and depressing* If there is one politician who has always managed to remain clean despite the corrupt cesspool that he inhabits, that is former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.No muck ever stuck on him. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is supposed to have chosen Manmohan over all other party stalwarts in 2004 to be Prime Minister for his twin qualities of unquestioned loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family and unimpeachable credentials of probity and integrity . Even when he is in the dock, accused of helping a corporate house win a coal block illegally , it is nobody's case that Manmohan might have made a lot of money selling off coal blocks. There could have been procedural lapses, systems were not in place, there should have been a transparent auction, the practice could have led to many political go-betweens making a killing, but could Singh have made money in the deal? Not even his de tractors would make that allegation. But the sad commentary of Manmohan's tenure, particularly UPA-1, is that he presided over a corrupt cabinet. Sure, probity and integrity were his all-powerful armour. But this armour was not a shield against corruption for the entire cabinet. He could not stop A Raja from triggering the telecom scam, he could not stop alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks, he could not stop cabinet or party colleagues from straying. The chopper, the Tatra truck, the Commonwealth games, the Adarsh scam, the list is endless and depressing. His government benefited from the 'cash-for-votes' scam, when Speaker Som nath Chatterjee allowed voting despite the Opposition claiming that many from their ranks crossed over after receiving hefty bribes. Bit by bit, scam by scam, his armour got dented, his pristine image muddied. In the ten years, that he was prime minister, no evidence ever emerged of Singh ever pulling up any minister for any financial wrongdoing. If anything, he followed a unique tactic.Until, a scam singed a minister or party colleague, Manmohan would let that tainted person go on with his business. The moment a colleague was caught, he was dropped, be it A Raja or Ashwini Kumar. This tactic obviously did not help the government. PV Narasimha Rao or AB Vajpayee never let a colleague down, even when caught by the auditor or investigator. Rao let Manmohan, the finance minister, continue despite the Harshad Mehta stock scam. In fact, Rao did not let go of any of his ministers, despite scandals in sale of oil fields, defence, urea, stocks, telecom and much else. Vajpayee too did not seek ministers' resignation over defence or financial scandals. It could be argued that Singh was not his own master. That the decisions to sack or retain, to reward or censure were not his.The good doctor could only wish everybody was like him. Whatever be his compulsions, his legacy stands besmirched. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
