Govt. climbdown on 'forged' letter

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI, AUG. 27. A determined Opposition today forced the Government to climb down from the high moral ground it had sought to occupy by ordering a CBI inquiry into the alleged ``forged'' letter written by the Cabinet Secretary. The letter was quoted extensively by the Congress Chief Whip, Mr. Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, during the disinvestment debate. Though a final decision will come in the form of the Speaker's ruling tomorrow, there were enough indications that the issue would be referred to the Privileges Committee of Parliament.

The Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr. G. M. C. Balayogi, conferred with senior leaders Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan and Mr. Dasmunshi. Tomorrow, he will meet some more leaders to find a way out.

The controversy arose after Mr. Dasmunshi read out the ``letter'' purportedly written by the Cabinet Secretary, Mr. T. R. Prasad, to the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary disapproving of Air India disinvestment. The Disinvestment Minister, Mr. Arun Shourie, challenged the authenticity of the letter and promptly ordered a CBI inquiry on the floor of the House.

A significant feature of the animated deliberations on the issue during zero hour was the cohesion and coordination in the Opposition ranks, as the parties joined hands to force the Government to resile from the position when it ordered a CBI inquiry. Mr. Shourie, in contrast, had few backers save his party spokesman, Mr. V.K. Malhotra. The BJP's allies were conspicuous by their silence as was the Prime Minister.

The charge levelled against Mr. Shourie by the Opposition leaders was that he had committed a serious error and inflicted damage on the dignity of the House by getting an outside agency to inquire into what had transpired in the House. It was the first time such a thing had happened. Stoutly resisting the probe, the members said it would impinge on their privilege as Members of Parliament.

Though it was Mr. Dasmunshi who brought up the issue, the former Prime Minister, Mr. Chandra Shekhar, Mr. Somnath Chatterjee and the former Speaker, Mr. Shivraj Patil, also chipped in with forceful interventions. Mr. Chandra Shekhar took strong exception to the ``intemperate language'' used by the Minister on the issue outside the House.

Mr. Chandra Shekhar defended Mr. Dasmunshi saying he had been told in confidence by senior PMO officials that the letter was indeed genuine. He also challenged the Minister's right to order suo motu a CBI inquiry without the Speaker's permission. The best forum to inquire into the mater was the privileges committee. The CPI(M)'s Mr. Somnath Chatterjee supported the demand for referring the matter to the Privileges Committee. By referring the issue to the CBI, the Minister had not added to the prestige of Parliament, he said and urged the members not to treat each other as criminals. The CBI had made its intentions clear by declaring within a matter of ten hours that the letter was forged. ``How can they decide within 10 hours, he asked.''

Mr. Shivraj Patil made a forceful plea for referring the matter to the Privileges Committee, of which he is a member. He also declared that he would withdraw from the committee if the matter came before it. Quoting from Article 105 of the Rules of Procedure, Mr. Patil said a member was well within his rights to make a statement in any manner he liked. Mr. Shourie had committed a breach of privilege by threatening the member with a CBI inquiry. He was supported by the Bahujan Samaj Party leader, Ms. Mayawati. Mr. V. K. Malhotra (BJP) said it was Mr. Dasmunshi who had initially spoken of referring the matter to the CBI and wondered why he was looking scared now.

Speaking at the fag end of the discussion, Mr. Mahajan indicated the Government's willingness to review its decision. He left the final decision to the Speaker's discretion.

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