Still under a cloud

THE RE-INDUCTION OF Mr. George Fernandes as the Defence Minister, without waiting for the findings of the Venkataswami Commission currently going into the defence purchases-related Tehelka expose, has reduced to a farce the very rationale behind his resignation six months ago in the wake of the murky revelations. His return, effected in an unseemly hurry, is in stark contrast to the rehabilitation of Mr. Harin Pathak, who was sworn in as a Minister of State along with Mr. Fernandes and who, like him, has been assigned to the same Ministry as before - Defence. Mr. Pathak who had to quit about a year ago after being chargesheeted by a Gujarat court in a criminal case has since been acquitted. The irony of it all - a cruel one at that - is that Mr. Fernandes' re-entry - as Defence Minister to boot - has come just a few days after the inquiry panel had rejected the contention that the Tehelka videotapes were `doctored', thereby upholding the credibility of the portal's version, even if in a broad sense. If this reveals a streak of defiance, one could also discern a lurking contempt for the labours of the Venkataswami Commission itself. So much for the Centre's sincerity in setting up the probe and its earnestness about tracking down the corrupt elements and identifying systemic weaknesses.

But then, the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, had never concealed his sympathies for Mr. Fernandes even in the face of Tehelka's damaging expose. Only when it became well-nigh impossible for him to fend off pressure from the crucial partners of the ruling National Democratic Alliance - notably the Telugu Desam Party and the Trinamool Congress - and also from a section of his own party, the BJP, did Mr. Vajpayee persuade himself to secure the resignation of Mr. Fernandes. Behind the facade of `solidarity' projected by the NDA partners, for obvious reasons, was an acute consciousness of the untenability of Mr. Fernandes' continuance in office and the unwisdom of persisting with the dubious `conspiracy' theory. His declared resolve to run a ``clean and transparent'' Defence Ministry notwithstanding, at least two aspects of the sordid reality the Tehelka tapes had brought into sharp focus are too serious to be wished away or glossed over. First, that several officials in the Ministry and in the key decision-making positions in the Army were on the take, and, second, that the very residence of the Minister served as the venue for an apparently murky monetary transaction involving his own party chief. These and other facets of the expose added up to a milieu of all-pervasive permissiveness obtaining in the official establishment related to an area of critical importance to national security. As the one at the helm, Mr. Fernandes has certainly a lot to answer for the squalid state of affairs in the departments under his charge.

The argument that the proceedings of the Venkataswami Commission are getting prolonged and the panel is unlikely to come up with its findings for several more months (implied here is the presumption that Mr. Fernandes would get a clean chit) is specious. No less so is Mr. Vajpayee's line that the Samata veteran has ``no case'' against him and ``nothing incriminating has come to light'' during the panel's inquiry. That the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, needed to be relieved of his additional charge and `Defence' required a full-time Minister is unexceptionable. In fact, two such heavy portfolios should not have been clubbed in the first place. The point at issue is not about the necessity or urgency for a full-fledged Defence Minister. Nor is it about the competence or suitability of Mr. Fernandes for the assignment. It is primarily about more basic values and vital societal concerns such as probity in public life, political morality and, in a broader sense, the rule of law. By taking Mr. Fernandes back into his Cabinet in the way he has done, Mr. Vajpayee has clearly ill-served these causes and in a brazen fashion.

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