Opinion - Letters to the Editor

`Gift that never was'

Sir, — In the Editorial "A gift that never was" (April 22), you have expressed the hope that the Supreme Court order in the Bhondsi Ashram case, despite the fact that there are no charges of corruption and malfeasance of public funds against the former Prime Minister, Chandra Shekhar, should rein in the taking instincts of the political class.

Such a hope is reinforced by a recent judgment, also of the apex court, slapping an exemplary damage of Rs. 10 lakhs on a private resort in which the wife of a former Union Environment Minister is a major shareholder, besides indicting the Himachal Pradesh Government for patent breach of trust by leasing ecologically fragile land to a motel.

It is relevant to mention that in the two cases cited, the individuals (politicians) involved directly or indirectly were holding public office at the time the State Governments concerned took decisions favouring them, overlooking the due process of law, evidently under overwhelming political pressure.

Despite the optimism engendered by the judgments, there exists the imperative for insulating the CBI from political intervention as it is the unseen hand that accounts for nearly all the cases involving corrupt politicians falling through for want of sustainable evidence.

Also, as borne out by the recent raid and seizure of huge, allegedly unaccounted money in the bank lockers of the Chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission, the need for political appointments attracting individuals of high integrity and merit can hardly be overemphasised.

N.K. Suryanarayanan,
Bangalore

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