The summary dismissal of the two-man judicial commission's report on the Adarsh scam that indicts many politicians -- including three Congress chief ministers -- can be summarily described as " Sarkari Dabangaai" because "brazen and shameless" have been used once too often to convey the actual meaning.
In its considered legislative supremacy, the Maharashtra government has rejected the report of the panel headed by retired high court judge JA Patil which nailed several politicians for "blatant violations" of statutory provisions. Among these are three former chief ministers -- Vilasrao Deshmukh who is no more, Sushilkumar Shinde now the Union Home Minister and Ashok Chavan who reluctantly put in his papers in the aftermath. Thanks to the diplomatic standoff with the US, Devyani Khobragade, who is alleged to have a stake in the society, also needs a honorable mention. For the uninitiated, the Adarsh Housing Society is a cooperative society in the plush locales of South Mumbai. The origin of the scam dates back to February 2002 when a request was made to the Chief Minister to allot land for the construction of a housing complex for "the welfare of serving and retired personnel of Defence Services." Over a period of ten years, top politicians, bureaucrats and military officers proceeded to bend several rules and perpetrate various acts of omissions and commissions to have the building constructed and then get themselves allotted flats in the premier property at artificially lowered prices. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to the President in 2011 said : "The episode of Adarsh Coop Housing Society reveals how a group of select officials, placed in key posts, could subvert rules and regulations in order to grab prime government land -- a public property -- for personal benefit."
With the media firing on all cylinders in the scam and the heat getting to the government, the files relating to the society were conveniently lost in a mysterious blaze in Mantralaya, the government's seat of power. Although the chronology of events in the murky story have the trappings of a taut thriller, here is why it is "non news" to a dyed-in-the-wool journalist like me.
*The state government -- from the safe platform of the legislature -- shot down the report without thinking it necessary to owe the people any explanation. So what's new? This is not the first time a report has been trashed or kept in a cold storage. Nor will it be the last.
*Never mind it was the state government that instituted the judicial commission under the Commissions of Enquiry Act of 1952. So what's new? Who is bothered with a toothless commission whose findings are purely recommendatory? What interest is it -- if any -- whether such reports have been accepted in toto or in part in the past?
*The Patil Commision described the scam as a "bad precedent" which reflects "greed, nepotism and favoritism" by those associated with it. So what's new? A politician is yet to be born who isn't greedy and doesn't indulge in nepotism or favoritism.
*According to the report, Adarsh society enjoyed political patronage of Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan, former revenue minister Shivajirao Nilangekar Patil, former urban development minister Sunil Tatkare and former minister with the same portfolio Rajesh Tope. So what's new? Honesty and integrity are not the virtues people would associate with them. Recall how unceremoniously Nilangekar Patil quit after it was proved in the court that he had (mis)used his position as the CM to get extra marks for his daughter pursuing a degree in Medicine. Tatkare and Tope haven't exactly given a glowing account of themselves in public probity during their ministerial tenures. Being a minister and an elected leader is a license-and-shield for any wrongdoing.
*Ashok Chavan was the only chief minister charge-sheeted in the scam by the CBI but the Governor K Sankaranarayanan refused sanction to the investigative agency to prosecute him a few days ago. So what's new? The charge that gubernatorial offices are home to political machinations is not new either. The government believes in a singular motto: Government for the government, by the government and of the government, people be damned! Yet, the incumbent Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan airily announced that the decision to reject the findings of the commission "was taken by the Cabinet in the interest of the people." He, of course, left it to the collective wisdom of the people to guess how the decision was in the larger interest of the people.
*Those who angled for flats in the Adarsh Society are not Congressmen or their kin alone. The BJP and the NCP were also at it and some got them through benami deals. So what's new? Benami deals don't have to be declared to the Election Commission or to the people.
*The interim report was submitted to the government on April 13, 2002 and the Action Taken Report was tabled on the floors of the House on April 17, 2012. What action (taken) and against whom? It is almost as if the government is saying "Hamara action nahi lena ye bhi ek action hai." So what's new?
*The names of those in the government figure in a scam. The government announces a judicial panel to probe it. The panel names the wrongdoers to the government. The government dismisses the panel report without assigning any reason. It happens only in India. So what's new?
With the media firing on all cylinders in the scam and the heat getting to the government, the files relating to the society were conveniently lost in a mysterious blaze in Mantralaya, the government's seat of power. Although the chronology of events in the murky story have the trappings of a taut thriller, here is why it is "non news" to a dyed-in-the-wool journalist like me.
*The state government -- from the safe platform of the legislature -- shot down the report without thinking it necessary to owe the people any explanation. So what's new? This is not the first time a report has been trashed or kept in a cold storage. Nor will it be the last.
*Never mind it was the state government that instituted the judicial commission under the Commissions of Enquiry Act of 1952. So what's new? Who is bothered with a toothless commission whose findings are purely recommendatory? What interest is it -- if any -- whether such reports have been accepted in toto or in part in the past?
*The Patil Commision described the scam as a "bad precedent" which reflects "greed, nepotism and favoritism" by those associated with it. So what's new? A politician is yet to be born who isn't greedy and doesn't indulge in nepotism or favoritism.
*According to the report, Adarsh society enjoyed political patronage of Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan, former revenue minister Shivajirao Nilangekar Patil, former urban development minister Sunil Tatkare and former minister with the same portfolio Rajesh Tope. So what's new? Honesty and integrity are not the virtues people would associate with them. Recall how unceremoniously Nilangekar Patil quit after it was proved in the court that he had (mis)used his position as the CM to get extra marks for his daughter pursuing a degree in Medicine. Tatkare and Tope haven't exactly given a glowing account of themselves in public probity during their ministerial tenures. Being a minister and an elected leader is a license-and-shield for any wrongdoing.
*Ashok Chavan was the only chief minister charge-sheeted in the scam by the CBI but the Governor K Sankaranarayanan refused sanction to the investigative agency to prosecute him a few days ago. So what's new? The charge that gubernatorial offices are home to political machinations is not new either. The government believes in a singular motto: Government for the government, by the government and of the government, people be damned! Yet, the incumbent Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan airily announced that the decision to reject the findings of the commission "was taken by the Cabinet in the interest of the people." He, of course, left it to the collective wisdom of the people to guess how the decision was in the larger interest of the people.
*Those who angled for flats in the Adarsh Society are not Congressmen or their kin alone. The BJP and the NCP were also at it and some got them through benami deals. So what's new? Benami deals don't have to be declared to the Election Commission or to the people.
*The interim report was submitted to the government on April 13, 2002 and the Action Taken Report was tabled on the floors of the House on April 17, 2012. What action (taken) and against whom? It is almost as if the government is saying "Hamara action nahi lena ye bhi ek action hai." So what's new?
*The names of those in the government figure in a scam. The government announces a judicial panel to probe it. The panel names the wrongdoers to the government. The government dismisses the panel report without assigning any reason. It happens only in India. So what's new?
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