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POLITICAL DIARY
CBI: In The Dock
AUTONOMY A BIG JOKE?
By Poonam I Kaushish
New Delhi, March 25, 2008
Is the law finally catching up with our polity? Or, is it our
netagan’s penchant to anoint themselves as the law that is
proving to be its nemesis? And, has the Central Bureau of
Investigation’s fatal attraction for political cover-ups and
clean chits made it into the Central Bureau of convenience,
connivance and corruption, with the devil taking the hindmost!
Call it coincidence or what you may, but last week the
much-derided system indeed did catch up with our political
masters. In a totally unexpected development, India’s best
known secret was unwrapped as never before. Namely, that even
our netagan are fed up with the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) and want its image makeover along with
sweeping changes.
Importantly, a Parliamentary Standing Committee report on the
“Working of the Central Bureau of Investigation,” has
recommended that the CBI be made into an ``enforcement agency”
and be given an “independent and autonomous’’ status to
prevent political interference in its functioning. It also
mooted that it be granted power to investigate and prosecute
through a separate statute called the Central Bureau of
Intelligence and Investigation Act. And be given the same
status as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US
to allow it to independently take up cases of high-tech
crime..
Appreciating the image of the CBI in the country as a premier
investigating agency, the committee was, however, severely
critical of its internal composition. The report called the
deputation of IPS officers to the CBI an “avoidable luxury’’
and recommended an increase in direct recruitment. Adding,
“Officers without sufficient experience of service and
knowledge” are inducted on deputation for complicated jobs in
CBI but were not the “decision making class’’ within the
agency. No matter their professional competence and expertise
in niche areas such as corruption cases, securities and
finance transactions, defence purchase related transactions,
etc
Significantly, our Right Honourables confessed candidly that
granting sanction for prosecution was one of the “bottlenecks”
in providing autonomy to the CBI. Pertinently, it cited many
instances where prosecution sanction was denied bringing the
CBI into “disrepute’’. And even where sanction had been
granted, invariably courts pulled up the agency for slip-shod
handling of the case (the Rs.5,000-crore bank scandal, sugar,
UTI), lack of evidence and unavailability of witnesses or just
glossing over vital leads (infamous hawala case) et al.
Surmising, that it was time that the CBI make sure that the
prosecution was foolproof, or else the judiciary would step
in.
Further, it recommended strengthening the CBI in terms of
resources and legal mandate. Pointing out the CBI’s failure to
get conviction in cases with international ramifications, it
favoured that a separate international crimes division be
carved out to specifically deal with Interpol, extradition and
international crimes. It is another matter that it was the
Congress-led UPA Government in connivance with the CBI that
‘intentionally’ bungled and made an international mess of its
case in La Affaire Quottrocchhi of the Bofors gun scam and got
egg on its face. First the Government advised the UK
Government to “defreeze” the Italian businessman’s accounts.
And, when he was finally arrested in Argentina, the CBI failed
to extradite and the Argentinian Court let him go scot free.
Besides, the Committee asserted that certain acts like
terrorism, human trafficking, smuggling and black marketing
should be labeled as federal crimes and should be taken up
directly by the CBI. On terrorism, it recommended the setting
up of a separate anti-terrorism division in the CBI to work
solely with the aim of preventing terrorist activities. “The
Central government should be given adequate powers to take
prompt and effective action on the intelligence available to
them in place of the current system where the home ministry
merely hands over intelligence inputs to the State
Governments.”
Calling for an end to infinite debating, the Committee
emphasized that the time was ripe to implement these
suggestions. However, this is easier said than done. The moot
point is: Who will cast the first stone and translate words
into action? Who will give the CBI its much-needed autonomy?
Is our polity ready to call a spade a spade and bell the big
fat cat of corruption?
Alas, as oft happens, this all-important report has been lost
in the mountain of diatribe and gabble churned out during the
Budget session of Parliament. Like the first report of the
Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Home Ministry in 1994
did. Forget some remorse, all continue in legitimizing crime
and corruption. Who has the time for introspection on what and
where things went wrong and correct the course? Such is the
nasha of power that all conveniently choose to merrily make
political capital.
Worse, against the backdrop of there being as many an as 1,300
cases pending against MPs and MLAs in various courts. These
include cases being investigated by CBI against Railway
Minister Lalu Yadav, who is being tried in relation with the
fodder scam, and those against current and former UP chief
ministers Mayawati and Mulayam Singh respectively in the
disproportionate assets cases. What to say of Maya bhenji’s
Taj corridor scam and the over hundreds of crores received as
gifts from her poor Dalit swayam sevaks, who go hungry to pave
their messiah’s path with gold. Not only that. Five ‘tainted’
ministers continue to adorn the Treasury Benches. Justified by
our honest Prime Minister as “the compulsions of coalition
politics.”
Is the CBI more sinned against than sinning? Are politicians
the main culprit? Is the pot calling the kettle black? The
truth is mid-way. Both work in tandem in furthering their own
interest. Consequently, the system becomes self-perpetuating.
Over the years, the threatened political elite have given more
and more powers to the CBI to get their way and have their
say. Therein, sullying the agency’s reputation, replete with
its “failure” to back up charges with required evidence.
Worse, the CBI seems to have adopted a brazenly opportunistic
policy of playing safe with Governments of the day and its
willingness and commitment to serve the national cause by
putting self before the country.
As the Committee has rightly pointed out, at the crux is the
issue: Who should control the CBI? Needless to say, a Catch-22
question for our power-greedy polity to honestly answer and
for us to stupidly expect. Witness the sweet irony. When
Vajpayee was the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha in the
late 1990’s he had demanded an independent CBI and even
promised one if he came to power. But Vajpayee the Prime
Minister not only conveniently forgot his promise but
continued to retain the CBI under his charge, just as his
predecessors had done. Beginning with Indira Gandhi, who
concentrated all instruments of effective power in her own
hands.
Manmohan Singh too is happily following the tradition. Over
the past year he has talked ad nauseum of weeding out
corruption, but is mum on making the CBI an autonomous and
indeed, an independent agency. According to two former CBI
directors, Joginder Singh and Kartikaiyan there is no such
thing as autonomy. This is a fallacy. For two reasons -- the
agency administratively comes directly under the Prime
Minister. Two, officers are dependent on their political
bosses for their careers ---postings, transfers and seniority.
If they perform well they are adequately rewarded in various
ways, including extensions and even berths in prestigious and
statutory bodies.
Of course, the CBI can be set right. However, this requires
clear and firm political will. The foremost corrective (from
which others will flow) is to ensure that the appointment of
the CBI Director is truly above board and is based on his
genuine expertise, integrity, competence and commitment. He
should have no political affiliations, lest he is dubbed as
the Prime Minister’s hatchet man. His impeccable record of
absolute honesty would go a long way in establishing the
utility and credibility of the agency down the rank and file.
This would ensure an impartial, just and unbiased assessment
of all important cases. And, bring in the much-needed
accountability to inspire confidence among the disgusted
public.
At the end of the day, are we going to mortgage our conscience
to corrupt and tainted leaders? The powers-that-be must desist
from playing further havoc. A question that needs to be
urgently answered is: Will the CBI be guided by the law of the
land? Who will cast the first stone? Kiska danda, kiski laathi
aur kiski bhains? Enough is enough! ---- INFA
(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)
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