EMPEROR IS NAKED – MOUNTING DEMANDS FOR JPC PROBE

Emperor has nothing to hide. Emperor is naked. Emperor himself has admitted it. Don’t worry. No frisking needed.
Emperor says Julius Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion always. Emperor himself is beyond suspicion always. Thus claims the Emperor.
Emperor has nothing to hide. His claim that Julius Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion is being questioned by a few subjects. True, they say, Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion but that is to be confirmed not by the emperor, but by his subjects.
Come to the heart of the matter. Prime Minister Dr.ManMohan Singh says he has nothing to hide and that he is willing to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) led by BJP leader Dr Murli Manohar Joshi. But no, that is not a satisfactory answer to the opposition, both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) and their allies. They ask if Dr.Singh is that much sure about his dignity, integrity and honesty, what prevents him from appearing before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)? PAC and JPC are two different entities. While the former deals with audit reports of Comptroller and Auditor General, the latter is political and more powerful. Before both the committees Dr.Singh is required to make his appearance as and when summoned and as far as his hands are clean why does he hesitate to appear before the JPC and his party refuses a JPC probe even when 22 working days of winter session of Parliament without transacting any business had to be wasted losing in the process rupees 179 crore. The story never ends here going by the determination of the opposition to continue with their agitation with the commencement of Budget session. Sure the Parliament will come to standstill then also taking the country for a ride. At Germany after bilateral talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaking to media persons Dr.Singh was reported to have given vent to his sorrows and apprehensions that in India parliamentary democracy is allegedly facing bleak future if it remains at a standstill during each session. Who is to blame for such a state of affairs? Opposition alone? How came a govt reject the combined opposition’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) enquiry into an issue which cost the exchequer Rs 1.76 lakh crore rupees, the biggest scam Independent India ever witnessed? Is it a comparatively minor issue to be swept under carpet? Whether there is substance in the opposition argument that the 2G Spectrum scam is worthy of a JPC probe to lay bare all the hidden facts behind the Radia tapes which on a daily basis bring out more and more shocking revelations capable of shaking the very foundation of our body polity. A JPC probe is indispensable to bring out all facts related to the issue at the earliest. A vigilant opposition won’t take its balls off till their demands are met, sure. From the very beginning of the UPA II regime, the govt adopted an arrogant path on almost all issues including price rise, fuel price hike, corruption at various levels scams, scandals even when the opposition took to the streets and went on national strikes, but no the govt with a comfortable majority paid no heed to the demands of the opposition and needs of the suffering masses. To launch scathing attacks is not with the purpose of dislodging the govt from power in a parliamentary democracy, constructive criticism is part of forcing the regime in power to take corrective steps and provide a better rule for the welfare of the masses.
In the 83rd Congress plenum which came to an end two days ago Congress President Sonia Gandhi has unveiled a 5 point agenda to root out correction which has plagued the nation and I wonder even while unveiling the 5 point agenda to wipe out the evil of corruption why the hell the already exposed scams and scandals are not properly looked into and action not taken as demanded by the opposition. The diversion tactics of GOP (Grand Old Party) won’t wash though it tries hard to make a mountain out of a mole-hill by playing the ‘saffron terror’ of Sangh Parivar elements like RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and the likes. Rahul Gandhi’s alleged comments that saffron terror is more dangerous than other terror outfits like LeT, Jaish-e-Muhammed, Hisbul Mujahideen to US’s Ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer which was WikiLeaked and have become talk of the town, in the end may rebound on his own party itself. Various populist measures including Food Security Act, safe dwellings, safe drinking water to all were deliberated upon in the 83rd plenum of the Congress and we have to keep a close vigil as all these measures are meant to eradicate the sufferings of the teeming millions would help the party to lift itself out of the abyss to which that party has pushed itself into.
And the JPC issue is very much in the air, which is bound to condemn the party to many sleepless nights along with nightmares. At present opposition holds the key.