People's Democracy

GEORGE Fernandes is in the dock once again. The Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report on the procurement of supplies during the Kargil conflict reveals the sordid state of affairs in the Ministry of Defence, glimpses of which were seen in the Tehelka tapes. The stink arising out of senior military officers brazenly discussing the system of bribery on tape has hardly subsided, when the CAG report has come out with a scathing indictment of the systematic corruption and irregularities in the emergency procurement during "Operation Vijay" in May-June, 1999.

The CAG report audited 123 contracts involving Rs. 2,163.09 crore. It found that supplies worth Rs. 1,762.21 crore, which constituted 81 per cent of the total expenditure, materialised six months after the operations in January, 2000. The report concludes: "Thus, while critical supplies of clothing, ammunition and arms could not reach the troops during the operation, an amount of Rs.1,046 crore, almost half of the total, entirely in foreign exchange, was spent fruitlessly, breaching established principles of propriety."

The CAG report lists how purchases of a whole host of equipment were fiddled. They range from small arms, artillery ammunition, special clothing and other military equipment. Among the deals found violating procedures are the buying of handheld thermal imagers (Rs. 41.95 crore), terminally guided munitions (Rs. 151 crore), bullet proof jackets (Rs. 51.65 crore), anti-material rifles (Rs. 23.22 crore), flame throwers (Rs. 18.22 crore) and ammunition (Rs. 402.76 crore).

Nothing was sacrosanct for making money out of the jawans fighting in the Kargil war. The report found that 3,438 pairs of boots ordered for the soldiers, were of two smaller sizes, 5 and 6, not fit for adults; thus Rs. 1.85 crore was frittered away.

The most shocking case is of the coffins ordered for transporting the bodies of soldiers who were killed in battle. The BJP-led government obviously believes swadeshi coffins are no good. The Ministry ordered coffins from an American company at the rate of US $ 2,500, i.e., Rs. 1.09 lakh per casket. The bid was obtained only from one firm and the price for this casket in 1994 was $ 172 per piece. Rs. 1.47 crore was paid for 150 caskets supplied, which is 90 per cent of the total amount to be paid. The entire lot of coffins was rejected during inspection as being overweight and not up to the specifications.

No amount of explanation by the BJP-led government will convince anyone that coffins have to be imported from the United States. There are hundreds of industrial units in India which could have supplied suitable coffins at a hundredth of the price paid. Probably, the Vajpayee government believes that using American coffins is part of the heightened military collaboration with the United States upon which it has embarked.

George Fernandes was re-inducted as Defence Minister in brazen disregard for propriety, while the Justice Venkataswami Commission was still enquiring into the Tehelka tapes exposure. Parliament has already seen strong protests on the issue and the Lok Sabha was scheduled to discuss the issue on December 18.

Another significant development in this period was the decision of the BJP-led government to allow agents of foreign defence companies to return as middlemen in procuring defence equipment. The decision coincided with the return of George Fernandes.

Defence procurement and the overall matter of defence can no longer be treated as a sacred cow not open to public scrutiny and discussion. George Fernandes recently refused in Parliament to answer a question on buying defence equipment from Israel on grounds of "national interest". Such a stance cannot be accepted any more. Every defence contract and purchase of supplies must come under parliamentary scrutiny and full disclosure must be made by the government.

The Kargil equipment scam is not only a shameful blot on the government, it is an insult to the armed forces and the country. The pseudo-nationalists have been exposed as the worst profiteers.

This shameful episode will make all Indian citizens hang their heads in shame. But George Fernandes is unmoved. The only way to remedy the situation is to oust this dishonourable man as the Minister of Defence.

(Dec. 12, 2001)