People's Democracy

THE refusal of the Gujarat government, and the reluctance of the central government to improve the coordination of the relief activities in the earthquake-devastated areas is both appalling and disgusting. It is, in fact, cruel.

As we go to the press, day twelve after the earthquake, reports abound of relief materials lying, in fact rotting, at Ahmedabad and Bhuj airports. The problem of providing relief to the victims is not one of lack of material or resources. In fact, so immense and moving has been the expression of human solidarity that both material and resources have rushed to Gujarat in an unprecedented fashion. The problem lies in the administrative paralysis that is unable to reach the supplies to the people who need them the most.

The central government admitted to this failure at the all-party meeting convened on February 3. The Prime Minister, in fact, accepted the CPI(M)’s suggestion to set up a National Committee comprising political parties and other agencies to monitor, oversee and coordinate relief operations. But, as has been the norm of this Vajpayee government, till date, such a committee has not been constituted.

What is worse are reports suggesting that the apparent paralysis of the administration may be deliberate to allow the RSS outfits to appear as the sole champion of relief activities. This is both callous and inhuman. In fact, reports (The Hindu, February 7, 2001) suggest that the earlier reports of looting of relief material, which was universally condemned, could have been done by certain RSS outfits! Senior leaders of the RSS, with great alacrity, described the looted trucks as those carrying something written in Urdu! Reports also reveal that relief was prevented from reaching Muslim-dominated villages. Further, the VHP howls out an obnoxious threat, warning the government not to accept the Rs 20 crore assistance offered by the Pope. Can there be anything more criminal than communalising the atmosphere in the face of death and awesome tragedy?

By delaying the constitution of the National Committee, the Prime Minister is allowing such nefarious politicisation of relief work at the cost of death and misery of lakhs of people.

In yet another diabolic move, the Vajpayee government is seeking to utilise this Gujarat tragedy to brush under the carpet its utter failure and mismanagement on the economic front. Even without a scientific assessment of the scale of destruction and the resources that are required for reconstruction, the Vajpayee government has imposed an across the board two per cent surcharge on income and corporate tax. The government has outrightly rejected the CPI(M) suggestion to convert this surcharge into a graded tax relieving those at the lower end of income of the additional burden. The international commitments of aid and loans is not transparent. The government has sought a 1.5 billion dollars assistance from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The United Nations and its agencies have commitment beyond 50 million dollars. The International Red Cross has given a mounted its biggest ever relief operation. Many countries have committed both monetary and material resources on a massive scale. A three billion dollar assistance would mean something close to fifteen thousand crores of rupees --- more than the government’s own estimate of the loss of property caused by the earthquake, provided at the all-party meeting, of only Rs 13,500 crore. The resources generated by domestic efforts will only augment this massive external assistance.

Surely, the government is answerable to the people as to how it proposes to utilise this assistance? It also needs to inform the people whether more resources are required to be mobilised. If so, how much and for what purpose? It is ironic that additional burdens are being put on the people while the government itself admits that as of March 31, 2000, an amount of Rs 62,392 crore is outstanding on account of income and corporate tax, custom and excise duties. In fact, the corporate tax outstanding on this date is Rs 28,348 crore. If the Vajpayee government is sincere about rehabilitation of the victims in reconstructed settlements, then it should recover these huge dues rather than impose additional burdens on the people. It will be not only a disgrace for the party, but a national disgrace if this government were to use this earthquake tragedy to resolve its fiscal problems.

Clarity is required on these issues. The Indian people and the international community have responded in a stupendous manner to help India face this awesome human tragedy. Such a massive human expression cannot be allowed to be clandestinely utilised for the political gains of the RSS and its Saffron Brigade. The need of the hour is to provide relief and rehabilitation to the unfortunate victims on a war-footing. The sins of omission and commission of the Vajpayee government at the centre, and the Gujarat government in the state, will not be condoned by the Indian people if they fail to discharge this responsibility.