People's Democracy

AS we go to press, the Supreme Court has burst the moral high balloon that Mr. Vajpayee and his government sought to don in the petro scam. The apex court has ordered the restoration of the petrol pumps and the dealerships, cancelled in the wake of the exposure of the mega petroleum scam. The Supreme Court has vindicated our apprehensions that the wholesale cancellation announced by the Vajpayee government was not legally tenable. Apprehending such a possibility, the government had thundered that it would bring forth an ordinance to provide the legal backing for such a move. In the eventuality, it chickened out from this move as well. Influential sections within the RSS/BJP have, in fact, opposed the prime minister's order and justified the largesse of the petroleum ministry in a brazen manner. They appear outraged at the groundswell of public opinion that is shocked at such shameless corruption. They ask: for what else are they in government? The RSS/BJP are, indeed, establishing unprecedented records of the depths to which political morality can sink.

The best course in this regard would have been what we had suggested at the outset. Once the details of the scam were fully known, an impartial time bound enquiry should have been constituted to establish the guilty and steps should have been taken to prosecute them under the law. During this period, the petroleum minister should have been asked to resign. If this Vajpayee government has any modicum of decency left, then it should at least now adopt this course and sack the petroleum minister forthwith.

However, it appears to be adopting yet another diabolic course. And, this is to portray itself as being helpless in the wake of the Supreme Court decision. The prime minister's cancellation of these petrol pumps and dealerships, we are being told, is the declaration of their intent. Nothing could be more ludicrous. All through, it appears that this is the game of deceit that was being played out by this government. If the intention was to crack down on corruption and punish the guilty, then the Vajpayee government should have immediately accepted the demand of the opposition and instituted an enquiry. They did not do this in order to protect the beneficiaries of the massive loot that is taking place through these scams. Using the apex court decision as a pretext, they cannot be allowed to continue to protect the guilty and shield the scamsters. They must be forced to inquire and prosecute the guilty.

The public outcry against this "mother of all scams" government must be converted into a massive mass movement to dislodge this government. This is the only way that India can be saved and the interests of the people protected.