A resignation, an arrest, a point-blank gun shot and a fictitious company
– what lessons can we draw ? -

By Loghan H *

The Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Shashi Tharoor, has just been given the marching order – the accusation was he allegedly helped one of his friends, Ms. Sunanda Pushkar, got 'sweat' equity from an IPL Franchisee, worth more than Rs 70 crores.

The minister, as a mentor to the franchisee (Rendezvous), allegedly made many phone calls and lobbied for the IPL Kochi team. It is alleged that in return for his service to the franchisee, one of his friends (as a proxy?) received an equity worth over Rs. 70 crores. Tharoor, being a Union Minister, this was an act of impropriety and misuse of public office, according to many political parties and political observers. Ultimately, he was made to resign on the ground that his actions were improper and his explanations were unsatisfactory. Tharoor — who had repeatedly and consistently protested his innocence — drove to 7, Race Course Road, in a beacon-less vehicle and submitted his resignation.

Interestingly, the Kochi IPL franchisee documents show that, till 18 days before the bidding that took place on March 21 this year, Shashi Tharoor's friend Sunanda Pushkar was not appointed a director of the Franchisee. Moreover the documents prove that not only was Sunanda's inclusion last minute, but the franchise also violated Provisions of the Companies Act.

A several hundred miles down South, on a different context, a legislator of Majlis-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (MIM) was on Sunday arrested in Hydrabad for allegedly slapping a policeman on duty, police said. Karwan MLA Afsar Khan was arrested on charge of "slapping" constable Shiva Prasad, attached to Humayunnagar Police Station, near Shakina complex last night, they said.

The constable Shiva Prasad had gone to the complex along with a Sub-Inspector Nagender Rao following a complaint of quarrels on a petty issue between two groups, Asifnagar division Assistant Commissioner of Police L T Chandra Sekhar said. When police tried to pacify the groups, Khan along with his supporters reached the place and picked up arguments and "slapped" the constable by holding his collar, police said.

Well, what lessons/parallels can we (Manipuris) draw from these two unrelated incidents? Accountability, impropriety, and misuse of power in public offices cannot go un-punished forever and there is a system (rule of law) that governs every one of us, at least beyond the boundary of Manipur state. Just wonder, what would have happened if the same incidents had happened in Manipur? The immediate answer would be - NOTHING!

In the last two-three months alone there were several incidents in the state that would have made any Government shake-up and take corrective measures immediately to quell the anger. The whole Tharoor-IPL saga needed immediate action because the UPA Government didn't want important transactions in the Parliament to be stalled by the opposition's demand of resignation of the concerned minister on the ground of propriety and misuse of public office.

But, sadly enough, in our state, in the recent Assembly session of 2010, a senior official of the Assembly secretariat said, 'the assembly session on the second day had to be closed early (after 40 minutes) because there were very few questions in the discussion session.' As strange as it sounds, the opposition and ruling MLAs alike now behave like "domesticated" poodles.

Take the instance of recent Advocate General shooting. The two cabinet ministers of the present government shot at and fatally wounded the Advocate General of the state inside the official vehicle of one of the ministers and yet no action has been taken and no demand has been made (except in few isolated cases) for the resignation of the concerned ministers. The ministers, as usual, fly around nonchalantly as if nothing had happened. What was more shocking was the rear public utterance of the Chief Minister that the issue had been resolved amicably between the two parties and hence there was no need to take up an enquiry/criminal case! Since when, a CM has been given the authority to pass judgments on judicial matters? If it is not impropriety and misuse of public office, what else is it?

The path of 'stoic silence' taken by the AG, when his brethrens are up in arms, is more troubling and mysterious. Would he have acted the same way if a poor man, on personnel grounds, shot at him in similar circumstances? Just imagine if the Advocate General of India had been shot by one of the Union Ministers inside his/her official vehicle? What would have been the reactions and consequences? As much as the AG of the Central Government is revered and respected by the people, government and constitution of the country, the state AG is equally revered and respected by the people, government and constitution of the state.

If the state AG considers "shooting of a man" is not a criminal offence or violation of the law, then he may do so in his own personnel capacity but not as a state AG. The supreme judicial representative of the state government (i.e. the AG) chooses to ignore the fundamentals of the system which he is assigned to uphold for the public, then he/she is not fit to occupy the position, constitutionally and ethically. It is high time that the ailing AG gives an explanation to the people of state and helps in restoring the diminishing public faith in the system.

The strange situation reminds us the story of Lord Ram and a devotee who lost his wife. In a pilgrimage trip, a devotee of Lord Ram lost his wife. Unable to find his wife, the man turned to Lord Ram to seek his divine intervention to help him find his lost wife. A passer's by who overheard the utterance of the poor man turned back and said, "When the Lord himself couldn't find his wife on time and salvage his marriage, how could He help you find your wife?" So, Mr. AG, if you choose to ignore the fundamentals in your own case because of personnel gains or ignorance, then you will have no moral or constitutional authority to ask others to follow the system. Whether we like it or not, no one is above the law of the land; it is more so when one is the upholder of the constitution.

When MLAs can be put behind bars for slapping a constable, then why don't we do the same to the ministers who shot the AG inside his official vehicle while traveling together? Why the AG has not filed an FIR from his side? Is he in-connivance with the ministers to take personnel advantage of the situation? Is shooting a man less punishable than slapping a man? If the AG still chooses to remain silent (as he expressed in his only interview to one of the local newspapers), then it is time for him to go.

The other case of impropriety was the selection of K-Pro, a Delhi based Infrastructure Development Company, for cleaning-up of Loktak Lake. When a Union Minister was forced to resign on the ground that Sunanda Puskar, a friend of the minister, was made a Director of the Franchisee only 18 days before the bidding started, but how about a company, which was formed one day before the bidding started, getting the contract? If the UPA Government takes a high morale ground on making a Union Minister resign on moral ground on Tharoor-IPL spat, why did they remain as a silent spectator in the K-Pro incident? Is it not the Congress government in the state that orchestrated the whole process and cleared the bidding? How on earth a one-day old company could make a successful bid for a multi-crore project? It is time that the stakeholders in the said company are disclosed and the bidding process put under re-examination to find out the hidden nexus and nail the culprits.

The question of transparency, accountability, and impropriety seem to have no relevance in the state. If it were, then the state would have been a far better place to live. Just imagine the number of ministers, MLAs, and petty officials in the state traveling with an entourage fit for a monarch attending private social functions, private parties, and family functions using tax payers' money? Carrying of security personals has become a status symbol; therefore every Tom and Harry who has no security threat whatsoever wants to have personnel security at tax payers' expenses. It is unthinkable of, say, a first time MLA, who gets elected only because his/her father/mother passed away before completion of the term, to have any security threat from unwanted elements. Then, why have the security cover when there is no threat? Who is paying for it?

Remember that the Home Minister of India watched the Badminton World Cup matches in Hydrabad without any security personals by personally buying tickets from the counter. The much tainted ex-minister, Mr. Tharoor, traveled in his private (beacon-less) vehicle to tender his resignation to the PM. These are some of the moral lessons our power mongers need to learn and emulate.

The change has to come from within – as long as there is high impropriety or misuse of power at the individual level, it is highly unlikely that any change will come at the higher levels. History reminds us that no King/Queen or ruler voluntarily abdicated his or her power in public interest or for the welfare of the people. It is high time that the people and state's leaders understand that we can no longer continue as we have been.

What we need to abandon must be quite clear: the rigid ideological and political stand or the lack of it; the unbridled power in the hands of few rulers; the complete lack of accountability and transparency in public spaces; and the extreme complacency in the part of common people. If we wait for people from Delhi or other places to come and solve our problems, then it may be too late for us to salvage anything. We need to evolve as a society.