Bull's Eye

Last week, a letter in Outlook by a certain M.C. Joshi ridiculed this columnist for having kept secret 'for all these years' the fact that the Babri Masjid destroyers included those linked to Dawood Ibrahim. Joshi might recall this column was, among other things, perhaps the first to refer to Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, BJP MP from Gonda, who led a big contingent to demolish the mosque on December 6, 1992. It mentioned Singh's admission before the TADA court—hearing charges against the late Kalpnath Rai—that he was acquainted with Dawood Ibrahim gang members but was not involved in that particular case. Singh is presently an MP. This columnist asked RSS boss K. Sudarshan why the BJP gave a ticket to Singh if Dawood was indeed a dangerous isi agent. Sudarshan had no convincing reply.

The letter further said that for years people were told that Hindu fundamentalists destroyed the Babri Masjid while Dawood's men perpetrated the Bombay bomb blasts. This column had, however, repeatedly written that Moolchand Shah, Dawood's henchman, arrested by the Bombay police for financing the bomb blasts, was the same hawala agent who passed money to Kashmir militants and 42 politicians listed in a diary which included the names of some BJP leaders.

Another letter in Outlook had previously criticised this columnist for referring repeatedly to this subject. Now someone writes in asking why such facts were kept secret! But let's not blame the letter writers. They, understandably, disbelieve this column. If what is written in it were true, would there not have been hell to pay? Silence must be proof it is false. This, then, is the malady. Facts are not contradicted. However sensational, they are never pursued. They are ignored. Truth dies a quiet death.

Consider the Rs 32,000-crore Telgi scam. Who allowed the sale of a government stamp paper press, with the dyes and equipment, to a press employee? About the same time, it may be recalled, printing machines used for currency notes were changed to an inferior version that facilitated counterfeit notes. This columnist filed a PIL against this to safeguard national security. The RBIi even admitted in court that the new machines were inferior and could create "teething troubles". But the PIL was dismissed. Today, fake currency threatens national security. Subsequently, the RBI and the government press told investigators that they could not distinguish between genuine and fake notes. What happens to legal tender? All this has been much repeated in this column. But not a ripple is created. Mera Bharat mahaan!