Bull's Eye

Decades ago, when R. Venkataraman became a candidate for the presidency, this columnist—as the leader of a small political party—made a statement in the press challenging his moral right to contest. Venkataraman had been the defence minister and bore constructive responsibility for the HDW submarine defence deal being then investigated for corruption. Venkataraman's close relative was actually employed by the German armament firm concerned. Venkataraman, as President, could neither be investigated nor prosecuted. The objection went unheeded. Venkataraman became President. The HDW corruption case was quietly buried.

Nothing has changed. In October, this column referred to all the politicians of different parties whose names figure in the ongoing investigation of the Rs 35,000-crore Telgi scam. It was pointed out that if the state leaders of both parties sent part of the Telgi loot to their respective central offices, top national leaders of both parties would be complicit in the scam and open to investigation.

Let's see how some of the leaders whose names have been connected to the Telgi scam in press reports are presently positioned. Recently, S.M. Krishna was made governor of Maharashtra. As governor, he cannot be investigated or prosecuted by the police. The chief minister of Maharashtra should be pleased. Vilasrao Deshmukh was a last-minute surprise Congress choice for the chief minister's post. His name has also figured in the Telgi investigation.

Will the home minister in the central government object? After all, the CBI which probes the Telgi case comes under central control. But home minister Shivraj Patil is a political lightweight. He became a minister after losing his Lok Sabha election. His biggest qualification is his ability to jump if Sonia Gandhi as much as sneezes. And the appointments of Vilasrao and Krishna are tell-tale. It would be embarrassing if it turned out that Telgi loot had reached central party coffers.

Would the Opposition question these appointments? No, leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani will himself be questioned after main accused Abdul Karim Telgi's lawyer described the circumstances in which he had met Advani when the latter was home minister. The fact that BJP leaders Yashwant Sinha and Gopinath Munde also figure in the Telgi case investigation would further inhibit Advani from raising questions. Don't forget that now it is the Congress that controls both the Maharashtra state government and the Centre.

The mainstream media, of course, does not raise awkward questions regarding India's biggest ever scam. It's safer to write about Shibu Soren and Taslimuddin.

(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)