Humanitarian corruption

Finally the official man accused in the Oilgate scam is gone. The former external affairs minister, K. Natwar Singh who refused to resign after the Paul Volcker committee report pointed finger at him had to bow down to the pressure building in the Congress party to drop him from the cabinet. As the chairperson of Congress Party Foreign Affairs Cell, Natwar Singh led a delegation to Iraq in 2001 to see the humanitarian crisis created by the American invasion. P. Shiva Shankar, A.R. Antulay, and Anil Matherani were the official accompanies of Natwar Singh. Unofficially his son Jagat Singh and Andaleeb Sehgal (Jagat’s cousin) also joined the delegation. In the name of moral booster to Iraq, Natwar used his position to provide business prospectus to his son to the tune of eight million barrels of oil

Natwar jumped in to advocate Iraq’s cause when Saddam Hussain was desperately looking for supporters across the world after America started bombing the streets of Baghdad. Sonia Gandhi and Congress were convinced by Natwar to support Iraq to regain the lost minority votes after Babri Masjid demolition. His point struck chord with Congress leaders as they were looking for the right avenues to corner BJP. That was the heydays of NDA. So without much hitch Sonia said yes to Natwar’s proposals. More importantly nobody had the guts to question the clean short man’s credibility. Everything passed without any censure or debate. Finally this had landed the party into a major embarrassment and trouble

Charges against Natwar Singh indicate the amount of power abuse even in the matters of humanitarian assistance. This also shows that even opposition party members can earn in millions. Nothing is more horrific than to take a share from the funds meant to assist common people at times of crisis. Iraq which got devastated first by the misrule of Saddam Hussain and second by the bombings of America. To rub salt in the wounds of Iraq, Natwar misused his office to help his son’s business ambitions. Tragically they had the heart to exchange oil coupons for money instead of food without even thinking about the tender babies who were dying without milk. All the ill gotten wealth went to the banks in Jordan. Instead of digging these bank accounts the enforcement directorate is after the lives of those who gave supportive evidence to Oil scam. This happens with every government cutting across party lines. For political reason they save the sinner and punish those who tell the truth.

Ample examples can be citied. Dinesh Goswami in Bihar floods, George Fernandes in the coffin scam, corruption in the relief material sent to earthquake, cyclone and tsunami hit area sent shockwaves across the spines. It is a pity to hear these petty minded people who wreck havoc during the period of human suffering created by nature.

Unfortunately those who expose these humanitarian scandals are victimized. The Indian institutions by the order of political masters target those who dare give evidence about corruption. Tehelka group was harrased beyond the limitations by the NDA government soon after it brought the coffin scam to common knowledge through sting operations. Satyendra Dubey and Manjunath just remain martyrs for blowing the whistle. No extra action to punish the criminals apart from one minute mourning after their murder.

Public is also bored of the boomeranging scams everyday. They know very well nothing is going to come out of the political uproar against these scandals. Only the functioning of parliament gets disturbed quite often due to the new scams. It gives enough ammunition to the opposition to weaken the moral of government. Once the parliament session is over, no effect is seen around that issue.

What is required at this crucial junction is to restore the public confidence in judiciary. For this investigating agencies and judiciary should be given enough autonomy. Prime Minister or Home Minster appointing a lame duck judge to investigate a sensitive case must be abandoned. Sincerity of purpose of the judicial commissions should be shown. Otherwise public disrespect for these institutions will keep growing and that will lead to anarchy in the society. Corruption in humanitarian matters should be checked immediately to assure people of some institutional effect.