The Congress quickly rose to the defence of its party member and Member of the Legislative Assembly, the former Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat, just as it did when its Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant (Babu) Kavlekar was also under investigation. Both times, it has been the State party president Shantaram Naik who addressed the media in support of his party colleagues, while the rest of the party members remained silent on the issues. The immediate reactions from the party president were almost as if the party was reacting under pressure. But, can Congress and Naik take a step back for the present and allow the law to take its own course in the cases?
According to Naik, who is a former Member of Parliament, the actions of the former chief minister for which he is being investigated are not a crime, but a quasi-judicial action. Naik of course, qualifies his statement saying that it appears to be so prima facie. Naik explains his defence of the condonation of delay of mining lease renewals by stating that the Chief Minister, as a quasi-judicial authority, has the power to condone a delay, and that this is the first time that he has heard that such an action – condonation of delay – is being considered to be a crime.
It may perhaps be so, but shouldn’t the courts be allowed to rule on this, instead of personal opinions being made public? The party is under pressure. Two of its MLAs are being investigated for different reasons, one for disproportionate assets, the other for decisions taken when he was holding the mines portfolio. It is natural to claim innocence and even seek to defend the deeds. But the courts are the best place for this, and not press conferences.
The Shah Commission report has practically shut mining operations in the State, and even six years later few mining companies, for various reasons, are prepared to get back to the mining pits and dig up the ore. The State has lost financially, and so have its people. Somebody is responsible for the alleged loot and that somebody needs to face the law. Investigations have already taken far too long and only now are taking a proper direction with the former Principal Mines Secretary of the State turning approver in the case. It is time to allow the probe to carry on unhindered.
The State’s people have the right to know what role, if any, every person who is currently being investigated in the mining scam played. If they played no role in the alleged scam, then the investigations and the courts will prove it. The loss to the State exchequer has been great – Rs 35,000 crore – a figure unimaginable by most people in the State. It is already six years since the Justice Shah Commission report that exposed the alleged corruption in the mining industry in the State was tabled and the State is no nearer to learning whether the figure was right and who took decisions that allowed the rampage in the hills of Goa, for ore.
It is time to take all these mining cases to their logical conclusions and give the industry a fresh start with enough of checks to keep it in line. It is only the courts that can make that happen, and it is best left to them to decide the guilt or otherwise of those involved. For that to happen, we need to set aside all affiliations, party or otherwise, and allow the whole truth to emerge. It’s a simple question: Can we allow the truth to come out?
