No one will be surprised that another deadline has come and gone without Chief Minister Manohar Joshi finding the courage to table the Srikrishna Commission report on the riots in Mumbai in 1992-93 during which hundreds died. Ever since Justice Srikrishna submitted the document in mid-February, there has been plenty of evidence of the Maharashtra government's intention to put off the day when, inevitably, the part played in those horrendous events by key leaders of the Shiv Sena, among others, will be revealed. At the same time, under sustained pressure from the opposition in the Assembly and outside from citizens' groups and even, reportedly, in private from the Sena's ally, the BJP, there has been the pretence not once but several times that publication was imminent. Joshi is playing a dangerous game by raising expectations he does not know how to meet. Even while making clear that he fully intends to exploit the six-month loophole in the law, he promised to deliver the report during the current session ofthe Assembly. To lend his words credibility and an air of impartiality to the exercise, a six-member committee headed by the chief secretary was set up to draft an action-taken report on the government's behalf.But three days before the end of the session, there was no sign of the Commission's report or the ATR. The consequent uproar in both Houses reflects the public mood. The worrying question is how far will duplicity be carried. How many times will the people be taken for a ride before the government learns it has no choice but to table the report? If, as is now learnt, the contents have been withheld even from most members of the cabinet for fear of leaks, what hope is there of the report seeing the light of day at any time in the future? The Chief Minister cannot be unaware of rising concern in the city about its fate. Not a week goes by without the issue being raised at one forum or another. It is the same demand everywhere, in the courts, the Assembly, at public meetings: early publication inkeeping with the law and citizens' right to know. As the delay continues, fear grows that the government is looking for ways of suppressing the Commission's findings. It is feared, for example, that law and order reasons will be trotted out expediently or a central ordinance amending the Commissions of Inquiry Act will be sought to escape having to make the full contents public. Frustrated opposition groups who are planning to agitate in the streets should be wary of playing into the government's hands.Public anxiety is well grounded. Ever since it came to power the Shiv Sena-BJP government has tried to obstruct and scuttle the Commission, enlarging its terms of reference unjustifiably, denying it access to official files and winding it up altogether. Each time the government's designs were defeated by critical public opinion, a firm judge or the Centre. The truth cannot be gagged. No doubt Joshi is confronted by a severe political dilemma but dithering is not going to make it any easier to resolve.
