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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, May 1: Boarding-school friends squabbling over prestige and 8220;stomach cramps.8221; It was the most mysterious fallout amongst friends in public life and it cost India its most highly regarded executive in the Ministry of Defence MoD.
In the vaults of the CBI, lie clues to this most enduring MoD mystery 8212; the sudden and unexplained resignation of Arun Singh, school friend of Rajiv Gandhi and his Minister of State for Defence.
And in these declassified files lie the evidence to show that the Bofors pay-off scandal8217;s first casualty wasthe friendship between Arun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi.
On June 10, 1987, Arun Singh wrote a note to K C Pant, the then Defence Minister, to be forwarded to Rajiv Gandhi. In it he said, 8220;It is my understanding that the Swedish National Audit Bureau has confirmed unequivocally that payments have been made and I stand by my statements in the Rajya Sabha that such payments are grossly violative of all stated policy as communicated to and understood by both Bofors and the Swedish Govt. It must therefore follow that we as GOI Government of India must pursue this matter to its logical conclusion8221;.
The logical conclusion, he said, was to 8220;inform both the Swedish Govt and the company that unless they give us the information we want we will have no alternative but to cancel the contract8230;I am fully cognisant of the fact that this cancellation will have some negative impact on our defence preparedness but you may like to reconfirm with COAS Chief of Army Staff whether we can live with that. In my view we mustbe prepared to go to the extent of cancellation because our very credibility as a Govt is at stake and what is worse, the credibility of the entire process of defence acquisitions is also at stake8221;.
When consulted by the then Defence Secretary S K Bhatnagar, Gen K Sundarji, the Army Chief, noted on June 13, 1987: 8220;We should go to the extent of threatening to cancel our contracts if they do not part with this information8230;If the threat does not work, and in the worst case leads to the cancellation of the contract, I believe that the delay on the procurement of 155mm guns would perhaps be about 18 months to 2 years. I believe that we could live with this delay and take a calculated risk8221;.
Rajiv Gandhi8217;s handwritten reply to Arun Singh, dated July 15, 1987, is as illuminating as it is revealing. Clearly using a thick-nibbed Mont Blanc pen, he wrote: 8220;It is unfortunate that MOS/AS Minister of State/Arun Singh has put his personal prestige above the security of the nation before even evaluating allaspects8230;Has he evaluated the actual position vis-a-vis security? Has he evaluated the financial loss of cancellation?8230;Has he evaluated how GOI prestige will plummet if we unilaterally cancel a contract that has not been violated? To the best of my belief the Swedish Audit report upholds GOI position and does not contradict it8230;Knee-jerk reactions and stomach cramps will not serve any purpose.8221;
While Arun Singh could not be reached at his home in the Kumaon hills, V George, then in the personal staff of Rajiv Gandhi, told The Indian Express that he could not comment since this issue was never handled by him.
What is revealing about the episode is the chronology of the notings. For the Defence Minister does not receive the file until July 21, more than a month after Arun Singh has recorded his remarks. On July 28, Defence Secretary S K Bhatnagar, currently under the threat of prosecution, notes, 8220;I have shown this file personally to RRMP. ASV may pl. keep it in his personalcustody8221;.
The Additional Secretary8217;s noting, however, is dated February 25, 1988. Why the file would take that long to travel two rooms down from that of the Defence Secretary8217;s office continues to baffle investigators.
Most officials believe that other than the Additional Secretary, other notings had been backdated, for Arun Singh had already resigned on July 18, 1987.
