Red in the face

Marxist theory devotes whole chapters to the idea of contradiction. It appears apt then that the first serious crisis Prakash Karat has to t...

Marxist theory devotes whole chapters to the idea of contradiction. It appears apt then that the first serious crisis Prakash Karat has to tackle as CPIM general secretary is in the nature of a monumental political contradiction: Kerala8217;s SNC-Lavalin power scandal. In Karat8217;s home state, a CAG report has indicted a CPIM-led government of the mid-1990s for a Rs 374.50 crore loss to the exchequer. The methodology was simple enough, and charmingly similar to that of 8216;8216;bourgeois8217;8217; governments. Three hydel power stations had to be upgraded, tenders were invited and it boiled down to an Indian consortium and a Canadian MNC. The foreign company quoted Rs 2.42 crore per MW, the Indian consortium 8212; BHEL and L038;T 8212; sought Rs 1.25 per MW. The contract went to the higher bidder. The contradiction doesn8217;t end here; it only intensifies. BHEL, the public-sector company so deprived by a Left government, is today the object of the CPIM8217;s affection. The party refuses to let the Centre sell even 10 per cent of its stake in BHEL for fear this would threaten national and worker interests. SNC-Lavalin, as it turns out, is also a defence equipment supplier, with a client list that includes the American and NATO militaries.

The UPA government has just announced a CBI inquiry into the privatisation of Mumbai8217;s Centaur Hotel. Consider what happened in the Centaur deal: it was sold by the NDA government to a buyer who re-sold the property and made a profit. The government lost no money; at best, its financial advisors could be accused of conservative valuation. Yet the CPIM and CPI, taking recourse to an ambiguous CAG report, alleged corruption. Now take the primary evidence in the SNC-Lavalin scandal. Even if the Canadian technology was better, was it worth almost double the price? If BHEL8217;s technology is not world class 8212; and fit to be rejected by the Kerala government 8212; is it really the public-owned crown jewel the CPIM now insists it is? If ever a deal deserved a CBI probe, a slew of FIRs, arrests, it is this one.

The SNC-Lavalin episode is also a reassuring reminder that the CPIM is not the irredeemable monolith it appears. The truth has been facilitated by factionalism, with pro-MNC communists being 8216;8216;outed8217;8217; by internal rivals. Comrade Karat8217;s party can now back its whistleblowers, and call for a CBI probe. Alternatively, the party can bury itself in a deeper study of the theory of contradiction. The choice is CPIM8217;s; so is the opprobrium.