I can understand how tormented George Fernandes must be feeling these days. Opposition MPs are adamant not to accept him as Defence Minister inside the House. They ask him questions, and when poor George takes his turn to reply, they create chaos and shout him down. The only reason they’re asking him questions is to humiliate him. George’s frustration is justified. But he should face reality. What today’s Opposition is doing is exactly what yesterday’s Opposition did. And while he was in the Opposition, George led the brigade that introduced and made popular the practice of hounding leaders without evidence or substance. George should remember how he lampooned Rajiv Gandhi with charges of irregularities in the Bofors deal. Rajiv’s role in the so-called scam has not yet been established in any court of law. Similarly, I believe that George’s hands are clean, he isn’t one to compromise on integrity. But as he himself had stalled proceedings in the House for days, put Rajiv and the Congress in a spot and gained political mileage, he should not sulk today if the Congress, alongwith other Opposition parties, returns the compliment.Guns and pumps are terms even rural India easily identifies with. The then Opposition’s sustained campaign made the electorate suspicious about the Congress. Big lies sell quick. True or false, the charges against George have made people doubt his integrity. Such irresponsible politics brings a bad name to individual politicians.Then there are parties like the Left Front who keep criticising everything and stalling important Bills. One cannot expect positive politics from them. But even in today’s coalition era, the BJP and the Congress will take turns between them to lead the government and the Opposition. They have to decide where the line should be drawn when it comes to gaining political mileage at the cost of ethics. Otherwise there will be many like George who’ll lose their sleep.Ram This And Then ThatRam Jethmalani isn’t one to mince his words. When The Indian Express broke the Petrol Pump Scam, he told Ram Naik to stay put and fight it politically. And why not? Charges of favouritism are nothing new in Indian politics. Even in the specific context of doling out petrol pumps, who knows how many were ‘‘rewarded’’ by previous governments. So, Jethmalani felt, Naik had every right to politically fight his case. But once Vajpayee scrapped the entire allotment order, the same Jethmalani didn’t hesitate to advise Naik to resign. His logic: Vajpayee’s decision was an act of admission that something was indeed wrong with the list. In such a scenario, Jethmalani felt, the Petroleum minister cannot avoid responsibility and should step down.Paying The PriceAn ASSOCHAM analysis has revealed that as many as 466 Central sector projects in different states suffer cost overruns by about 36%. Of these, 213 projects have reported cost overrun by 74% and 174 projects have reported time overrun ranging from 1 to 204 months. As on March 31, 2001, the original budget of Rs 1,23,360 crore for these 466 projects, each recording costs of Rs 20 crore and above on the monitoring system of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementations, has increased to Rs 1,67,745 crore. ASSOCHAM has suggested a mechanism for monthly review and a strong follow-up with the state governments concerned for acquiring land and providing infrastructure. It also suggested setting up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to increase accountability in the execution of such projects. The Government has already on these suggestions. Flash reports on major projects are reviewed each month by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementations, Cabinet Secretariat, the PMO and concerned ministries. A two-stage clearance system has been adopted in approval of projects. Infrastructure projects are given Stage I clearance only after ensuring acquisition of land and provision of basic infrastructure. The cost overrun in projects has come down from 62% in 1988 to 36% in March with respect to the original cost. If we consider the cost escalation consequent to inflation, increase in excise and customs duty, interest rate changes and exchange rate fluctuations, the cost escalation comes down to 17%. As Tourism Minister Jagmohan pointed out in the RS, there are 28 projects that have been delayed. Five of these account for major delays which push up the overall percentage. He claimed eight projects are running ahead of schedule. One hopes we will be soon be able to sound equally smug about all government projects.
