Corporate control over the Govt.

By Harish khare

NEW DELHI, AUG. 2. The debate on the US-64 scam in the Lok Sabha today offered an instructive lesson in the country's political economy. Speaker after speaker, cutting across the party divide, alluded to the awesome powers that corporate houses had come to exercise over the Government. And, the corporate house most often cited was ``Reliance''.

It was left to Mr. George Fernandes, former Defence Minister and convener of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, to note that leaders and political parties were generally unwilling to name the business house that was often suspected of bending rules to its advantage. With characteristic bravado, Mr. Fernandes asserted that he had no such fear and then named the Reliance group.

Mr. Fernandes even mentioned that when another member, Mr. Rashid Alvi (of the BSP) dared to take up cudgels against the Reliance group, he was threatened, and that Mr. Alvi had to seek special protection from the Union Home Minister. Earlier, Mr. Kirit Somayya of the BJP cited chapter and verse to suggest that ``Reliance'' had taken the UTI to the cleaners.

But perhaps the most pointed observations were made by Mr. Alvi, who had been carrying on, rather ineffectively, a campaign against the Reliance group. The ruling benches heard him in pin drop silence as the BSP member waved the letters he had received from the Prime Minister in response to his complaints against the Reliance group. He noted grimly that in none of his replies the Prime Minister even offered to look into the allegations, and had Mr. Vajpayee ordered a probe, perhaps the US-64 scam could have been avoided.

Mr. Alvi noted that the corporate houses had acquired such a clout that they could decide which Minister would get what portfolio and which officer would be secretary in which ministry. And, then, he cut close to the bone when he addressed himself to the Finance Minister: ``You became Finance Minister because ``they'' did not want someone else to become finance minister (an oblique reference to Mr. Jaswant Singh); but for some reason, you have fallen out of their favour. That (corporate) House does not want to see you continue as Finance Minister.''

Again, to the discomfort of both the Congress and the BJP benches, Mr. Alvi read out excerpts from what he purported to be the findings of a CBI inquiry in 1995.

This inquiry report, according to Mr. Alvi, had suggested proceedings against the then UTI Chairman, other officers as well as two directors of the Reliance group. Instead of acting as per the findings, Mr. Alvi noted, the poor CBI inquiry officer found himself transferred.

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