Nilacharal

Improper actions of the Cabinet Ministers

The other important issue that came to the surface out of this arrest episode is - can the State arrest the Federal Minister(s) without the consent or information to the Prime Minister who heads the Central cabinet. In fact there are a few issues that are very serious to the Centre-State relations and they have been totally pushed to the backburner in the euphoria created by the inhuman way of Mr Karunanidhi's arrest. The Federal Ministers Mr Maran and Mr Balu were taken into custody by the State police under the allegation that they prevented the police from carrying out their duties.

Mr Maran and Mr Balu were alleged to have prevented the arrest of Karunanidhi in the CBCID launched corruption case related to the fly over construction in Chennai. Here there are two issues. One may accuse Mr Karunanidhi of non-co-operation with the State police when they went to his residence to take him into State custody. While we discuss this little later, let us focus on the involvement of Central Ministers at this juncture.

If Mr Maran rushed to Mr Karunanidhi's house as he is related to him, where is the necessity for him to accompany Mr Karunanidhi till the CBCID office or to the Magistrate's house. How can Mr Maran and Mr Balu be adamant in getting themselves arrested? Knowing very well that the State can not arrest them and more so without any reasons to arrest them, they insisted that they should also be arrested along with Mr Karunanidhi?

Mr Balu was acting like a party soldier when he tried to break open the gates of CB CID office. Mr Maran also should have restrained himself from continuing any further from Mr Karunanidhi's residence. He has beaten the police person with his hands and legs when he tries to get him out of the car. Mr Maran is alleged to have hit a police officer's eye using his ring-finger (with a heave ring on it). When the country is talking about the human rights violation on the erstwhile CM we must also raise a hue and cry on the human rights violation by the Central Minister Mr Maran on the police person who simply carried out the orders from his superior to get him out of the car. The central ministers totally abdicated their responsibilities and their presence and the irresponsible way in which they acted in the whole episode is also equally condemnable. The Prime Minister must reprimand them for their improper actions while he takes a serious view of their arrests.

The author appreciates that it is difficult for Mr Maran and Mr Balu to act like a nephew or an ardent soldier of the party while maintaining the dignity of the chair they hold in the Central Cabinet. In fact, if their party and leader loyalty came to the fore and it continued to supersede their Ministerial responsibilities during this episode, they must have gracefully faxed their resignations to PM and made themselves available for the State custody. In a democracy one can not take advantage of his or her dual positions and no one can act extra-constitutional. It would have been better if the State informed the Centre before taking the Federal Ministers into the custody. If Prime minister is concerned about the State Police action on Federal Ministers, he should equally be disturbed by the uncalled for presence and irresponsible actions of his Federal Ministers. They have denigrated the prestige of the Central Cabinet.

This author requests the PM and the President to carefully analyze the whole episode without any biases and demand the resignation from Mr Maran and Mr Balu. If they decline to submit their resignations, they must be summarily dismissed from the Cabinet. If the PM does not do this, it would encourage the Central Ministers to act like extra-constitutional powers in their respective States from where they got elected. If the PM takes objection to the action of State alone and restricts himself to recommend the recall of the Governor, it could at the most be termed as a pragmatic decision considering the present political scenario in the country. He would not live upto the Statesmanship and visionary status he enjoys. The history tomorrow would view him as a person who simply succumbed to the pressure of real-life politics. It would augur well for Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee's hard-earned image and dignity that he enjoys if he asks for the resignation from the Central Ministers who erred on the early hours of 30th June morning in Chennai. By doing this, he is setting the code of conduct for the Central Ministers. I am sure that all right thinking and neutral citizens would do a threadbare analysis of the entire episode without yielding to the emotions and sympathy.

The author is equally pained and sympathetic towards the former CM and the most-respected elderly leader who was manhandled and denied of the basic human rights. At the same time under this sympathy all the foul plays by the Central Ministers should not go unnoticed... ....more