People's Democracy

EDITORIAL

George’s Hypocrisy

THE chameleon is, once again, changing its colours. George Fernandes having been elected, once again, as the president of the Samata Party seems to have dug into his ancient past to dig out faded rhetoric of the socialists. In an uncharacteristic move (considering his complete servility and total surrender to the RSS agenda), Fernandes has publicly criticised the Vajpayee government's disinvestment policies. Hypocrisy and double-speak, indeed, appear to have no limits with Fernandes. Having been a party to all the cabinet decisions which have virtually looted the country through disinvestment, Fernandes now wants us to believe that he is opposed to such a move!

The reasons for the sudden volta face are not far to see. There is a widespread, growing dissatisfaction and anger amongst the people at the loot that is going on in the name of disinvestment. Fernandes's new-found love for protecting people's assets stems from the fear that such private loot of public assets through such brazen disinvestment will damage his party's electoral and political fortunes. Such are the levels of opportunism that Fernandes is now running with the hares and hunting with the hounds!

Further, he has suddenly displayed a flash of enlightenment by stating that the disinvestment process should not create private monopolies! During the last couple of years, through these columns, we had been constantly exposing the unstated motives of this government in privatising giant public sector Petrochemical companies to benefit the private sector monopoly in this area. During this period, busy as he was in his own defence deals, Fernandes found no time to consider our opposition to such disinvestment.

The case of disinvestment of Indian Petro-Chemicals Ltd clearly shows the process of creating monopolies. With the Reliance Industries taking over this company, instead of having the earlier competition between a public sector and a private sector giant, we today have a private sector giant monopoly. This completely negates the ostensible logic of this government in justifying disinvestment as necessary to break up public monopolies in the interest of the country and the consumer. The sale of BALCO, Modern Foods, a host of India Tourism Development Corporation hotels situated in prime real-estate locations have all been a bonanza for the private sector. The hard-earned assets of the Indian people are being handed over to private monopolies with such urgency that betrays a mercenary attitude. Fernandes was silent all through. That he has chosen now to rake up this issue while castigating the Left and the trade unions who took to streets and continues to do so today as well, reveals his sinister calculations.

Fernandes' current attempts to try and assume moral high positions will not have any takers. Having disgraced himself in the Tehelka exposures, having reneged on his own assurance that he would not enter the union cabinet unless cleared by the Venkatswami enquiry commission, Fernandes has no moral standing whatsoever to speak of protecting the country's economic interests.

His present rantings against the disinvestment policy and the BJP's defence are akin to allegations hurled when thieves fall out. The country has to be saved from this entire bunch that constitutes this Vajpayee government. The perfidy, hypocrisy and double-speak of the likes of George Fernandes and his cabinet colleagues must be exposed and rejected.