After going under stiff criticism from the Oppositions on the nepotism issue involving DMK leader and Union Minister for Shipping and Transport TR Baalu and the Government, the Centre decided to end the controversy by making a statement in both the Houses over Baalu episode on Wednesday.
The Union Minister for Petroleum Murli Deora from the government side will make a statement in Parliament.
However it is not hide from anyone what would be the nature of the statement. Deora while stepping out of the Parliament on Tuesday gave indication while talking to media on what would he speak Wednesday. ‘No question of nepotism at all in this case. The case is completely transparent. Neither Baalu nor Prime Minister has done anything wrong or against the prestige of the chair,’ he said.
“There is no nepotism involved in it. Every day we get request from the people. If somebody tells me that this is the question of 2,000 people getting out of the job, I will call people, I will ask my officers to find what is the truth, which we can help,” Deora said.
“We are here to help people, not harass people,” he said adding that despite my statement if the Oppositions do not satisfy he will willingly ready “to show any documents/papers to make them satisfy that there is nothing in this case.”
After witnessing much hiatus in the Parliament’s routine procedure, the government on Monday had declared it would respond on Wednesday to the Oppositions’ allegations on the issue.
What makes strong the government’s hand in this case that despite several letters from the PMO, the Petroleum Minister Murli Deora ironically did not respond affirmatively.
The Minister will also likely to pointed out as the political sources say that the Prime Minster never wrote any letter to the petroleum ministry rather an official in the PMO did so in a routinely manner.
Further Baalu did not ever write any favouring letter to the PM to look into the case concerning his family business. It was Baalu’s son who wrote letter to the PMO asking despite Madras High Court order for supplying natural gas from PSUs to his firm, why the concerned ministry was not implementing the order.
Baalu accepted few days ago in the Rajya Sabha that he had talked with the petroleum minister for allocation of gas to a company of which he was the managing director in the past. Now the government is rejecting the charge. The rejection may trigger fresh round of protest by the Opposition camp in the Parliament.
Besides, the Oppositions have been demanding clarification straight from the Prime Minister and instead the statement issued by the Petroleum Minister further invoke NDA, the main Opposition Party to lay protest.
Besides NDA the birth rival of DMK in Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK and MDMK were also condemning the government over the misusing of office. The opposition attacked by saying it is a serious matter. The abusing of rights and privileges of his office is an obvious case of breach of the House’s privileges. AIADMK went a step beyond than NDA, which demanded Baalu’s resignation, the former instead demanded Baalu to be sacked first and then the Prime Minister resign for allegedly forwarding Baalu’s case to the petroleum ministry.
Though oil minister rejecting Baalu personally had written any letter to his ministry, but the eight letters written to his ministry by the PMO is out of suspicion now. The Petroleum Minister would have to answer did that happen without Baalu’s favouring.
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