Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Tehelka probe

Sir, — Justice K. Venkataswami should be congratulated for not only resigning from the Tehelka Commission of Inquiry but also from the Chairmanship of the Authority on Advance Rulings of Excise and Customs. Earlier, when he was the Government pleader in the Madras High Court, he never thought twice before resigning from the post when the Government disagreed with his views.

Whether judges of the High Court or the Supreme Court should accept these Commissions and expose themselves to such controversies is another matter. In my view, these Commissions are ordered by the government in power to only see that the storm blows over. I think the appointment of retired judges often affects the credibility of the judicial system. It is no reflection on Mr. Venkataswami. We are yet to see where the painstaking reports of the Commission of Inquiry are implemented. It would have been better had Mr. Venkataswami resigned from the Commission the moment George Fernandes was re-inducted as the Defence Minister when he was yet to be exonerated from the Tehelka controversy.

N.G.R. Prasad,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — The appointment of Justice K. Venkataswami as the Chairman of the Authority on Advance Rulings of Excise and Customs while heading the Tehelka Commission of Inquiry probing the serious corruption in defence deals has exposed the BJP's true colours. The BJP has achieved the objective of setting at naught the status of the Tehelka proceedings, thereby necessitating a fresh approach that will dilute the main objective with the passage of time.

On the other hand, the party has to stomach the fact that the public at large would now stand convinced of the exposures of the Tehelka tapes irrespective of the final outcome of any enquiry.

Syed Gowher Ali,
Chennai

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