"I cannot be hanged for the sins of other Ministries"

July 12, 2011 08:38 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 01:33 am IST - New Delhi

Veerappa Moily was shifted from Law Ministry to the Corporate Affairs Ministry during Tuesday's Cabinet reshuffle. File photo

Veerappa Moily was shifted from Law Ministry to the Corporate Affairs Ministry during Tuesday's Cabinet reshuffle. File photo

Hours after he was shifted from the Law Ministry to Corporate Affairs, a visibly unhappy M. Veerappa Moily said he was a victim of a “campaign by vested interests” and asserted that he could not be “hanged” for the “sins” of other ministries.

Apparently referring to the flak faced by the government from the judiciary in cases like 2G scam, black money and Salwa Judum, Mr. Moily told journalists it was the “fault of the administrative ministries” and the blame was wrongly sought to be put on him.

At the same time, he insisted that he had not been “slighted” and that the new assignment was a challenge he would turn into an opportunity by carrying out reforms through “fast, inclusive justice” in the corporate world.

“There has been a campaign by vested interests. They knew reform was not pleasant to everybody, which I can't help. I have to do this in the best interest of the country,” Mr. Moily said, when asked whether he had been at the receiving end.

“All these cases which we fail, it is the fault of the administrative ministry. It has got nothing to do with us [Law Ministry]. We are only the face in the court,” he said.

He was apparently referring to the flak faced by the government from the Supreme Court in major cases. For the 2G scam, the administrative ministry is Telecom, for the black money case it is Finance and for Salwa Judum, it is Home.

On these aspects, the Law Ministry is understood to have been faulted for not presenting effectively the government policies.

Talking about the reforms carried out by him in the Law Ministry, Mr. Moily said he was proud of undertaking these “bold steps which cannot be appreciated by the conservatives.”

“I implemented many things; what I conceived was for the first time in 150 years,” the outgoing Law Minister said and regretted that the media was “playing blind” and expecting “quick results.”

He noted that one crore cases pending in courts would be disposed of by the end of this year, for which he has already written to Chief Justices of 21 High Courts.

He appreciated the support from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and the judiciary for his reforms agenda.

Disagreeing that he was “slighted,” he said, “I don't consider slighted. Nobody can do so to Moily. It is media creation.”

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