“The Kantilal episode would have served a very useful purpose if it contributes to making public life in India cleaner. As for Mr. Morarji Desai’s particular problem…. his own hands will be strengthened for the future if he separated his son from the semi-official status of personal secretary (to the Deputy Prime Minister, it should be remembered) that he now enjoys.”
AUGUST 21, 1968
Son problem
MR. MORARJI DESAI IS NOT THE FIRST PERSON HOLDING high office to be confronted with a son problem. Nor India the only country where such a problem has arisen. Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill of England, President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, President Ayub Khan of Pakistan, even Stalin, the Russian dictator, to mention a few instances within living memory, have all had to face in their time their full share of political embarrassment over the activities of their progeny. Mr. Morarji Desai’s current troubles have stemmed from his Kantilal’s business connections and some Opposition members in Parliament have sought to connect Kantilal’s success in business to the fact of his being the Deputy Prime Minister’s son and secretary. Twice, on April 30 and July 24 last, did Mr. Desai make statements in the Lok Sabha refuting the allegations made but that still did not clear up the matter. Mr. Madhu Limaye, who has spear-headed the attack on Mr. Desai, on Friday moved to get the Lok Sabha to censure Mr. Desai for “false statements” about his son’s connections made to the House and also to censure the Prime Minister for not having dismissed Mr. Desai on that account. In rejecting Mr. Limaye’s motion by an impressive 193-57 majority, the Lok Sabha has cleared Mr. Desai of the charges levelled against him and has accepted his explanation of his son’s business activities. This should end the matter, but will it?
Persons in position of high authority should be doubly careful to see they do not give any room for the public to look askance at their record. Caesar’s wife should not only be above suspicion but should be seen to be so. Both the Prime Minister and Acharya Kripalani emphasised this point during the Lok Sabha debate, when the former said, “We all agree that while there is no bar to sons carrying on business, there is as much obligation on such relatives as on the Ministers themselves that there is no occasion for any doubt to be raised that the relationship is utilised for the advancement of any business interests” and the latter said that in public affairs “we have not only to be correct but have to appear to be correct before the public”. This dictum is applicable to all persons occupying responsible positions whether Ministers or career officials, at the Centre or in the States. It cannot be denied that public confidence in our administrators has been at a low ebb lately. There have been so many proven cases of maladministration, corrupt practices, official toleration of indiscipline at various levels of society and so on that the rest of the world is even beginning to have doubts if India is a “going concern”. The Kantilal episode would have served a very useful purpose if it contributes to making public life in India cleaner. As for Mr. Morarji Desai’s particular problem, while there can no longer be any doubt after the Lok Sabha’s verdict that he did his best to ensure his son did not stray from the straight and narrow path, his own hands will be strengthened for the future if he separated his son from the semi-official status of personal secretary (to the Deputy Prime Minister, it should be remembered) that he now enjoys.
It is one of Parliament’s important functions to act as a watchdog of the activities of the Executive and it is to the credit of the Opposition that it has ever kept a vigilant eye open in this respect. But the rub comes when members succumb to the temptation to overplay the watchdog role and begin to chase the political will-o’-the-wisps. The valuable time of Parliament gets wasted in the process and that can never be in the national interest. This has happened all too often during the past few years and parliamentary business has been held up by diversionary political cross-plays. Surely Parliament, should address itself to the more pressing problems on its hands. Among these may be mentioned the Bill to ban company donations to political parties, measures to curb communalism and to check floor-crossing by legislators, the proposals for reorganisation of Assam and the amendment of the Inter-State Waters Disputes Act. Four weeks have already passed since the current six-week monsoon session began and much of the legislative business on the agenda still remains to be completed.
Reference:
The First 100
A Selection of Editorials, 1878-1978, THE HINDU, VOLUME I