Laws are like spider's webs which stand firm when any light, yielding object falls upon them, while larger things break through them and escape.

An English proverb

The system can be blamed, and it has been, for the erosion of credibility in our times of scams and scandals. While the authorities rush to find scapegoats to bear the burden of blame, the real culprits always get away. Yet, little has been done to improve the system.

Prime Minister I.K. Gujral while speaking on the confidence motion in Parliament declared that his government would be transparent and no one would be spared if found guilty, however high the position he or she held. It was not the first time that the country came across such a profound statement. And it was not the first time that the course of law got stuck at Race Course Road.

The popular perception of the system is at an all-time low. At a recent meeting of Chief Ministers to work out an ``action plan for efficient and responsible administration'', the Kerala Finance Minister, who belongs to the CPI(M), said: ``the system suffers from insensitivity to peoples' needs, lengthy and cumbersome procedures and corruption at all levels.'' If this is the opinion of a leader belonging to the United Front (UF), what would be the reaction of the people?

Not only has the UF to prove that it is not corrupt, but more important, it should not also give an impression that it is protecting the corrupt. In the fodder case, whatever may be the reason for the delay for charge-sheeting in Patna, New Delhi could have acted promptly on the Union Minister who is also to be charge-sheeted.

True, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and its Director Joginder Singh could have been more careful in handling crucial cases such as the fodder case and the Bofors gun deal. They could have shown more sensitivity and discretion. Even if the courts have asked the CBI to report to them directly, the investigative agency does not cease to be a government outfit and its director a government servant. When Parliament is in session, even the Prime Minister is not supposed to make policy statements outside the House. The CBI, in its enthusiasm, chose to ignore certain norms of expected patterns. Also, the CBI has lost certain amount of credibility while handling the Jain-Hawala case.

Ever since the early '70s, there have been incidents which showed that the premier investigating agency was made a handmaid of the party in power. There have been instances where political opponents were caught in the net, while the corrupt were given protection. The cases the CBI handled during the emergency are examples.

While government after government used and misused the investigative agency, the credibility of both the system and the agency was eroding. What happened to the cases of excesses committed during the emergency which were investigated during the Janata Government? What was done to those cases when Congress came back to power? When Mohan Khatre retired as the Director of the CBI, C.M. Radhakrishnan Nair was appointed to succeed him. But when Nair went to take charge, he was told Khatre continued to head the CBI as Special Director. When K. Madhavan, the then Joint Director of the CBI, was making some progress on the Bofors case, his life in the organisation was made difficult and he was forced to quit. These are well-known stories, there are many such instances of the officials being pushed around by political bosses. There was a time when State governments and the people wanted important cases to be handled by the CBI. Today, no wonder, they dread it.Gradually, the people are losing faith in institutions. They are fed up with the slow and cumbersome procedures. The UF which used corruption as an election plank cannot afford to be indifferent to these issues. But unfortunately, there is a growing feeling among people that things are as usual and nothing is happening on the cases in which bigwigs are involved.Survival is not the sign of stability. To remain in power and return to power, the UF has to retain the confidence of the people. And for that, promises have to be kept.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.