NEW DELHI: A threat looms large over the Indian prime minister. It comes not from reduced parliamentary strength of Narasimha Rao but from a stock and share broker. Harshad Mehta who is involved in a share scam worth several thousand crores of rupees and has threatened to name certain very important persons in connection with the scandal. He reportedly paid Rs 1 crore to that politician. A few days ago he wanted the Indian government either to make him immune from persecution or face the exposure of the politics who received the money from him. It was not acceptable to the government and the prime minister. But Mehta has announced his plantomakea public mention of that high-level politician.
Meanwhile, top advisors of Prime Minister Rao are getting ready to face the threat posed by Mehta. The indication obviously is that Rao himself got the money from Mehta sometime on the eve of the scandal breaking out in April 1992. The prime minister’s principal information officer who had been given certain last minute instructions by Rao on the eve of his departure for Oman on Monday has in a statement said that those who allege that Mehta had met the prime minister prior to his collection from Andhra Pradesh as a member of the Indian parliament must furnish proof of that. This statement again points to the possibility of Rao himself being the person likely to be named by Mehta as a recipient of his donation. In any case, an idea of the gravity of the situation is provided by the fact that Raois cunailing his Oman visit and is returning earlier than scheduled, even though his crisis. If Rao somehow managed to steer clear of the gathering storm, it will further reduce his credibility and strength and will bring the eventuality of his government’s collapse closer. Meanwhile, India’s stock markets reacted to the Mehta threat and came down on two consecutive days early this week to suggest that the basic health of the Indian government is not sound at all.
Indian prime minister already has to contend with growing dissidence within the ruling Congress(I) party. The dissidents want him to apologize for the destruction of Babri masjid at the hands of Hindu fundamentalists. Far from retracting his widely known pro-Hindutva stand, the prime minister commissioned a god man last week to carry out certain religious rituals for his own health and possibly to give a message to Hindus that he is not averse to BJP’s Hindutva agenda. Another factor that damaged Rao’s reputation was the order of a government appointed tribunal which set aside the ban on the RSS imposed in the wake of the destruction of Babri masjid in December 1992.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 18, 1993
