NEW DELHI: The Union Home Minister, S.B. Chavan has claimed that some of the classified documents required by the Jain Commission probing the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case would “malign a family” if revealed.
He maintained that barring these, the Government did not intend with- holding any document.
Chavan’s remarks in Rajya Sabha, which left several members whispering about the identity of the family formed apart of the policy of aggressive defence adopted by the Government in Parliament in face of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi’s expression of anguish at the tardy progress of Rajiv murder trial at a public meeting in Amethi last week.
He said that he had personally met Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and explained the situation to her.
Without making any categorical commitment about the release of “privileged documents,” Chavan said these were relating to intelligence having national and international ramifications.
Revealing them would also “malign a family,” he said without elaborating.
The Government fielded known Rajiv loyalist, the Union Commerce Minister, P. Chidambaram, in both the Houses to assure the agitated members that the delay in bringing the culprits to book was not intentional. Chidambaram, who broke into tears in the Rajya Sabha at the end of his statement on the status of the Rajiv assassination case, assured both the Houses that prosecution evidence in the Rajiv murder trial would be completed by the year-end.
“Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister, he was leader of the Opposition, he was Congress president. He was all these things to us. But more than anything else, he was my personal friend. For 16 months, I spent hours with him at 10, Janpath. There is nothing I will not do to bring the guilty to book,” he reminded the elders in a choked voice that grew more and more wobbly and tears filled his eyes.
In Lok Sabha, the breakaway Congress leader, Arjun Singh, raised the issue and wanted the Government to be put in the dock by making the House pass a resolution.
Though Singh wanted the House to pass a resolution castigating the Government for delay and directing it for speedier action, he had to be satisfied with a pronouncement from the Speaker, expressing the mood of the House and did not press his resolution.
Summing up the feelings expressed by the members at the end of a 45- minute discussion, the Speaker said, “We should do our best to book the culprits and punish them as per the law of the land expeditiously.”
M.L. Fotedar (Cong) said that since the entire Government was responsible for the tardy progress of the inquiry, the Prime Minister should himself come to the House.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 1, 1995
