The force called the Interim Report of the Jain Commission of Inquiry into the Rajiv Gandhi assassination has already claimed the scalp of the United Front government. It has virtually brought to a grinding halt the political career of P.V. Narasimha Rao. Two other former prime ministers—V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar—stand indicted. And the entire Tamil population has been branded as having collaborated in the ghastly 1991 killing at Sriperumbudur.
The list of victims does not end there. India’s relations with Nepal struck a sour note after the unconfirmed RAW report included in the Interim Report spoke of a conspiracy involving the queen of Nepal to kill Rajiv. The MEA had to deny the report and tender apologies. The SPG cover of VVIPs has had to be restructured since all the secret procedures have been made public in the report. The Indian government’s links with Tamil militants have also been exposed, much to the delight of Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Surprisingly, the disaster called the Interim Report has been authored by a very gentle judge. Journalists who have interacted with him describe Justice Jain as a soft-spoken man who, till very recently, was accessible to the media in giving interviews. Much of the depositions before the commission made their way to newspapers long before the Interim Report was tabled in Parliament.
Even today the report is a journalist’s dream. Dip into any page and you are bound to come up with an accusation, a wild claim or a new set of theories. Documents on which the government had claimed privilege, and were for the honourable judge’s eyes alone, made their way into the report. While the judge may have thrown up some startling and relevant facts, he has been accused of not exercising his discretion in separating the chaff from the grain.
To be fair, Justice Jain was working under trying circumstances. The odds were very much against him throwing light on the international conspiracy which is believed to be behind the Rajiv Gandhi killing. In fact, there were many in the political establishment who nurtured the hope that Justice Jain would fail. But when the judge started to ask unpleasant questions and demanded access to documents, efforts were made to bridle the commission through court injunctions. The Narasimha Rao government even tried to wind up the commission.
But Justice Jain has been a great survivor. Just when everyone had all but forgotten the commission, came the Interim Report and the fall of the United Front government. The main burden of what was fin-ally stated in the report had already appeared in newspapers for the nth time. But the report was seized upon by the Congress to whip up a political cri sis which led to the dissolution of Parliament and precipitated an election that no one was prepared for.
Those who ride a tiger face the threat of being mauled by the beast. Congressmen who believed the party would sail through to a landslide victory aboard the Interim Report are having second thoughts. In fact, the future does look grim. Justice Jain’s final report does not augur well for the Congress. Among those who are likely to be named in it will be Congressmen who were part of the conspiracy or were involved in the cover-up.In the end, the Congress could well look like a party which harboured persons who were part of the conspiracy.
As for the honourable judge, sometimes referred to as In-Justice Jain, the page one slot of newspapers in the New Year will be his. That’s if he lives up to his commitment of unleashing Jain II—the Final Report before February 28.
