George’s house still has zero accountability, total transparency
Tehelka criticism doesn’t matter to the Hon’ble Minister, you can walk into his official residence, even buy T-shirts from his permanent guests
The Indiaexpress
BHAVNA VIJ
NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 20: INSIDE the house, Che Guevara lives with Ram Manohar Lohia on the wall. In the outhouse, live rebel Myanmarese students, wading in anti-China literature, who until a month ago, were selling T-shirts from here. In another section, sit people from Nalanda, in Bihar—for them this is a home away from home. This is also part-time office of the Samata Party. Right in the middle of optimum-security New Delhi, 3 Krishna Menon Marg is as open a house as you can get. This couldn’t be the official residence of the Defence Minister of India.But it is—it’s as if Tehelka didn’t happen.
Days after he was rehabilitated, Defence Minister George Fernandes is away inspiring troops in Siachen and when The Indian Express walked into his house this afternoon, no questions asked, no security guards, one thing was clear. Either he has a touching faith in the world—or he doesn’t give a damn.
About the criticism following the Tehelka tapes that showed how his official residence was being misused, the manner in which people posing as arms agents walked right in to discuss deals and party donations with his colleague and friend Jaya Jaitly.
Talk to Kyaw Than, president of the All Burmese Students’ League, one of the Minister’s permanent house guests. ‘‘We started a small business to make a little extra money and started selling T-shirts here. About 100-150 people visit the house every day and many of them used to buy T-shirts from us, until a month ago.’’ Then maybe some reason dawned. Than says he had to shut shop as there was ‘‘some criticism’’ about their ‘‘outlet’’ being on the premises of the official residence of a senior leader. But all the same, he promptly gives you the Defence Minister’s phone numbers and says he can be contacted at any time. He even has an extension in his room.
Inquiries reveal that Jaitly and Shambhu Sharan Srivastava, Samata Party general secretary and spokesperson, still spend a better part of their day here, meeting people, dispensing with ‘‘organisational business.’’ For their visitors, the red carpet seems to be all over, right from the entrance where there is no gate, only a wide opening. Wide enough for any car to drive in without any checks. The only sign of it being the Defence Minister’s house is an inconspicuous and dusty wooden name-plate hanging outside.
In one section of the house, just off the huge portrait of Ram Manohar Lohia in the hall, is a room with the Samata Party board.Newspaper clippings, related to Samata and Fernandes, are being cut and filed. If propriety is not prohibitive, one could continue walking in the corridor, probably into Fernandes’s bedroom.
‘‘Jaya madam is busy with an interview, you will have to come later,’’ says a person sitting in the Samata Party office. Later, talking to The Indian Express, she denies that Samata office functions from the Defence Minister’s house. ‘‘The official address of the Samata Party office is 220, Vithalbhai Patel House and only some public work is done from Geroge’s house. Only the work that is an extension of George and the various organisations he believes in. Work related to All Burma Students League, the trade unions, the Samajwadi Abhiyan (monitoring the work of multi-nationals) and his constituency.’’ And, of course, the country’s defence.