What Is the Sarkaria Commission?
In 1972, after breaking away from the DMK, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) levelled several allegations of corruption and abuse of power against the then DMK government headed by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and submitted complaints to the Union Government.
M.Kalyanasundaram of the Communist Party of India also submitted complaints. In 1975, a state of Emergency was imposed across India. On January 31, 1976, the DMK government headed by Karunanidhi was dismissed.
Three days later, on February 3, 1976, the Union Government constituted a Commission of Inquiry headed by Supreme Court Justice R.S. Sarkaria. How Many Allegations Were There? Of the 54 complaints said to have been made in total, 28 matters came within the scope of the Sarkaria Commission's inquiry.
These included matters relating to: The Veeranam drinking water project Aerial spraying of pesticides Certain companies and properties Land-related issues Sugar-related matters A power station Road contracts And several other issues Recent news reports citing the Commission's records indicate that the inquiry was extensive. Statements were reportedly obtained from around 1,600 witnesses, and thousands of pages of documents were collected.
So, Were the Allegations Proved?
This is where the controversy lies. Reports that have examined the Sarkaria Commission documents state that its preliminary report contained serious findings against Karunanidhi and his government in relation to some of the allegations investigated. However, there is one extremely important distinction: The Sarkaria Commission was not a criminal court.
It was a Commission of Inquiry. Therefore, a finding or observation made by the Commission should not automatically be equated with a criminal conviction by a court of law.
What Is the “Veeranam ₹29 Lakh” Issue Vijay Spoke About?
This is one of the main reasons why the Sarkaria Commission has once again become a subject of political discussion. On September 7, Chief Minister Vijay, while speaking in the Legislative Assembly, referred to the Sarkaria Commission report concerning the Veeranam project of the 1970s. Vijay referred to allegations that a 2.5% commission had been demanded in connection with awarding the Veeranam project contract to Sathyanarayana Brothers, and that approximately ₹29 lakh had allegedly been paid illegally. However, there is a very important point here.
According to the Sarkaria Commission's final report on the Veeranam issue, although the Commission considered that the allegation concerning the illegal payment of ₹29 lakh could not simply be dismissed, it also found that there was insufficient corroborative evidence. The conclusion concerning the allegation that Karunanidhi had received the illegal payment was that it had not been proved beyond doubt.
