Government today said that law will take its owncourse if investigations establish that there has been any violation by globalretail giant Walmart in its attempts to gain entry into the Indian market.
It also said that it was not proper to make any judgement one way or the eitherbefore probe is completed.
"If at all any investigation does conclusively establish that there hasbeen a violation of the Indian laws....law will take its own course,"Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told Karan Thapar's Devil'sAdvocate on CNN-IBN.
He was responding to a question on the Enforcement Directorate probing allegedviolation of investment rules by Walmart in India and charges that Walmartinvested in India even before the Government took a policy decision on FDI inretail.
Tewari at the same time repeatedly cautioned against "innuendos andinsinuations" till an inquiry is completed.
He said Government has already announced a probe by a former judge into theallegations of Walmart spending money on lobbying to get entry into Indianmarket and that now "the inquiry commission should be allowed to come toits independent conclusion.
"I do not think it is proper to second guess the results of an inquiry.Let the inquiry play itself out. We would not put the cart before thehorse," he said.
Tewari also hit out at the BJP over the issue alleging that the principalopposition has "reversed criminal jurisprudence on its head".
"They make an allegation, then they reiterate it and they start believingit and then they ultimately expect the country to convict a person without atrial," Tewari said, adding "if all this process exonerates Walmartcompletely, who is going to compensate individuals, associations or companiesfor the damages done as a result".
The Union Minister also exuded optimism that it will be able to pass thecrucial bills on banking, pension and insurance reforms passed in Parliament despitethe existing political contradictions as "the real faultline in thiscountry is communalism versus pluralism".
Tewari also dismissed questions on whether a recent judgement by the SupremeCourt on cases against SP Mulayam Singh has helped the governmentunintentionally.
"Those are parallel facts. Criminal investigations, judicial adjudicationsfollow a particular track. Politics follows its own track and there is noconvergence," he said.
The minister said that the government is hopeful, engaged and optimistic aboutthe passage of the crucial bills on banking, pension and insurance and theseare very important bills for the development of the country.
On the issue of lobbying, Tewari at one point even said, albeit in his"individual capacity" that India should make a Lobbying DisclosuresAct like the US, which makes it compulsory for political lobbyists to beregistered and make periodic disclosures of amount spent.
"Time has come. We need to put in place a statutory architecture, whichmakes these declarations essentials, even legislators, MPs and people in theexecutive, if they have in the past or continue to represent a particularcompany or a group of company, that interest must be declared even before theyparticipate in a debate," Tewari said.
At the same time, he sought to make a difference between lobbying and illegalgratification.
"How can you be certain that lobbying automatically translates intoillegal gratification? There is nothing to suggest either in jurisprudence orotherwise that the term lobbying is synonymous with illegal gratification. Itcould it equally couldn't be. Therefore, an inquiry will bring out the factsand Govt has agreed to inquiry," Tewari said.
He also stressed that when the government makes a policy, it does notfacilitate only one company's coming in when repeatedly asked about thecontroversies surrounding Walmart.
Tewari also accused BJP of "clutching on to straws" on the issue ofFDI in multi-brand retail after "they lost the votes substantially in bothHouses".