Apropos the editorial "Conflicting signals" (May 21), a minister can only lay down a policy; the precise implementation and assessment should be left to officials, with the minister having no role to play. Apart from the merit of the case, the alacrity with which the Vodafone tax case was reversed, shows that the law minister was running the ministry as his own personal fiefdom. Had Ashwani Kumar not been reprimanded by the apex court for meddling in Coalgate, and had he stayed on as the law minister, the ruling on Vodafone would have remained untouched. The government is supposed to take collective decisions. Then why was this case not discussed and views of the tax officials taken on board before taking a decision? N Rangachary is a distinguished former Indian revenue service officer, and has over 50 years of experience. He was appointed by the prime minister to examine various points of conflict, and he gave a detailed report on various contentious issues. The report ought to have been the guidance for the tax officials, otherwise the entire process would be an exercise in futility.
M M Gurbaxani Bangalore
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