Pratim Ranjan Bose
Last week was eventful in Indian politics. Arvind Kejriwal, the
Chief Minister of Delhi and supremo of Aam Aadmi Party or AAP has landed up in
jail in a multi-billion-dollar kickback scam involving the liquor distribution
policy.
The arrest of Chief Ministers and ministers for corruption charges is not new to India. In 2014, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha was arrested in a disproportionate asset case.
Lalu Yadav of RJD in Bihar handed over the Chief ministership to
his wife in 1997 and enjoyed power from behind after a federal agency accused
him of fodder scam. He was eventually arrested.
Hemant Soren from Jharkhand stepped down earlier this year
anticipating arrest. Madhu Koda also from Jharkhand was arrested in 2009 within
months of relegating power.
However, Kejriwal’s arrest was distinct.
Firstly, the timing. He was arrested on March 21, after the
announcement of the general election on March 16.
The arrest did not come easy. The probe has been on since August
2022. Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister was arrested for the scam in March
2023.
According to CNBC[i], Kejriwal ignored at least six summons from law
enforcers since October 2023 to cooperate with the probe. He ignored each of
them and even questioned the authority of the agency in summoning him.
Finally, the Delhi High Court checked the evidence in the hands
of the investigating agency and denied him immunity[ii] from arrest.
The Opposition, led by Congress - which is barely in competition
against the ruling BJP in the ensuing election - expressed solidarity with
Kejriwal. However, for more reasons than one, the support may be temporary or
superficial.
Firstly, Kejriwal came to prominence during Anna Hazare’s
movement against corruption in 2011. AAP was formed in 2012.
And, since its birth, AAP was at loggerheads with Congress which
was then ruling the union territory of Delhi. Kejriwal promised to send the
then Delhi Chief Minister Late Sheila Dixit to jail.
He publicly accused Sonia Gandhi, the ultimate power centre in
Congress, of corruption and dared the federal agencies to arrest her.
It was AAP that dislodged the Congress government in Punjab in
2022.
In 2016, former Congress Chief Minister of Punjab Captain
Amarinder Singh[iii] accused
the Delhi CM of taking suspicious funding from the US for his non-profit
organisation.
In December 2022, Congress lodged a formal complaint to law
enforcers seeking a probe into the liquor scam.
And, most critically, AAP was a spoiler to Congress’s
recent effort to unite opposition parties under a grand coalition for the 2024
election.
Second, the Opposition unity on Kejriwal’s arrest is also
questionable due to the depth of the scam that cuts across the business and
political spectrum.
K Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar
Rao from BRS is also arrested in the scam.
According to a report in The New Indian Express[iv] on March 24, Kavita was allegedly
mediating between Kejriwal government and politically influential liquor barons
from South India for taking advantage of the Delhi liquor policy.
Some of the businessmen already turned approver[v] to the law enforcement agency
probing the money laundering scam. One such businessman, who admitted offering
kickback through Kavita, recently joined TDP of Andhra Pradesh.
Media is speculating if Kavita will also turn an approver.
Thirdly, just as “Pakistan is not a normal country,” Kejriwal
and his AAP are not regular political entities.
In an editorial published on March 23 - that is after the arrest
of the Delhi CM - anti-BJP newspaper, The Hindu[vi] reminded that Kejriwal and his
“band of anarchists” rose to national prominence by giving precedence to
“mobocracy."
Both Congress and BJP accused Kejriwal and his AAP, time and
again, directly or indirectly, of giving precedence to anarchy or supporting
anarchic forces.
The allegation took a serious turn on March 25, when exiled
Khalistani terrorist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun claimed[vii] that Khalistani groups provided
nearly $16 million to AAP between 2014 and 2022. The report was carried in all
prominent Indian newspapers.
Notably, such groups have strong media networks in the West.
Seen from this perspective, the sympathy wave in the Western media and, the
sharp reaction of German foreign ministry, might have further ruined Kejriwal’s
case. India slammed[viii] Germany for poking their nose in our internal
affairs.
Clearly, Kejriwal’s arrest may have more than it meets the
eye.
***
[i] https://www.cnbctv18.com/india/delhi-excise-policy-case-timeline-of-key-events-leading-to-cm-arvind-kejriwal-arrest-19345501.htm
[ii] https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/delhi-high-court/delhi-high-court-refuses-to-grant-interim-protection-from-ed-arrest-to-cm-arvind-kejriwal-in-liquor-policy-case-253041
[iii] https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/arvind-kejriwal-ngo-cia-amarinder-singh-sikh-chhotepur-337574-2016-08-27
[iv] https://www.newindianexpress.com/explainers/2024/Mar/24/where-brs-leader-kavitha-figures-in-the-delhi-liquor-scam
[v] https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/how-sarath-reddy-turning-approver-in-delhi-liquor-scam-will-impact-kcrs-daughter-kavitha-2387982-2023-06-02
[vi] https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/aap-trap-on-arvind-kejriwals-arrest-and-democracy/article67981526.ece
[vii] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/khalistani-separatist-leader-gurpatwant-pannun-alleges-aap-and-arvind-kejriwal-of-receiving-rs-134-crore-from-the-group/articleshow/108763738.cms?from=mdr
[viii] https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/why-india-slammed-germany-over-comments-on-arvind-kejriwals-arrest-5300230
No comments:
Post a Comment