It is not every day that a Supreme Court judge in India convenes a press conference to highlight and expose corruption plaguing the municipal corporation in a state capital. But retired Justice Ashok Ganguly did exactly that in Kolkata last week after an illegally constructed building in Garden Reach area of the city collapsed killing 14 persons.
Even as the retired apex court judge was holding forth on the nexus between unscrupulous Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials and shady realtors engaged in unauthorised constructions which had resulted in the loss of more than a dozen precious lives, his mobile phone suddenly rang. The caller was none other than the mayor himself -- Firhad Hakim -- who is one of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s most trusted lieutenants. Hakim had clearly got wind of Ganguly’s news meet and decided to quickly call up with his version.
Although the former top judge and mayor spoke politely, the assembled journalists heard Gangly sarcastically telling Hakim that Shams Iqbal, the Trinamool Congress councillor representing Garden Reach drives a car worth Rs 5-6 crores. The reporters obviously couldn’t hear Hakim’s response, but Ganguly informed them that Hakim defended Iqbal’s choice of car saying it was the “councillor’s father’s money”!
Corruption Allegations on TMC
As allegations of corruption against Mamata’s government keep mounting, it would be interesting to watch if the TMC is able to evade scrutiny and deflect the charges a la Hakim and retain the loyalty of the discerning electorate in the coming Lok Sabha elections. But the TMC has a very tough fight on its hands as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah-led Bharatiya Janata Party is marshalling all its fabled resources to somehow wrest West Bengal.
The BJP is eyeing a lion’s share of West Bengal’s 42 parliamentary seats – the third-highest after Uttar Pradesh’s 80 and Maharashtra’s 48 -- by focussing sharply on the culture of bribery, cut money and commissions which is without a doubt tainting the Trinamool Congress’ otherwise impressive governance record since 2011 when it evicted the communists from power.
The severity of graft and pay-offs is evident from the number of TMC heavyweights arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation or Enforcement Directorate currently rotting in jail. Among them are two senior cabinet ministers Partha Chatterjee and Jyotipriya Mullick; both are considered very close to Mamata; key organisational chieftain Anubrata Mondal, MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jibon Krishna Saha, and several conniving and colluding government officials like education department’s Shanti Prasad Sinha and the vice chancellor of North Bengal University, Subires Bhattcharyya.
Even the CM’s nephew and heir apparent, Abhishek Banerjee, who is a Member of Parliament and all-India general secretary, is being investigated by CBI and ED and he keeps approaching the Supreme Court to avert arrest. Fortunately, the apex court has so far stopped enforcement agencies from taking any coercive action but who knows what awaits the Trinamool Congress’ second-in-command’.
Mamata, of course, is untouched by scams and her personal integrity is beyond question. She still stands tall with an unmistakable aura of invincibility and invincibility about her. The TMC insists that its arrested leaders haven’t committed any crime and are the victims of the BJP’s “politics of vendetta”. But, tellingly, there is no substantive or coherent explanation for the leaders’ involvement in corrupt practices unearthed by the central enforcement agencies.
Mood in West Bengal
Voters I spoke to have nothing but contempt and derision for arrested TMC leaders and are unwilling to give them the benefit of doubt. Although the courts are yet to pronounce them guilty or acquit them, the public seems to be convinced of their wrong-doing after watching footage of the recovery of crores of rupees ED officials recovered from their homes and offices. Ordinary people are also swayed by their own experience of having to pay bribes making corruption an issue in the coming elections.
It looks like just as the “40 percent” slur proved to be an albatross around BJP’s neck drowning it in the Karnataka assembly elections last year, the corruption allegations could prove very costly for Mamata’s Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha elections.
So far, three surveys predicting the poll outcome in West Bengal after assessing the mood of voters have been published. The ABP-C voter survey forecast 23 seats for Trinamool Congress and BJP winning 19 bettering its 2019 tally by a single seat. The India TV-CNX poll gives the BJP 22 and Trinamool Congress 19. But according to the CNN-News18 survey, the BJP is all set to win 25 seats and Trinamool Congress will get only 17!
If the BJP ultimately does bag 22-25 seats, corruption allegations would have played a big part in the Trinamool Congress’ rout on its home turf.
SNM Abdi is an independent journalist specialising in India’s foreign policy and domestic politics. Views are personal, and do not represent the stance of this publication.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
