In the early Seventies, when the highest rate of income tax had touched 97.75 percent only to be reduced to 75 percent by the mid-seventies, raids by the income tax department were a common occurrence. The joke those days was, for those who are old enough to remember, it had become a matter of pride and a symbol of one’s status among a section of the business gentry to get raided. So, if they were not raided in the normal course, some of them would engineer raids upon themselves only to keep up with their peers.
Though it may not have acquired similar stature, raids, and arrests of high-profile politicians by central investigative agencies for alleged economic offences have become passé. Yesterday’s raids are as stale as yesterday’s newspapers, more so because after the actions one seldom hears much about them later.
The arrest of Satyendar Kumar Jain, a Cabinet minister in Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi government, by the Enforcement Directorate is the latest such instance. The arrest is apparently in connection with an eight-year-old case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act involving properties worth Rs 4.81 crore. Curiously, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting parallel proceedings on the same matter.
Predictably, there have been accusations of political vendetta behind the arrest. This has become the standard script after each arrest these days. Kejriwal went to the extent of calling the arrests “complete fraud”. However, notwithstanding repeated questions about the underlying motives of these raids and arrests, the agencies go about their business undeterred.
The abysmal rate of conviction of these cases should have been the cause of some embarrassment to the government. But, the concerned ministries of the Union government seem to be quite blasé about it. This adds fuel to the conspiracy theories about the possible political angle of these actions. The timing of these actions also give rise to speculations.
Whether Jain is guilty or not will be decided by the courts, and it is not for us to conjecture. Though from previous trends it may be safe to assume that he will be granted bail in due course, and, thereafter, the case will linger on just like many others involving prominent politicians. That is why it is often remarked that the process is the punishment. Here, there can be another dimension, of setting a public example. But what could be the larger political messaging if any.
One school of thought suggests this could be an attempt to bring the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the high horse of probity it has been adopting in its electoral foray into other states. Kejriwal made a fantastic claim both in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh — the two states are the next pit stops for the AAP in its mission to establish a pan-India footprint — that it had done away with ‘corruption’ within 10 days in Punjab. To substantiate this claim, it took the unprecedented step of sacking and arresting one of its own ministers – Vijay Singla — within days of his assuming office, on charges of corruption. Without doubt AAP will try to make major political capital out of it in the days to come. But Jain’s arrest could potentially take some wind out of its sails.
Kejriwal is a consummate master of playing the victim card. . At a press conference he tried to turn the tables on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asserting “It’s a false case against Jain” . Turning emotional he adopted a pained tone of injured innocence saying “We are hard-core patriots, even if it cost us our lives we can never betray the country…I myself saw his papers, the allegations against him are false. He has been arrested in view of politics.”
The second theory is based on the perceived propensity of AAP to use the Punjab Police to settle its own political scores even by trespassing territorial jurisdictions. The obvious reference is to the Tajinder Pal Bagga. Some are of the view that this could also be a veiled warning against indiscriminate use of the state apparatus to settle political scores.
Whether there is an iota of truth in these postulations, no one can vouch. One does hope the sanctity of the institutions are not being compromised for political ends as many allege. However, what cannot be denied is that there is a crying need to restore the credibility of investigating agencies. Something that has been commented upon even by the Chief Justice of India in an address to officers of the CBI. While that may require organisational reforms, which are time consuming, what can be definitely done in the short term is improve the speed of investigations, and thoroughness in pursuing prosecution. That will go a long way towards generating public confidence.
On the other hand, if the investigations against Jain draw a blank – the public will stop taking the investigative agencies seriously, which may hurt BJP politically in times to come.
Sandip Ghose is a current affairs commentator. Twitter: @SandipGhose. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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