Author: Balbir K Punj
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 28, 2011
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/364148/CBI-a-weapon-of-offence.html
Whenever the Congress has been in power at
the Centre, it has brazenly misused agencies of the state, especially the
CBI, to further its political agenda.
Time and again the Congress and the Union
Government it heads have denied misusing investigative agencies such as the
Central Bureau of Investigation and the Directorate of Enforcement to advance
the party's interests. But the Congress has now been caught on the wrong foot.
In its effort to meet the political challenge posed to the Congress by the
YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh, led by Mr Jaganmohan Reddy, son of the late
Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the Government has launched a seven-State
CBI investigation into the Reddy family's assets and the source of funds for
Mr Reddy's various business ventures.
The FIR filed in this connection names YSR
Reddy as a co-accused in the several cases of corruption that the agency claims
it has discovered during its investigations. Mr Reddy has hit back at the
Congress by getting MLAs (and MPs) loyal to him to withdraw their support
to the State Government, thus weakening it. The Congress's attempts to malign
YSR Reddy, the man who was credited with reviving the party in Andhra Pradesh
after it remained out of power for over a decade, just to get even with his
son for daring the party high command, are ridiculous. For if YSR Reddy was
guilty of amassing wealth, he did so during the seven years that he was in
power. The Congress cannot pretend that it was not aware of what it describes
as the Reddy family's 'massive corruption.
The CBI has portrayed the father-son duo as
the fountain head of corruption in Andhra Pradesh. But Mr Reddy, a young politician,
could not have played a big role in the alleged corrupt deals unless his father
was using him as a shield. Either way, why did the Congress turn a blind eye
to these deals even after the party won a second term under YSR Reddy's leadership?
Clearly the Congress's sudden urge to be virtuous is no more than a disguise
for its attempt to crush Mr Reddy who has the support of as many as 26 MLAs
and several MPs. That the CBI is being used to neutralise the threat that
Mr Reddy poses to the Congress is in itself proof of the ruling party's misuse
of Government agencies to further its political agenda.
Such instances of misuse of investigative
agencies are neither new nor unknown. In fact it was the suspicion of the
Supreme Court on this count that compelled it to take up the issue of investigations
into the 2G Spectrum scam and Hasan Ali's case. In the latter case, both the
Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court have severely criticised the CBI and
the ED for shoddy investigation. Recently the Delhi Police was also castigated
for its three-year delay in investigating the cash-for-vote scandal that rocked
the Lok Sabha in 2008. The report that the police have finally traced the
cash displayed in the Lok Sabha to Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh - the
same person whom the BJP MPs had accused of attempting to bribe them - explains
why the investigation was delayed for so long. After all, as is well known,
Mr Singh played a major role in saving the UPA1 regime during the 2008 confidence
vote.
In the Hasan Ali episode also the reluctance
of the ED to get to the accused was noted by the Supreme Court. It was only
following this that he was arrested and investigations were conducted that
led to unearthing his part in deals that involved illicitly sending money
abroad. The court also criticised the investigative agencies for their lethargic
role in tracing the black money trail abroad. This resulted in the Government
charging the Supreme Court with intruding into the executive's domain by taking
over the black money investigation. It is alleged that the Government wants
to protect Hasan Ali because a free and fair inquiry into his financial affairs
could expose some leaders of the Congress. It may also be recalled how the
Union Government has been chided by the Supreme Court in several other cases
wherein the central figures are Congress leaders.
The misuse of investigative agencies to protect
Congress leaders and their patrons on the one hand and to browbeat the Opposition
on the other has been a common practice for decades. After the Congress returned
to power in 1980, an inquiry commission was set up to look into the affairs
of Gandhian institutions promoted by Jayaprakash Narayan. Unleashing Government
agencies to hound the party's opponents and publicly accusing critics of being
CIA agents was a common practice in the 1970s and 1980s. The practice so infuriated
the Swatantra Party MP Piloo Mody that he once came to Parliament with a placard
around his neck, declaring that he was a CIA agent. But the practice of maligning
and defaming critics continues. This is exemplified by the vituperative and
vulgar attack on Anna Hazare by Congress spokespersons.
There are innumerable instances to show how
the Congress, whenever it has been in power at the Centre, has misused agencies
of the state to exonerate individuals known for their proximity to the party
leadership of charges of corruption. For instance, Italian businessman Ottavio
Quattrocchi was let off the hook by UPA1 although there was substantial evidence
to prove his involvement in the Bofors scandal. Each time this has happened,
the the Government has defended its indefensible decisions by insisting that
it acted as per the advice of its legal officers. That claim, of course, is
no more than a fig leaf and would not pass scrutiny.
The massive response to last fortnight's anti-corruption
agitation led by Anna Hazare can be attributed to the popular perception that
the Congress is steeped in corruption and that it heads a tainted regime.
That perception has been greatly strengthened by the Government's handling
of the 2G Spectrum scam, the CWG lootfest, the Hasan Ali case and the manner
in which it tried to appoint a bureaucrat accused of corruption as the Chief
Vigilance Commissioner despite the Opposition pointing out that he should
not be considered for the job. The spontaneous response of the masses in Delhi,
Mumbai, Bangalore and, indeed, across the country, to Anna Hazare's movement
and the large turnout at Ramlila Maidan where he sat on anashan is really
an expression of lack of confidence in the present Union Government, especially
the Congress.
