VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
It’s a season of controversies
and scams in which those on the top of the pyramid of politics have found
themselves in unsavory situation, ruining their immediate political plans.
While the Congress was at the receiving end in most of the scandals, BJP too
did not get away as the party President himself had to bear the ignominy of a
raging controversy involving the finances of his companies.
What has come as a surprise is
that for the first time those involved in the scandals are not small time
politicians and regional satraps against whom Disproportionate Assets case are
registered at random to settle political scores and bully them to submission
but those considered the “creamy layer” of Indian politics. Now the so called
sacrosanct, who could never have been targeted in the old school of politics,
are facing the brunt of the assault given the ease with which information is
available in public domain.
The latest to face the music is
none other than Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son and AICC General
Secretary Rahul Gandhi who have been accused of getting the finances of the
Congress Party for their company Young
Indian. While Subramanian Swamy has for long been considered a loose cannon who
could explode anywhere and was known to train guns at the Gandhi family at the
slightest pretext without any proof, this time he has done his homework well
and brought evidence which the party found difficult to refute.
The knee-jerk reaction – first by
the office of Rahul Gandhi and later a battery of Congress spokespersons, compounded the worst
fears of even the Congress supporters. While the office of Rahul threatened to
take all action possible under law and denied the allegations of Swamy, the
party had a different take on it. It accepted that money as alleged by Swamy had indeed been
given to the company in which Rahul and Sonia have a majority stake and tried
to defend the blatant violation of the existing laws governing the political
parties of the country. Clearly, the charges of financial irregularities and
evasion of taxes had reached the courtyard of 10 Janpath, the residence of the
Congress President and 12 Tughlaq Lane ,
the residence of party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi.
I fail to understand the goof ups
made by the oldest party of the country.
If indeed the loan to Young Indian was proper and as per the laws of the
land, why didn’t the Congress itself inform about the decision through its
mouthpiece “Congress Sandesh” or through one of its spokespersons in the
regular party briefing. Why did the party, which claims to be the champion of
Right to Information, doing it discreetly when finances of as much as Rs 90
crore was involved. It was not Rs nine or Rs ninety which you give to a beggar
on a traffic junction. Don’t the people who trust the party and vote for it in
elections, deserve to know what it is doing with the money entrusted to it
through donations.
Had Congress itself disclosed
that it is going to revive the newspaper National Herald by giving interest
free loans to Young Indian and wants to perpetuate the legacy of Jawahar Lal
Nehru, no one would have objected to it. In fact, it would have been the first
page news of most newspapers and the lead item in the news channels. The party
would have got widespread appreciation for helping out the families of the
erstwhile employees of National Herald as Janardan Dwivedi claims now.
But clearly, the party had
something to hide. It knew for sure that what it was doing was not allowed as
per the existing laws. It chose to be discreet and evasive and is now
deliberately going on an overdrive. People expect much more transparency from a
party which was founded 127 years ago. Why does the party still believe that in
an era of IT revolution when every document can be scanned and brought out in
public domain, such a gesture of loaning Rs 90 crore would remain a secret?
This is not the 1950s.
Earlier, Robert Vadra, son-in-law
of the Congress President found himself in the middle of questionable land deal
and unsecured loans indicating quid pro quo. This was the beginning when the
credentials of a family member and financial dealings came under scanner. Now
when more and more information is reaching public domain, no one knows how much
more muck, most of which is going to stick, will flow at the directions of the
top bosses.
Assembly elections in Himachal
Pradesh were held just at a time when Swamy was through with his allegations
and the Congress found itself in a tight spot defending the charges. Many
voters, the young ones in particular, would now be wondering when even the
conduct of the top leaders is not beyond suspicion, why should they vote for
them. Remember, BJP President Nitin Gadkari is also in the eye of storm for
financial irregularities. So both the Presidents of the two main parties –
Gandhi and Gadkari – face charges the answers of which are hardly convincing.
So whom do you vote for if you go
the polling booth and make corruption as the yardstick? Well, the question is
difficult to answer. May be the one who is less corrupt and this is extremely
subjective.
There is one big difference
between Congress and BJP here where the ruling party finds itself in a much
weaker position. Gadkari may not be the face of the BJP and can easily be
dumped to take care of his business empire if the heat continues and it finds
itself at the receiving end. It won’t really affect the core vote bank of the
party. But what about the Congress? The entire party owes its existence to the
Gandhis and they symbolize the Congress and vice versa. The party cannot do
without them. That is an existential dilemma. In the last 65 years since
independence, the family members have been the trump cards for the party and
continue to be so.
Then, there is another problem in
store for the Congress and Rahul Gandhi in particular. He has been looking to
play a bigger role in the party for long and refused to join the Manmohan Singh
Cabinet. At a time, when he along with the Congress President, was trying to
figure out what this bigger role could be, Swamy came out with the expose. Now,
it seems that the bigger role of Gandhi would have to wait as the party would
like the dust to settle down and bank on the memory of the people that “it is
short”. (November 5, 2012)
No comments:
Post a Comment