VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
Those who live in glass houses do
not throw stones at others. Having an experience of 50 years in politics, I am
sure Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh must have been told about
this dictum a long time ago. But I am not sure whether the multiple time Chief
Minister who likes being called Raja Sahib, ever thought about this when he
began his vendetta politics against his political rivals in the State.
The same vendetta politics has
now boomeranged on him and he has been cornered on several fronts. There is
another idiom often quoted in political circles. When you have skeletons in
your own cupboard, do not try to open the cupboard of others. Perhaps the 79-year
old leader failed to read too much into this before launching a fusillade
against the first BJP family of Himachal Pradesh — the Dhumals even as he had
skeletons lined up in his own cupboard.
Virbhadra Singh may cry hoarse
from the rooftop that what he did in Himachal Pradesh in the last one year was
not vendetta politics but ask the ordinary Congress workers in the State and
they will tell you all the Government did after taking over in December 2012
was try to nail the family of Prem Kumar Dhumal and consolidate the politics of
patronage in which you only distribute the state largesse on your chosen ones —
family members and inner coterie.
People of the State would tell
you that there could have been irregularities in the way Himachal Pradesh Cricket
Association (HPCA) is run. It may have been converted into a
company from society and it may
be the personal fiefdom of Prem Kumar Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur. But the
people will also tell you that the organisation brought international cricket
to the hill State and built one of the most beautiful cricket stadiums of the
world. Now, do not give credit to your rivals for bringing international
cricket to the state but also do not bring out a huge microscope and start
scrutinising every minute transaction of the HPCA. Remember, at the end of the
day, people remember it for bringing cricket to the State and feel proud that
they have seen international cricketers playing in what is arguably one of the
most scenic cricket stadia of the world.
By launching a full-scale
investigative campaign against HPCA, how many branches and trees it has felled,
how many extra rooms it has built, how many square feet of land it has
encroached and why is it running a luxury hotel, you are only trivialising
governance. You are not targeting the cricket body of the State where a BJP
leader happens to be the president but an institution many Himachalis feel
proud of irrespective of their party affiliation. Instead of this cat and mouse game using
Government power, why not contest the elections of the HPCA and become the
president of the organisation by democratically removing Anurag Thakur. If
Thakur has adopted Machiavellian tactics to become the HPCA president and has
all tricks of the trade to retain the post, why now adopt a similar tactics to
remove him from the position? Why are you targeting your political rival on the
sly using your Government position and authority even though the Himachal High
Court has given thumbs down to the Government when it took over the entire
property of HPCA in a midnight action?
When Dhumal was the Chief
Minister, he might have tried to target Singh. But most of his cases which have
come in the limelight now pertain to central agencies — Income Tax
irregularities, diary entries investigation by CBI and false affidavit by
Election Commission. How can you blame Dhumal for all which you are facing now?
Raja Sahib, you have been in politics for so long and in the last innings now,
a magnanimous act and good governance could have given you a place in regional
history. But you chose to look the other way round.
The action against HPCA was a
clear cut case of vendetta politics. You wanted to take over an institution
built brick by brick by another person forcibly. You wanted to snatch HPCA for
yourself. The High Court saw the larger design and struck down the Government
order. In fact, the serial vendetta politics started even before Virbhadra Singh
formally took over as the Chief Minister with accusation of phone tapping. More
than a year down the line and much hue and cry, nothing so far has emerged as
to who tapped whose phone to benefit whom during the BJP regime.
Perhaps Virbhadra Singh forgot that
the old style of politics which he has been practicing is a passé now and new
players have ideas difficult to match. This is precisely what Anurag Thakur,
also the president of the BJYM and his father Prem Kumar Dhumal did. They
simply approached Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and apprised
him of the same set of irregularities which they had been raising at the State
level for a while. Though the local media reported on the issues of favours to
a power company, quid pro quo in terms of unsecured loans, not filing assets
with the election affidavit, diary entries of giving money to him by a company
etc, but when Jaitley raised it in New Delhi ,
the ramifications were far and wide.
Interestingly, all the so called
deviations of the Himachal CM was there in public domain in a limited way but
came into sharp focus only because of vendetta politics where he tried to pin
the Dhumals — the old style of running Government — which is the only way
Virbhadra Singh functions. Undoubtedly, he was the architect of the Congress
victory in the Assembly polls and made the party victorious despite all odds
but he should also remember that running a Government in 2014 is different from
what it used to be in the 1980s. You cannot run a Government in 2014 with a
mindset and politics practiced three decades ago. Things have changed
dramatically and politics is no longer targeting your opponents, giving state
largesse in terms of posts and red beacon lights to your family members and
loyalists.
After Jaitley brought the acts of
omission and commission of Virbhadra Singh in public domain afresh, now all
focus has shifted to him in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections and he has
become an example of the malaise besetting the political system. Everyday, some
new revelation is being made about the Himachal CM, the latest how apples from
his orchard were transported in two-wheelers, oil tankers and non-existent
vehicles to an apple dealer in Parwanoo to earn crores from horticulture which
is tax free.
The Prime Minister was asked what
action was being taken against the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister in a press
conference, forcing him to reply that he is yet to study the charges. In any
case, no one in the country expects the PM to take any action as it is in the domain
of political leadership of the party headed by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
When Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addresses a Press conference next, I
am sure he too will be asked about Virbhadra Singh and whether he will be
removed. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has already raised the bar and Rahul is
trying to match it with his stand on issues of corruption like the Ordinance on
jailed leaders and the Adarsh housing scam in Mumbai.
It seems Virbhadra would have to
pass the Rahul test ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The Himachal Pradesh
Chief Minister may not have done any wrong and could well be within the broad
contours of the legal framework. But then politics is now more about perception
and obviously the perception about Singh is not what it should be as the bar
has been raised higher, much higher now.
Senior Congress leaders in Delhi
are arguing that in the new era politics, Virbhadra Singh is clearly emerging
as a liability — more so, when Rahul Gandhi is set to be declared the prime
ministerial candidate of the party after the announcement of retirement of
Manmohan Singh.
In Himachal Pradesh, there are
only four Lok Sabha seats and it has little impact nationally. But the message
and perception which retaining Virbhadra Singh would give would harm the
Congress is many seats across the country. Party leadership is weighing the
pros and cons of retaining Raja Sahib with the final decision left on Rahul.
Will the Congress vice-president take a stand similar to the one he took on the
Lokpal Bill, Ordinance on jailed leaders and Adarsh Society or will he look the
other way round? Perhaps only the Congress vice-president would answer that in
his next presser. (January 6, 2014)
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