#dnaEdit: Chasing wrongdoers

The BJP in opposition had always attacked the Congress party in government for rampant corruption. Differences over policy issues were relegated to a secondary position. During UPA II tenure, from 2009 to 2014, the primary charge that the main opposition party brought against the Congress-led coalition was one of corruption. More than misconceived policies, UPA II faced fire for scams relating to the holding of Commonwealth Games, the allocation of 2G spectrum and the coal blocks. Then there was the general charge of money stashed in foreign, especially Swiss, banks by powerful politicians and businessmen, con men, and many of them with Congress links. This was not all. Ever since the Bofors’ Rs64-crore kickbacks story broke out, first over the Swedish radio and then in the Indian media, the Nehru-Gandhis came directly under the scanner. The alleged increase in the land assets of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, Robert Vadra, in Haryana and Rajasthan, has been the centre of the exchange of allegations by the BJP and denials by the Congress. What connects the cases of those holding accounts in foreign banks, which are unaccounted for, and that of Vadra and his business deals is the BJP charge that the Congress had brazenly patronised the corrupt. So far, the issue of black money and that of Vadra’s wealth has remained a sharp and vitriolic part of the political debate. These are indeed legitimate issues of public concern.

There is need to distinguish between wrongdoing which is an indiscretion and wrongdoing which is a cognisable crime. Among the many reasons of Congress’ defeat in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year and in the Haryana, Maharashtra assembly elections last week, is the perception that Congress allowed a free run of the corrupt. It is incumbent on the part of victorious BJP then that it should chase the wrongdoers and have them convicted through the due process of law. While it is the norm of political exchanges that allegations, threats, criticisms will fly thick and fast, the question of criminality will have to be settled in the courts beyond reasonable doubt. It cannot be helped that public perception does not differentiate much  between the accused and the guilty. As the party in power and with the responsibility of prosecuting those who have transgressed law, the BJP will have to show restraint as well as fair play. Though not unfortunately considered part of political morality, these are qualities that every political party and government should strive for. Restraint and fair play are indispensable in the legal process. Nothing should be done to give rise to the impression that the laws have been manipulated to put an opponent behind bars. 

The alleged wrongdoings of Vadra and those who are supposed to have illegally stashed money in foreign banks cannot be reduced to a street battle between the BJP and the Congress. The courts have been impartial in dealing with cases involving politicians and those related to them. There is also need for politicians to keep away from invective while criminal charges are being pursued against individuals. If finance minister Arun Jaitley feels that there is prima facie a case against Vadra, then the branch of his ministry dealing with economic crimes should follow up the case. This should not be reduced to political vendetta, however righteous and justified it might appear. In a mature democracy like India, political animosity should not colour the delivery of justice. The BJP-led NDA government should chase wrongdoers and keep politics out of the process.