Occasional raids and seizures of huge sums by Income Tax and other central sleuths make big news. So too with the haul of around Rs 300 crore from premises linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP, Dheeraj Sahu in his home state of Odisha and also from Jharkhand and beyond. The seizures were punctuated with a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that, “every penny looted from the people will have to be returned and this is Modi’s guarantee.” The high-sounding claims of the Prime Minister in relation to black money hauls do not match the ground realities. So much water has flown down the Ganges through these years and the overall scenario vis-à-vis sway of black money has only turned from bad to worse. Worse, those cornered in such raids had not learnt any bitter lesson. The well-heeled have argued their cases and managed to wriggle out of problems.
The income tax raids on Congress leader DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru made repeated headlines and huge sums had been seized from premises linked to him. Shivakumar argued the case, won subsequent elections and runs the present government there as deputy chief minister. Income tax raids linked to Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu’s close aides unearthed huge sums when he was chief minister. He not only remained unperturbed but also banned central agencies from entering AP for investigations. Like Naidu, Mamata Banerjee too got the central agencies out. Modi could only grin and bear with such situations rather than wielding the stick effectively. Investigations linked to some other opposition chief ministers by the central agencies too failed to reach a climax. Cases are going on and on for several years with able “assistance” from legal mechanisms too that often put a spoke in the wheels of justice by way of interpretation of law. Law, it would seem, has no teeth when it comes to dealing with the high and mighty. Cases drag on for decades in the guise of investigations and trials.
The point to ponder is what difference has Narendra Modi as Prime Minister made to strengthen the systems that have rusted over the years and developed so much of vested interests to even sabotage cases. The haul of over Rs 300 crore from a Congress politician is not an isolated case. Such amassing of black money is happening across the country despite the roll-out of new checks and balances. The big question is also how the BJP spends huge sums in election campaigns through hidden modes. The electoral bonds that fund elections for the BJP and beyond public scrutiny. The ruling party is therefore insulated from scrutiny by central agencies. Selective amnesia or aggressiveness in law enforcement coloured by political interests is as condemnable as a state of absolute lawlessness.
