A fear of the unknown is gripping the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) camp. What could happen to their leader Arvind Kejriwal between now and the coming general elections is a hotly debated topic in relation to the Delhi Liquor Scam. His second-in-command, Manish Sisodia, is already in jail. Chief Minister Kejriwal is set to leave for Gujarat, to take his political fight against the BJP to the Modi camp. Fears are that the arrest could happen any time as the CM did not respond to three summons from the Enforcement Directorate while a fourth was expected on Thursday, followed by a likely raid on his house. Security forces were on standby near his Delhi residence. It is not our case whether Kejriwal is guilty or not guilty. But a few questions beg answers in relation to the way central agencies are handling such cases.
First and foremost, has ED or the CBI been able to nail even a single of the high-profile opposition politicians against whom these agencies were unleashed in the past ten years of the Modi rule; and if not, why not? Several of these leaders are accused of being hugely corrupt and that included BJP’s own BS Yeddiyurappa in Karnataka. The central investigation agencies are showing a singular lack of will in taking the investigations forward. It would be a pity if investigations go on and on for decades and in the end the whole exercise turns out to be a damp squib. Huge amounts and manpower are spent on investigations. If there are no results, should the PM, who leads the government from the front or his home minister, escape scot-free from their abject failure to nail the corrupt? There has never been a scenario so pathetic when it comes to investigating acts of corruption. It was also during Modi’s first term in office that the heads of both the ED and CBI accused each other of taking bribes in crores. The PM could only grin and bear such embarrassments.
Kejriwal, we presume, is no saintly politician. He plays his games. Worse, it’s unacceptable that a public figure who spearheaded the anti-corruption movement in the country ended up in such compromising situations. This, granted that fighting elections would require huge sums to take on the BJP that lavishly spends money on poll campaigns. The BJP organises money in the same way as other parties and their leaders do. They make a cut from government deals, be they related to liquor, road works or other matters. Substantial portions of what these leaders organise for the party are believed to be going into their own pockets or to their family chests. Raids and arrests alone will not do. The public desires to see action against the corrupt! Period.