KEJRIWAL – A CONGRESS MOLE IN OPPOSITION?

KEJRIWAL – A CONGRESS MOLE IN OPPOSITION?

How is Gadkari 'guilty' and Vadra 'innocent'?

It is normal in our kind of politics that whenever a person makes allegations we brand him our opposite political party's agent. Therefore, when, initially, Arvind Kejriwal of Nation Against Corruption (NAC) made certain allegations against Congressmen and ministers, he was branded as BJP agent by the party.

To erase this tage, Kejriwal on October 18, 2012 leveled certain serious allegations against BJP president Nitin Gadkari alleging wrongdoings in companies owned or managed by the latter. Gadkari was quick to respond with his readiness to face any inquiry by any agency. Despite the Manmohan government having acted in right earnest to undertake Income Tax raids on certain companies run by Gadkari, government appears, so far, to have failed to rake up any criminal case against him.

Allegations against Vadra

A week earlier on October 11, Kejriwal had made almost similar allegations against Congress President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra. It was the Congress and Manmohan government which came out with instant denial of the serious charges against Vadra as if it was not Vadra but Congress and Manmohan government which was running his business that they readily knew the ins and outs of the functioning of his companies. Vadra came out to deny the charges later calling his accusers as "orange boys" and branding our democracy of which we all, citizens, Congress leaders and government alike, are all proud of. The same democracy which has showered on Vadra the privileges and perks not available to people's representatives and people holding public offices. Vadra did not dare to expose his business doings to public scrutiny to let anybody peep into the facts. Manmohan government did dismiss any demands for any independent and impartial inquiry.

Vadra 'innocent'

Even to a notice to the office of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, PMO  on November 28 gave a clean chit to Robert Vadra in an alleged land scam involving realty major DLF and told the Allahabad High Court that that the allegation against him (Vadra) "appear to be false, vexatious and based on hearsay". () In the affidavit, filed by Dheeraj Gupta, joint secretary in the PMO, it was stated that the case of Vadra and DLF was a matter between two individuals and a purely business transaction. It was also said that both parties have already explained their positions and hence the allegations made seem to be "false, vexatious and based on hearsay."  As per report, the PMO affidavit nowhere states that its contents are based on any examination of the allegations and the documents with Robert Vadra on the basis of which the PMO has come to this conclusion.  

On the contrary, in the matter of allegations against Nitin Gadkari the PMO or the Congress were not as gracious, as they were in the case of Vadra, that allegations against Gadkari too are ”a matter between two individuals and a purely business transaction". For them Vadra remains 'innocent' without inquiry and Gadkari 'tainted' and even 'guilty' of unexplained corruption, again, without proof and inquiry.

By coincidence – and more by design – the allegations against Gadkari were hurled 17 days before Himachal was to go to the polls on November 4. Kejriwal was sanguine to the fact that allegations against Vadra were not likely to have any adverse impact on Congress fortunes in Himachal polling.

Similarly, on December 4 Arvind Kejriwal again came out with some allegations against the Gujarat chief minister Narinder Modi at the height of electioneering to the State assembly going to polls on December 13 and 17. By coincidence these allegations were also made about 17 days (and 21 days for the second phase of polling) before Gujarat polls. According to Press reports, the allegations against Modi are a repeat and rehash of the allegations made by Congress against Modi in a memorandum submitted to the President of India a year back.

Kejriwal's choice of timing to make allegations against Gadkari and Modi clearly indicates a political design with an electoral punch. In both cases if there could be any beneficiary of Kejriwal's diatribes it could only be Congress and Congress alone because both in Himachal and Gujarat no other party matters. Since Kejriwal's own political outfit was not in fray in Himachal as also in Gujarat, the obvious conclusion is that he is just trying to make Congress derive as much electoral benefit as it can. The same Congress whom Kejriwal and party have been targeting as the fountain of corruption. With their conduct Kejriwal's Nation Against Corruption is only promoting corruption and helping the 'corrupt' Congress reap the bumper crop of electoral benefits.

Is then Kejriwal a Congress mole in the opposition camp?