Perception of vendetta politics raising tension in Punjab political domain, has potential to backfire on ruling Congress
Action against
Akalis perceived to be vendetta politics can boomerang on ruling Congress in
Punjab
Ground Zero
Jagtar Singh
The members
of the core committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal led by its president Sukhbir
Singh Badal today courted arrest near the official residence of Punjab Chief
Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to lodge protest against what has been alleged
as the design to implicate party leader and former minister Bikram Singh
Majithia in the case of drug smuggling.
His name
came to be linked to drug smuggling when one of the arrested persons Jagdish
Bhola blurted out his name in front of the media while being produced in the
court.
That was the
time when Majithia was a minister and a powerful one.
The matter
rests there despite several probes including by the SIT constituted by the
Punjab government whose report under sealed cover was submitted to the Punjab
and Haryana High Court a long time back awaiting further action.
What forced
today’s action of offering court arrest was the threat issued earlier by state
Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu that he would go on fast unto death in
case no decisive action was taken in the cases of sacrilege of Guru Granth
Sahib and the drug smuggling.
It may be recalled
that it was the poll promise made by the Congress in its manifesto for 2017
Assembly polls to take these cases to the logical conclusion and then state
party chief Capt Amarinder Singh had taken a pledge on Gutka in this context
publicly at Bathinda.
Little progress
has been made in these cases during this period. Capt Amarinder Singh faced a humiliating
exit for non-performance including in these two sensitive cases and was
replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi.
It is now the
turn of Channi to face the heat as he too is under pressure to act.
Sidhu had
leaked a report to the media earlier at one time that he claimed to be the copy
of the one lies with the high court. The ruling party in the state is again
witnessing power struggle on these very issues.
Sukhbir has
expressed the apprehension of vendetta politics being unleashed by the ruling
party.
Action, of
course, must be taken against those
found to be guilty in both these cases but not to please the gallery. Any ill-conceived
move has the potential to boomerang.
One has to
go back in the history of vendetta politics.
Parkash Singh
Badal and Sukhbir were arrested with several of their associates on December 1,
2003 in a case of corruption registered against them. They were bailed out
after about a week. The assets of the Badal family were assessed at more than
Rs 4000 crore as per disclosure made at a news conference but the case
ultimately revealed only about Rs 78 crore.
Not that the
case finally fell in the court.
What is
important is the political fallout of that case.
This case
revived Parkash Singh Badal and he finally hit back to the centre stage of
Punjab’s religio-political domain.
The father
and son were lodged in Patiala jail.
Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee President Gurcharan Singh Tohra had the habit of spending the
night at his village Tohra that was about 20 minutes drive from the Patiala
jail. He had got a bridge constructed on Bhakra canal shortening the distance
to Patiala via this shortcut.
He would
reach the jail in the morning. The party got mobilised in the process and
atmosphere at the gate of the jail turned into a daily Akali conference.
It is pertinent
to mention the case of Indira Gandhi too who was hounded by the Morarji Desai
government that had come into power in 1977. That case brought her back to
power.
There is
nothing wrong with taking action against those involved in drug smuggling.
However, the
action has to be transparent and not dictated by the compulsion of catering to
public perception.
This very
perception would change in case of the action smelling of vendetta politics.
Justice must
not only be done but seen to be done and that too, transparently.
Otherwise,
it would backfire.
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