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.