Dwindling role of CBI
The CBI may be the country's premier investigation agency having all
India jurisdictions to fight corruption and crime. But over the years
its sheen has gone as it faced one onslaught or the other. The parties
in power used the agency to achieve their political ends at the cost
of its credibility. It was largely because of this very reason that
the Supreme Court called the CBI a “caged parrot” in 2013. In an
unprecedented move more than nine states disallowed the CBI to operate
without prior permission. This curtailed the CBI to operate across the
country freely. The situation perhaps did not improve in 2022 either
as Chief Justice N V Ramana, who retired recently, raised the issue of
the agency's credibility. He warned the CBI saying “With the passage
of time, like every other institution of repute, the CBI had also come
under deep public scrutiny. Its actions and inactions had raised
questions regarding its credibility, in some cases.” Ramana said
there was an immediate need for the creation of an independent
umbrella institution, so as to bring various agencies like the CBI, ED
and Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) under one roof.
However, the Modi government is in no mood to create such an umbrella
organization. It has adopted a different approach. The CBI’s role is
dwindling with each passing day and largely confined to corruption by
public servants. The government is relying more and more on the ED,
the National Investigation Agency (NIA), SFIO and Directorate of
Investigation (Income Tax). Data shows that if the CBI has registered
747 cases in 2021, the ED registered the highest number of money
laundering and foreign exchange violation cases (1,180 and 5,313
complaints respectively) during 2021-22 financial year. The NIA,
carved out of the CBI to fight terrorism, has an all India
jurisdiction like the ED. These agencies do not require permission of
individual states either. The same goes for SFIO and Income-Tax too.
The IT opened more than 9000 assessment cases and conducts almost four
raids a day on an average. The CBI rarely hogs the limelight these
days and ED is the new weapon.
Labour Codes may go for a Toss
It is clearly emerging now that the four labour codes may also go for
a toss after the withdrawal of three farm laws under pressure from the
farming community. The Modi government has been trying hard to bring
in much awaited labour reforms and passed three bills in Parliament in
September 2020. The bills were aimed at providing greater flexibility
to employers to hire and fire while ensuring social security for
workers. But the Labour ministry has not been able to finalize four
labour codes during the past two years due to stiff opposition by the
10 trade unions. Interestingly, even the RSS controlled Bhartiya
Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) made it clear to Labour Minister Bhupendra Yadav
that it is opposed to at least two of the four codes. The BMS
supported the Code on Social Security and the Code on Wages but
opposed the Industrial Relations Code and the Occupational Safety,
Health and Working Conditions Code.
The BMS asked Yadav to call a meeting of the Indian Labour Conference
(ILC) immediately which had not been convened for years together. The
ILC is an effective tripartite mechanism. Politically speaking, the
ruling party can ill afford a confrontation with the 10 major labour
unions on the issue. At least 11 states will go to polls during
2022-23 before the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. These trade unions have
given clause-by-clause objections to these four codes and sent a
letter to the Prime Minister as well. The strident posture by the BMS
on these codes has surprised political observers. It is a huge setback
to the Modi government after its failure to implement the Land
Acquisition Act and farm Laws.
AAP’s tactical retreat
If reports emanating from Shimla are any indication, the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) has slowed down its campaign in Himachal Pradesh going to
polls on November 12. With many of AAP’s many senior leaders crossing
over to the BJP in Himachal, Arvind Kejriwal has been left high &
dry. Therefore, Kejriwal opted to focus on the Gujarat Assembly polls
where the AAP is getting traction. Kejriwal is traveling to the state
every alternate day. The Congress campaign has not even taken off in
Gujarat as many of its leaders have quit the party while senior
leadership is busy making Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra a grand
success. Kejriwal is taking full advantage of the vacuum created by
the Congress leadership and addressing one rally after the other. Many
opinion polls have indicated the rising graph of AAP forcing the BJP
to up the ante. The Prime Minister and Home Minister have been
traveling extensively in the state and even camping there for days
together. The slipping graph of Congress has started worrying the BJP
in Gujarat.
