Fly on the wall
Tough call to disqualify AAP
AAP Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had brought a new hope in the country of cleansing the political system in the country in 2013. He defeated two leading political parties, Congress and the BJP, in Delhi and later emerged victorious in Punjab as well. He made some unsuccessful forays in other parts of the country. But 'the hope' remained that one day he would bring change in the political system. However, it seems a mirage and it is clear that he has missed the bus as he is embroiled in one controversy or the other. Be it Rs 50 crore spent on his chief ministerial bungalow or granting favours to his party men in violation of rules. Some of his ministers also landed in jail in one corruption case or the other. The liquor gate has taken a heavy toll and may turn out to be Kejriwal's nemesis. He has been ignoring the summons issued by the ED on one ground or the other. It transpires that the ED may move towards making AAP an accused in the liquor-gate leading to its deregistration. If that happens it will be the rarest of the rare cases in the country's 75 years of democratic history. It is said the file pertaining to making AAP an accused is awaiting legal clearance as its an uncharted territory for top law officers. The ED has in the past made companies, trusts, societies accused in several cases. One view is that let the ED file a case under the PMLA act making AAP an accused through its Convener and treasurer and leave to the wisdom of the courts to take a final call. It may be mentioned that BJP's president Bangaru Laxman in 2001 was caught on camera accepting Rs one lakh cash. But the BJP was not made an accused by the UPA government. Therefore, disqualifying a party for receiving ill-gotten money will be a tough call.
Importance of being ND Gupta
When
Arvind Kejriwal renominated 78 year-old ND Gupta for a second
term in the Rajya Sabha, heads turned in political circles. He is
soft-spoken and not many even know him as he hardly spoke in the
House during his first stint since 2018. Perhaps, Kejriwal knew his
importance and that's why a chartered accountant by profession was
picked up by him for a second term too. Gupta has been maintaining
the AAP's funds as treasurer right from the beginning. It was largely
because of his skills that the probe agencies couldn't find any
wrongdoing in the books of accounts of the party. When the
liquor-gate scam surfaced, Gupta was repeatedly grilled by the ED but
got nothing in return. It is Gupta's skills that the ED is hesitant
to move towards seeking de-registration of the AAP itself. BJP's
Leader in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal who was party's treasurer, is also
a chartered accountant by profession. It was Gupta who brought a
closure of the defamation case against Kejriwal slapped by late Arun
Jaitley. Kejriwal was sure to be convicted in the said case. Gupta
convinced Jaitley to accept a written apology and close the chapter.
Why Ayodhya missing from Rahul's Yatra 2.0
It
is rather surprising that the route map Congress released of Rahul
Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra starting from Imphal on January 14
does not cover Ayodhya. The yatra will cover several states including
UP's Amethi, Rae Bareli, Varanasi, Prayagraj and Lucknow. But Ayodhya
is missing from his itinerary particularly when Rahul and Priyanka
Gandhi have been temple hopping for the past two years across the
country. It has become clear that Rahul Gandhi will not go to Ayodhya
on January 22. But he could have included Ayodhya in his itinerary
during the course of his Yatra particularly when his late father
Rajiv Gandhi was instrumental in opening the gates of the structure
where Ram Lalla was installed in the structure and later laid the
foundation stone too. Rajiv Gandhi even launched his 1989 election
campaign from Faizabad, a few kilometres from Ayodhya. Rajiv Gandhi
even promised to usher in Ram Rajya. Many in the party feel this is a
glaring omission. There are indications that senior Congress leaders
invited for the Temple opening on January 22 may either go a day
early or later though no final decision has been taken.
No Party season in Lutyens' Delhi
Gone are the days when Delhi's upmarket social circles used to host parties and whosoever is anybody in the town used to attend these parties. Interestingly, the politicians were not invited in numbers to such high end parties and bureaucrats were preferred. But after the advent of Modi as PM in Delhi, this culture is fading fast. Fed up of non-availability of top ranking bureaucrats, chiefs of PSUs and key ministers, these socialites have stopped hosting parties completely. What used to be a monthly routine, has become a rare event and that too on the eve of New Year. A retired secretary to the government, Anil Swarup, described how Narendra Modi’s engagement with the bureaucracy has evolved after he took over the reins in 2014. In the initial years, Modi encouraged officials to speak their minds freely and was very receptive. He prodded secretaries to have a free and frank discourse and learnt inner workings of the previous governments. What happened to them later is a well known chapter.
