Business Standard / New Delhi Jul 27, 2010, 00:05 IST
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in such disarray that it seems to be scoring one self-goal after another. After the party’s indefensible defence of the “Reddy brothers” in Karnataka, its response to the Amit Shah case was unwise and irresponsible. The party’s agitational response to a summons issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to Gujarat home minister Amit Shah, as a follow-up to a Supreme Court directive to the investigating agency in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Kauserbi case, and then politicising the entire issue were completely uncalled for. As a responsible national political party, the BJP should have shown due regard to the courts and said justice should prevail. It is true that the CBI is not an entirely professional institution any longer, it is true that CBI’s actions have been tainted by party political and much worse considerations, and it is true that the CBI has earned for itself the disrepute that it is the “Congress Bureau of Investigation”. Yet, in this particular case, the CBI was acting under the instructions of the Supreme Court. So, it was irresponsible of the BJP to have reacted politically to the CBI summons on this occasion. The fact is that the CBI had adequate grounds to summon Mr Shah. However, on its part, the CBI must transparently adhere to the highest standards of professionalism in this case precisely because it has to prove its credentials as a professional organisation rather than a hand maiden of the powers that be. The fact that the CBI has moved from issuing summons to levelling charges, with the media virtually treating Mr Shah as a person guilty of murder, with no evidence yet standing to proper judicial scrutiny, raises serious questions about the agency’s professionalism.
Whatever the reasons for the CBI’s sudden activism, and the charge that party political considerations may have been behind it cannot be entirely ruled out, the BJP’s response has been churlish and politically tactless. It would have been politically wiser for the BJP to have reacted in a subdued manner, focusing firmly on its own agenda of seeking opposition unity. It is now likely that an angry BJP and a divided Opposition may end up disrupting the monsoon session of Parliament. Hopefully, this will not happen. There is a huge agenda before Parliament in the present session. As many as 24 Bills have been listed for consideration and passing, nine for introduction, consideration and passing, and 26 for introduction. This is a hefty legislative business for even a normal session of Parliament; it would seem to be an impossibly heavy agenda for a Parliament that may be disrupted repeatedly given the mood of the Opposition on day one. Members of Parliament would earn enormous public respect for themselves if they unanimously resolved to hold back the one Bill meant to increase MPs’ salary and allowances till the very end, and pass that only if all the other business gets done! Among the important pieces of legislation awaiting Parliament’s approval is the civil liability for nuclear damage Bill. This has direct implications for India’s energy security. Hopefully the government will give this Bill the importance it deserves rather than allow its attention to be diverted by divisive political agendas.
Written as only a steadfast Congress supporter will! That the Business Standard is not merely pro Congress but rabidly anti BJP is well known. The BJP is "churlish" when it mimics the Congress antics of disrupting the proceedings in the Karnataka Assembly. The BS admits that the CBI is a willing tool in the hands of the Congress - yet it is silent on the vociferous demand on the Karnataka Congress party (egged on by the blatantly partisan Congress agent Governor Bharadwaj) for a CBI enquiry into the alleged "illegal" iron ore mining in Bellary by the Reddy brothers! The BJP will be fully justified in disrupting Parliament until the Congress learns some humility and treats it with respect.
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