Delhi Excise Probe, Part 2

The Supreme Court’s refusal to grant bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is a serious setback to AAP and sets the stage for ED’s enhanced probe into the exact beneficiaries of the excise policy bribery scandal. It’s interesting that ED examined if AAP itself should be made an accused at the suggestion of the court. In that case, questioning of AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will become necessary and that’s what the agency intends to do. So far, the chief minister has hit back at the Centre and BJP, accusing them of “vendetta politics”, and giving vent to his ire at one-day sessions of the Delhi Assembly where he has held forth criticising BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of running scared. After a previous hearing in the apex court, AAP had said that the court had itself questioned the evidence of a money trail. The celebrations on this count proved premature as the court had raised the likely culpability of AAP after the submissions of Sisodia’s counsel who had argued that if the illegal gratification was allegedly used for funding elections, then this required investigation and proof. Under Section 70 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), office bearers of a company are liable to be prosecuted for the entity’s violation of the Act. This could apply to AAP and its leaders. ED has in its chargesheet relied on statements by individuals it has questioned who have pointed to Kejriwal’s involvement in discussions relating to the excise policy. Earlier this year, ED questioned the chief minister’s personal assistant and a senior AAP leader. The Supreme Court’s observation that PMLA charges were “tentatively backed” by evidence and that at least ₹45 crore was used for the Goa elections now sets the stage for the questioning of more AAP leaders.

Four Thousand Speeches

Since he became prime minister, Narendra Modi has made more than 4,000 speeches in his official capacity. This number does not include the political speeches he has made at party functions or during elections. The staggering number is an indicator of the pace of Modi’s public engagements. While his opponents say he does not interact with the media, the prime minister speaks of dozens of issues every day and sometimes more than once. There are occasions when he has avoided comment but he would not be the only leader to do so. On the other hand, some leading opposition figures do not appear in public for weeks and their interactions with the media are limited and often a one-way street. On a typical day, Modi inaugurates projects and presides over the foundation of others and speaks on government initiatives that range from themes like “Vocal for Local” to the economic advantages of bee-keeping as a supplement to farm income. His engagements reflect the agendas he is setting while his critics concentrate only on the political aspects, such as caste surveys or India’s position on Israel’s war against Hamas.

Xi’s Purge

After the recent sacking and subsequent disappearance of Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu that followed the equally ignominious exit of former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, reports suggest that the National People’s Congress also decided to remove Wang Zhigang and Liu Kun as science and technology and finance ministers, respectively. The changes in the Chinese government have the makings of a deeper purge that might unfold in the coming days. The death of former Premier Li Keqiang due to a heart attack also fuelled speculation, but there was no reason to doubt the medical report although the precise circumstances will be difficult to establish. It has been reported that medical treatment of top leaders sometimes requires ‘sanction’ but one can only speculate if Li’s condition was the result of an emergency. It is pertinent that both Qin and Li (Shangfu) were also stripped of their posts as state councillors—a much weightier designation than mere minister. State councillors have a senior standing in the party hierarchy and are more directly involved in policy formulation. As China buckles down to tackling an economic slowdown, its supreme leader Xi Jinping may well be keen to ensure that party, military and government functionaries act exactly as he wants them to with no deviation from the commands issued to them.

Remembering Shekhawat

The 100th birth anniversary of late BJP stalwart and former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was observed with due solemnity by the party and its leaders, including Prime Minister Modi. A contemporary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani, Shekhawat was one of the few who could speak to BJP’s ‘top two’ on an equal footing. A shrewd practitioner of politics, Shekhawat was the only BJP chief minister to return to office in Rajasthan after the party’s governments in northern Indian states were dismissed following the demolition of the Babri Masjid. He avoided pitching a Hindutva line in that election when it seemed to be an obvious option and concentrated on neutral slogans like ‘Hare-bhare Rajasthan ke liye Bhajapa ko vote dein (Vote for BJP for a prosperous Rajasthan)’ and getting key caste equations right as well as, most importantly, planning ahead for post-poll allies. The Rajput leader was one of those who had strongly argued in favour of BJP accepting then President Shankar Dayal Sharma’s invitation to form the government at the Centre in 1996 even without supporting numbers. The 13-day government ended with Vajpayee’s famous speech in Lok Sabha which set the stage for the party’s success in 1998. With Rajasthan elections round the corner, remembering Shekhawat is all the more pertinent for BJP.

Wooing Women

Recognising that women are a crucial vote that can tilt the scales, the Modi government is going all out to publicise its policies aimed at promoting women’s welfare. Using the passage of the Bill providing 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures as evidence of its commitment, the Centre said more than 56 per cent of Jan Dhan bank accounts belong to women, with ₹2.03 lakh crore deposited. Under the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao initiative, there has been a 15 per cent increase in the number of girls aged 10 years and above receiving an education since 2015. Women are doing well in distance-education programmes where, as against 100 men, 130 women received a PhD; there are 109 women in MPhil, 122 in post-graduate courses, 104 in diploma courses, and 376 in integrated courses. An amount of more than ₹80,509 crore had been deposited in 2.26 crore Sukanya accounts as of October 2021 and 3.18 crore such accounts were opened. More than 19,500 villages were declared “Sampoorna Sukanya Gram” and there are 3.48 crore beneficiaries under the PM Matru Vandana scheme. Under the MUDRA scheme, 68 per cent of loans were given to women-owned enterprises.

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