Politicians use target practice to stay relevant the way actors use makeup to play different roles. Narendra Modi’s war on black money has caused pain in queues and kitchens, but the worst sufferers are hoarders and their colluding patrons. Corruption is an adjective usually applied to politicians, but the PM’s crackdown on cash has exposed bureaucrats as well.
Last week taxmen raided the home of IAS big wheel and serving Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, Rama Mohana Rao. They seized `30 lakh in new currency notes and five kilograms of gold; the salary of India’s Cabinet Secretary is around `2.5 lakh, including perks. After Rao’s arrest, some political leaders launched into mystifying invective. Strangely, their outrage was not over the fact that Rao was corrupt.
DMK’s M K Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were incensed that the house of a senior babu could be raided. Stalin said, “The raids at the Chief Secretary’s house is without precedence. This has never happened in the history of Tamil Nadu.” So it’s fine for the state’s top bureaucrat to hoard crores, but it’s an insult to Tamil pride to arrest him!
Mamata, who sees a coup behind every barrack in Kolkata, got into a Constitutional twist over the raids. “Why this vindictive, unethical, technically improper action? Is it only to disturb the federal structure?” she thundered. In the competition to become the national alternative to Narendra Modi, she is an active contender. Never mind the fact that she orders farmers who ask contrary questions at public meetings to be thrown into jail, she chose to portray tax raids on a corrupt bureaucrat as a threat to the states.
Only Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has wisely chosen to stay away from the outrage of his compadres. Perhaps, having been a revenue officer himself, the AAP boss understands the situation better. Besides, Modi seems to have stolen the anti-corruption plank from Arvind; anti-graft crusades are AAP’s bread and butter and any disturbance of the status quo will reveal how the PM hoisted Kejriwal on his own petard.
The role of the Opposition is to oppose. But it is a principle, not a value. Policies the BJP opposed when it was in the Opposition like loan waiver schemes for farmers are acceptable now to assuage rural anger against demonetisation. Modi is a political force. The bureaucracy is an administrative entity.
Babus endure longer in their posts while governments come and go. Modi realises bureaucrats are responsible for most of the banking chaos. They did not anticipate or warn the prime minister of the lack of preparedness. More income-tax actions against corrupt bureaucrats are likely. Not only does this send the signal that no one, however powerful, is above the law, but the raids expose the rust in the steel frame.
However, it’s time the government targeted corrupt politicians, too. The big fish, not the minnows. It has been informed about many leaders who have converted hoarded crores into legit money. If the war on black money has to be truly won, Modi has to target them fast, before the moolah taints the electoral ground water level. Is this the reason why some political leaders are either keeping quiet or protesting too loudly? Information is the PM is getting his ducks in a row. It will be one crap shoot worth waiting for.