Income Tax officials during the second day of their raid at the residence of Praveen Kakkar OSD to MP Chief Minister Kamal Nath in Bhopal Monday April 8 2019. | PTI
Income Tax officials during the second day of their raid at the residence of Praveen Kakkar OSD to MP Chief Minister Kamal Nath in Bhopal Monday April 8 2019. | PTI

Poll-time raids welcome, but ensure neutrality

Kamal Nath is known to be a smart operator, so it would be surprising if anything incriminating emerges against him from the raids in Madhya Pradesh.

Currency counting machines quantifying the notes seized from multiple places in Bhopal and Indore, as part of a nationwide I-T raid on close aides of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, showcased the reality of political funding in India.

While the raids are yet to be over, the Central Board of Direct Taxes revealed late on Monday night that it has so far detected dirty money trail of over Rs 280 crore, including Rs 20 crore in cash transfer to the headquarters of a political party.

Kamal Nath is known to be a smart operator, so it would be surprising if anything incriminating emerges against him from the raids. It’s not for nothing that he was known as one of Sonia Gandhi’s moneybags when the UPA was in power, but he knew how to cover his tracks.

Sure, the raids would squeeze a little money out of the system and make a few people face searching questions, but they wouldn’t be Kamal Nath’s aides if they were ignorant about how to wriggle out.

There is nothing jaw-dropping about the seizure either, as hawala funding to beat the Election Commission’s flying squad has been there for ages.

Businessmen have forever lined up with suitcases stacked with cash in front of serious candidates in urban constituencies to create IOUs in the hope of encashing them if they go on to win.

It created cynicism about the intention to clean up electoral politics, as there was no systemic effort to check the proliferation of black money during polls.

What is different this time is the raids on big netas, like the one on DMK biggie Durai Murugan and the frequent interception of Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy’s convoy. While the crackdown is welcome, what is not is the cherry-picking of opposition leaders alone.

The chance seizure of Rs 1.8 crore in Arunachal Pradesh tied to the BJP is not at all enough. Which is why the EC’s advisory to the finance ministry about neutral and non-discriminatory action by its enforcement agencies during election time is a welcome first step.

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