Tag: BJP corruption

‘Lack of Evidence’: Ex-Karnataka Minister Eshwarappa Cleared in Contractor Suicide Case

The former rural development and panchayat raj minister had been slapped with corruption and abetment to suicide charges.

New Delhi: Former Karnataka minister K.S. Eshwarappa has been cleared by the state police of having any role in the death by suicide of a contractor in mid-April due to the “lack of evidence”.

The state police had pressed charges of abetment to suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code against Eshwarappa. The police filed a ‘b report’ in connection with the suicide at the court of the public representatives, which means it has been closed for the want of evidence, according to reports.

A contractor, Santosh Patil, died by suicide on April 12 at a hotel in Udupi after blaming Eshwarappa for his death in a note. He had accused the minister, who had served as Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister, of demanding a 40% “commission” in a road work worth Rs 4 crore that he had executed.

Patil had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he had invested Rs 4 crore on laying roads in his village based on oral instructions given by Eshwarappa. Patil had urged Modi to direct Eshwarappa to settle his bills.

The minister had dismissed Patil’s allegations and also filed a defamation suit against him and said he did not know the contractor in question. However, Patil’s brother accused the minister of feigning ignorance.

“The minister is cooking up a story that Santosh was not known to him,” Patil’s brother, Prashanth, had said.

Patil, too, was a BJP member and was the national secretary of Hindu Yuva Vahini, a Hindutva outfit associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological fountainhead.

In the aftermath of Patil’s death, opposition parties in Karnataka had amped pressure on BJP, leading up to Eshwarppa’s resignation. However, the BJP had remained defiant initially. With the pressure mounting and the party’s image at stake, Eshwarappa had been asked to step down.

If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers (www.spif.in/seek-help/) they can call to speak in confidence. You could also refer them to the nearest hospital.

‘Corruption-Free India’ Under BJP Government Is Just a Sham

Transparency International’s latest survey has revealed that India has the highest bribery rate in Asia.

India has the highest bribery rate in Asia according to the Global Corruption Barometer published by Transparency International. The report released on the eve of International Anti-Corruption Day, December 9, shows that nearly 50% of those who paid bribes in India were asked to, while 32% of those who used personal connections said they would not receive services like healthcare and education otherwise, without bribing. The findings are a scathing indictment of the anti-corruption claims of the ruling dispensation, which came to power on the plank of a ‘Bhrashtachar mukt Bharat’ (corruption-free India).

It is a fact widely acknowledged that unlike many countries, where corruption is restricted to the highest echelons, in India the malaise goes down to the lowest level of administration. While big-ticket corruption grabs eyeballs, it is the everyday petty corruption that haunts the common person.

Decentralised corruption cannot be tackled through any centralised fix. What is needed is to empower ordinary people to expose and report corruption locally, and systems that act promptly on these complaints to hold corrupt officials accountable.

Whittling down of RTI

Perhaps the single most effective tool available to ordinary citizens for exposing corruption in the last 15 years has been the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The law has been used by over three crore people in the country, especially by the poorest and the most marginalised who have understood the tremendous potential of the law to empower them to access their basic rights and entitlements like rations, pensions and healthcare.

A 2011 study by Yale University in India showed that using the RTI Act is as effective as paying a bribe in ensuring service delivery! The law has also been put to effective use by public-spirited citizens to shine the light on corruption and abuse of power in the highest offices.

Instead of strengthening the RTI regime, the last six years have seen a systematic attack on people’s right to information. The worst blow has come in the form of a persistent and concerted undermining of the transparency watchdogs set up under the law.

A protest against proposed changes to the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Credit: Facebook/ Somnath S.N.

A file image of a protest against the changes to the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Photo: Facebook/ Somnath S.N.

In 2019, despite stiff opposition within and outside parliament, the government pushed the RTI (Amendment) Act which compromised the autonomy of information commissions by allowing the Central government to determine the tenure and salaries of all information commissioners. The functioning of commissions has also been severely impeded by governments not appointing information commissioners in a timely manner.

The track record of the BJP-led government at the Centre has been particularly abysmal. Since May 2014, not a single commissioner of the central information commission (CIC) has been appointed without citizens having to approach courts.

The Global Corruption Barometer shows that 41% of people surveyed in India paid bribes to obtain official documents, like identity papers, and 42% paid bribes to the police. Tackling this kind of graft encountered by people in their everyday lives requires an effective timebound mechanism at the local level to deal with complaints arising out of corruption and wrongdoing.

Broken promises

The Grievance Redress Bill introduced in Parliament in 2011 created an architecture for receiving and dealing with complaints close to people’s place of residence down to the panchayat and municipal ward levels. It sought to make the supervisory structure accountable for resolving complaints in a stipulated timeframe, with penal consequences for failure to do so.

The Bill, however, lapsed with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha after the 2014 elections. Despite its poll promise to reintroduce the Bill in parliament if it came to power, the BJP has failed to do the needful. An effective grievance redress legislation would have helped significantly reduce arbitrariness and corruption captured in the Transparency International report and ensured better access to basic services and entitlements for people.

Giant cardboard cutouts of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. Photo: Reuters/Cathal McNaughton/File Photo.

In fact, even the Lokpal law meant to tackle corruption involving senior functionaries, which was passed after a long and arduous struggle in 2014, has been subverted. In 2016, key provisions regarding mandatory public disclosure of assets and liabilities of public servants were whittled down through amendments. For over five years after the law was passed, the chairperson and members of the Lokpal were not appointed.

Finally, the manner in which appointments were made, by a selection committee with a preponderance of the government and its representatives, raised serious doubts about the independence of the Lokpal even before it became operational. Subsequently, for nearly a year the govt did not make the requisite rules, prompting one of the Lokpal members to tender his resignation.

The anti-corruption ombudsman is clearly a non-starter, with a deafening silence from the institution on all recent allegations of big-ticket corruption like the Rafael defence deal and banking scams that have rocked the country.

Another significant finding of the Global Corruption Barometer is that while reporting corruption is critical to control its spread, as many as 63% of people surveyed were deeply concerned about retaliation. This concern is not misplaced. Brutal attacks on whistleblowers and RTI users in the country have highlighted the vulnerability of those who dare to show the truth to power.

In 2018 alone, 18 people were killed for blowing the whistle on corruption on the basis of information accessed under the RTI Act. Despite this, the government has failed to frame rules and operationalise the Whistle Blowers Protection law enacted in 2014 to provide a statutory framework for concealing the identity of whistleblowers and protecting them against victimisation. The law establishes a mechanism to receive and enquire into complaints against public servants relating to offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

When the BJP came to power riding on the plank of fighting corruption and ensuring effective service delivery, it was expected that the government will immediately put in place a strong anti-corruption and grievance redress framework.

In the last six and a half years, however, critical anti-corruption legislations have languished and the government, despite widespread opposition, has pushed ill-conceived programmes like demonetisation and electoral bonds as the definitive solutions to the problem of corruption.

Limitations of relying on technical fixes like Adhaar-based biometric authentication in fighting corruption have been exposed through scams like the Jharkhand scholarship fraud. The Transparency International report should serve as a strong signal for the government to course correct, provided it has the political will.

Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri are social activists working on issues of transparency and accountability.

Watch | COVID-19 Daily Bulletin: Committee Formed to Probe ‘Scam’ in Himachal

The probe will deal with alleged corruption in the procurement of PPE, ventilators and sanitizer.

The Himachal Pradesh government constituted a four-member committee on June 2 to probe alleged irregularities in purchase of ventilators. The committee has been asked to submit its report within 10 days.

This probe is in relation to the purchase of 10 ventilators, out of which seven were received at a different price. They were bought at the cost of Rs 10.29 lakh each. Apart from this probe, the Himachal Pradesh state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (SV & ACB) are already probing a health scam, which involves the now suspended director health services, Ajay Kumar Gupta.

According to a National Herald report, it all began in early May with the ‘sanitiser scam’ in the secretariat, where fake price tags were allegedly put on bottles. An audio clip followed, in which the director of Health Services A.K. Gupta was heard seeking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh.

On May 27, BJP chief Rajeev Bindal resigned from his post, saying he was doing so to ensure a proper investigation into the case of alleged corruption by the director. In a resignation letter sent to BJP president J.P. Nadda, Bindal said he was tendering his resignation on “high moral grounds” as some people were “dragging the party’s name” in the alleged corruption by the health official.

Both Congress and the CPI(M) have demanded a probe by a sitting high court judge while conveying that the vigilance department investigations cannot be ‘independent’ in the given circumstances. Meanwhile, the spokesperson stated that the health directorate has prima facie not found any irregularity in the purchase of ventilators, the high-level investigation committee was set up for making the whole process more transparent.

Investigation of Yeddy Diary Impossible Without Original Documents: CBDT

The Karnataka BJP chief said the diary was proved to be fake. An investigative report suggested no investigation ever took place. The truth may lie somewhere in between.

New Delhi: India’s tax authorities said they were unable to verify the authenticity of diary entries, allegedly made by former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, that appeared to detail huge payments to top BJP leaders as well as state legislators.

On Friday evening, a press release from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) seemed to contradict both an incriminating news report, published by The Caravan magazine, and the refutation from the BJP leader.

The CBDT said it had begun to investigate, but hit a dead-end because a government forensic laboratory needed to examine the originals of the disputed writings, and not photocopies.

Earlier on Friday, The Caravan published an explosive report, describing a diary obtained from Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar, when the Income Tax department raided his offices in 2017.

Also read: Yeddyurappa Diary May Reveal Pay-Offs to BJP Leaders, Congress Says, BJP Slams ‘Forgery’

According to the article, the documents were sent to finance minister Arun Jaitley – “but Jaitley, who is named in the entries as having allegedly received Rs 150 crore from Yeddyurappa, chose not to act on the income-tax official’s note”.

Tweeting his response, Yeddyurappa rejected the allegations as “disgusting and desperate” and said that “IT department officials have already probed the issue” and found that the documents were forged.

By evening, the CBT presented a third version of events, diverging from both accounts. “All efforts have been made by the Income Tax Office concerned to procure the originals of the disputed writings,” its press release said. “However, the details about the place and custody of the original writings and, if the original writings exist, are not available.”

The tax agency said a bunch of “loose papers”, which were a “xerox copy of a Karnataka… legislator’s diary pages” were handed over by Shivakumar during the raid in August 2017.

It said that Yeddyurappa had been questioned about the material on November 25, 2017. “He stated that he was not in the habit of writing a diary and that the loose sheets in question were not in his handwriting. He denied his handwriting and signatures on the loose sheets.”

Five months later, in April 2018, the investigation moved forward after making enquiries with the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Hyderabad.

Also read: Modi Government’s Paranoia Laid Bare Before Parliamentary Polls

The forensic lab replied ten days later, saying that “all disputed documents” needed to be sent in “original” in order for an examination to be carried out.

“It is clear that for a forensic analysis of the disputed writings to establish its evidentiary value, originals of the same are required,” the CBDT press release noted.

Because the originals could not be found, the income-tax department concluded that “the same loose sheets prima-facie appear to be of a doubtful nature”.

In its report, The Caravan said that it had contacted the CBDT, as well as “Yeddyurappa, Jaitley” and other BJP top-brass implicated in the documents, for their comments, but had received no response at the time their report was published.

Yeddyurappa Diary May Reveal Pay-Offs to BJP Leaders, Congress Says, BJP Slams ‘Forgery’

Yeddyurappa rejected the claim, saying that “IT department officials have already probed the issue to find that the documents and signatures… are forged.”

New Delhi: Quoting a report in the Caravan, the Congress party today alleged that India’s income-tax department was in possession of a diary that details pay-offs of over Rs 1,800 crore to top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, with entries apparently written in the hand of Karnataka state president BS Yeddyurappa.

According to the entries, the recipients of the funds include finance minister Arun Jaitley, home minister Rajnath Singh, and transport minister Nitin Gadkari, as well the BJP Central Committee and state legislators, Caravan reported.

Addressing the press on Friday, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala demanded an investigation into the evidence that Yeddyurappa – a former chief minister of Karnataka tainted by corruption allegations – arranged these payouts through mining baron and former state minister Gali Janaradhana Reddy.

“Five facts are disclosed from this diary. Rs 2,690 crore was extorted and Rs 1,800 crore was given to BJP’s central team,” Surjewala said. “Yeddyurappa was a CM from May 2008 to July 2011, and this diary contains his signatures and names of top BJP leaders.”

“It mentions the names of senior BJP leaders from Rajnath Singh to Jaitley,” he added. “There is an allegation of a bribe of Rs 1,800 crore on the top BJP leadership.”

“Is it true or false? The diary with BS Yeddyurappa’s sign on it was with the Income Tax Department since 2017. If that is the case why did Modi ji and BJP did not get it investigated?” Surjewala asked.

Ruling party calls evidence ‘fake’

The BJP Karnataka unit tweeted to deny the claim, saying the “handwriting & the signature on the dairy released by is as fake as the diary itself.”

Yeddyurappa also spoke to the press on Friday, and tweeted that “IT department officials have already probed the issue to find that the documents and signatures and handwritten notes are forged one.”

The Caravan article, published earlier on Friday, made public copies of the alleged Yeddyurappa diary entries, which describe purported payments to Union ministers Arun Jaitley (Rs 150 crore), Nitin Gadkari (Rs 150 crore) and Rajnath Singh (Rs 100 crore) as well as senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani (Rs 50 crore) and Murli Manohar Joshi (Rs 50 crore).

According to the article, the IT department obtained the diary in August 2017, when it raided Congress leader D.K Shivakumar in Karnataka. These documents, along with a note by a senior income tax official, were then allegedly sent to Arun Jaitley.

The official’s note allegedly inquires about what further action should be taken – “whether the original diary is to be procured and a case petition can be led before the Supreme Court for further investigation by Enforcement Directorate or any other appropriate agency”. There is no evidence of any response from the finance minister.

“The senior official wrote that the IT department ‘protected the interests of the BJP leaders. Since this matter is connected to the BJP leaders of Karnataka and also in Delhi, no further investigation has been done till date’,” Caravan reported.

CIC Directs PMO to Reveal All Details of Black Money Brought From Abroad

The information panel head has also directed Narendra Modi’s office to reveal details of action taken on complaints of corruption involving Union ministers, including health minister J.P. Nadda.

New Delhi: In a major decision, the Central Information Commission has directed the Prime Minister’s Office to disclose information about quantum and value of money brought back from abroad and documents, related to efforts made by PMO in this regard, within 15 days.

In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, had promised to bring back black money from abroad and deposit Rs 15 lakh from it in every citizen’s bank account. Though he had subsequently made similar claims in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme, his office had refused to respond to queries in the matter.

Also read: Finance Ministry Refuses to Share Reports on Black Money Held By Indians

But in a recent order based on an application filed by whistleblower and Indian Forest Service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Chief Information Commissioner R.K. Mathur has directed the PMO to furnish all the information in the matter.

CIC orders PMO to release all information on black money

In his appeal before the CIC, Chaturvedi, who has previously received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for his fight against corruption in government offices, had noted that information about the return of black money and its being deposited into the accounts of citizens had been denied on the ground that it was not covered under the definition of information under Section(2)(f) of RTI Act. He had termed this argument “totally irrelevant and misleading”.

Chaturvedi had stated before the panel that “this was one of the main promises made by Hon’ble Prime Minister and he has repeatedly ensured people of this country in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ that black money deposited abroad, would be brought back into country and, therefore, definitely effort would have been made by the Prime Minister’s Office in this regard.”

Further, he had stated that in view of the categorical commitment and assurance given by the Prime Minister, the PMO is expected to have succeeded in fulfilling his wish.

Chaturvedi had therefore demanded that he be provided information about quantum and value of such money brought back from abroad and documents related to efforts made by PMO in this regard. He had also information about deposition of such black money that had been brought back and deposited into the accounts of the citizens.

PMO told to disclose details of what Modi did on receiving corruption complaint against Nadda 

Through his petition, Chaturvedi had also sought information on the discussion Prime Minister Modi himself had with Union health minister J.P. Nadda over the telephone following the appellant’s  representation to him that had contained serious allegations against the minister. Chaturvedi had noted that after this conversation, the PMO had also sought comments from health ministry on his representation to which the health ministry had submitted its reply.

Chaturvedi had noted that in view of his complaint that “there is absolutely no chance that such a decisive and committed Prime Minister would not have taken any type of action on such an important and widely reported matter of corruption and would be just sitting over the file after personally discussing the matter with then Union health minister.” He had also noted that the PMO had repeatedly sought the reply from Union health ministry in the matter.

Also read: It’s Finally Official: RBI Says 99.3% of Demonetised Money Returned to Banking System

Pointing out that the CPIO had failed to provide any information on the decision taken by the prime minister after holding verbal discussion on the matter and taking written explanations from the health ministry, Chaturvedi had urged the Commission that the CPIO may be directed to again check from the concerned officials of PMO and convey the decision taken by the prime minister in this regard.

In his order on this demand too the CIC held that the PMO should submit its reply within 15 days of receiving the order.

PMO also directed to reveal steps taken on corruption charges against union ministers

Likewise the CIC directed that the PMO provide information on Chaturvedi’s appeal in which he had sought certified copies of all complaints submitted to the Prime Minister in which corruption charges were levelled against serving central ministers between June 1, 2014 and August 5, 2017.

Chaturvedi had complained that this information had been wrongly denied to him. He stated that he had sought specific and clear information from the respondent which included certified copies of all the documents related to action taken, including copy of inquiry report on such complaints by Prime Minister’s Office and certified copy of rules/protocol to deal with such cases.

194 Politicians, Including 6 Former CMs, Submitted Fake PAN Details to EC

Of the 194 lawmakers, 72 are from the Congress and 41 from the BJP, the Cobrapost investigation found upon analysing over 2,000 affidavits submitted between 2006-16.

New Delhi: Investigative website Cobrapost, which had earlier this year exposed some media houses succumbing to the lure of Hindutva advertorials, has now claimed to have discovered that 194 Indian politicians made false submissions regarding their permanent account numbers (PAN) while reporting their income to the Election Commission.

The website, which analysed about 2,000 affidavits sworn before the Election Commission of India (ECI) by politicians across 23 states for fighting elections between 2006 and 2016, said it found 194 of these PAN details to be fake.

Congress, BJP leaders dominate dubious list

It said among the politicians who made these submissions were 72 from the Congress and 41 from BJP. In all, leaders from 29 big and small political parties, including the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were found involved in this duplicity.

The false submissions regarding PAN were also found to have been made by six former chief ministers, ten sitting ministers, eight former ministers and 54 sitting and 102 former Members of Legislative Assembly.

Among the big names which figure on this list are former Assam chief ministers Tarun Gogoi and Bhumidhar Barman, former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and former Himachal Pradesh chief ministers Virbhadra Singh and Prem Kumar Dhumal. Other prominent leaders include Rajasthan minister Bina Kak, Bihar cabinet minister Nand Kishore Yadav, Maharashtra minister Deshmukh Vijaykumar, Haryana minister Kavita Jain and Himachal Pradesh minister Kishan Kapoor.

Among the states, Uttar Pradesh headed this list with 26 cases of incorrect reporting by politicians followed by Madhya Pradesh (17 cases), Bihar (15), Uttarakhand (14), Assam (13), Himachal Pradesh (12) and Rajasthan (11).

‘Wrong submissions by politicians to hide exponential rise in income’

Cobrapost said experts believe that these wrong submissions may have been made by these politicians to hide the exponential rise in their income between elections and to evade tax.

It said there appeared to be a “direct correlation between the false disclosures and the growth in the income levels of many politicians, sometimes jumping manifold between two elections while their tax disclosures have become weaker, hiding more than they reveal.”

The website also noted that some of the leading electoral reforms experts it spoke to noted that deviation in disclosures made by politicians in their affidavits was a matter of “grave concern”, as it gave rise to the possibility of a fake or duplicate PAN being used to funnel illicit cash in poll campaigning.

It quoted economist and member of the Association of Democratic Reform (ADR) Ajit Ranade as saying: “We are concerned about such weak PAN disclosures and duplications found in the exercise. There are serious ramifications to this issue and it has already been flagged off to the EC by our teams in the past.”

Duplicate PANs being used to evade tax, seek fresh credit, launder money

On how the politicians were using PAN details to hoodwink the ECI and the electorate alike, Cobrapost said “maybe some are using duplicate PANs, which is a common phenomenon,” according to some Income Tax officials. This is done to evade tax, seek fresh credit and in most cases launder illicit gains into shell companies.

Under the law, the website noted that “a candidate is mandated to make due disclosures of criminal cases against him, and conviction if any, and his financial status.”

It said all candidates are required to disclose their income and assets by duly quoting their PAN issued by the Income Tax Department and that concealment of the same may invite disqualification under Section 125(A)(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, after a candidate is elected to the legislature.

Furthermore, quoting Section 139A(7) of the Income Tax Act 1961, Cobrapost said it is clearly laid down that “no person who has already been allotted a permanent account number under the new series shall apply, obtain or possess another permanent account number.”

Of late, it said, there has been a growing concern over such falsification of information with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) investigating more than 100 lawmakers at the behest of the ECI. “Even the Supreme Court of India has expressed concern over the use of forged PAN by millions of Indians, including lawmakers,” it said.

‘Flaws exist in ECI verification process too’

The analysis, the investigative website said, also threw up some interesting facts. For instance, it said, the Election Commission does not verify the PAN details disclosed by candidates in their affidavits. “In most cases, either of the two different PANs quoted is non-existent. It means the Income Tax Department never issued the PANs in question. In cases where the same PAN has been quoted in two election years, the said PAN was found non-existent.”

Cobrapost said the falsification of PAN details, in most cases, had been done by changing a digit here or there, probably to make the number look original and to avoid immediate detection. It said this was also done to later take the defence of it being a typographical error.

‘EC does not bother to verify PAN details’

The website also stated that the Election Commission does not bother to even verify if the PAN details given by the candidates are correct despite the civil society repeated urging necessary action in this regard.

It quoted Jadeep S. Chhokar, retired professor of IIM Ahmedabad and founding member of the ADR, as saying: “It is utterly shocking, but not surprising, that the Election Commission does not verify the faking of PAN details by politicians.”

Chhokar, it said, added that ADR has been demanding for the past man years that at least the financial matters are verified within six months of the politicians being elected to the legislature so that corrective measures are taken to bar them from legislative duties. “When the Commission does not verify such information how can they prosecute them,” he had further questioned.

Cobrapost also noted that Election Commissioner Sunil Arora had disagreed with this contention saying: “It is not our mandate to verify the information provided by a poll candidate. We simply put the information in public domain for other agencies or individuals to follow up.”

However, former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, who had created a poll expenditure division in the ECI in 2010, categorically stated that the EC should have a mechanism to verify the PAN details. “Yes, the Election Commission should have a mechanism to verify PAN details provided by candidates and the CBDT should take necessary follow-up action.”

Some leading politicians involved in falsifying PAN also had criminal cases

Cobrapost said another interesting fact that emerged from the analysis was that some of the politicians involved in falsifying their PAN details also had criminal cases pending against them.

The analysis, the website said, also showed a “pattern in this behaviour” of the political class while submitting their PAN details.

“For instance, three-time former Chief Minister of Assam and six-time Lok Sabha MP Tarun Gogoi has quoted two different PANs. According to the affidavit filed with the ECI for 2006 assembly elections, Gogoi had a PAN with number ACOPG06834, which did not exist, but in the next elections held in 2011 the Congress leader quoted a different PAN ACOPG0683M,” it said adding that the Gogoi family had witnessed a phenomenal rise in its assets during the period.

“Their declared assets included immovable property worth Rs. 3.65 crore and movable assets over Rs. 35 lakh in 2011 elections. Contrast this to 2006 when Gogoi had reported a total income of Rs. 5,92,580, as shown in his income tax returns, with movable assets of Rs 35.25 lakh, including among others, Rs. 14.77 lakh in the State Bank of India Guwahati branch, Rs. 3.91 lakh in the Daryaganj branch of Indian Overseas Bank in New Delhi, Rs 11,920 in SBI Parliament Street branch in New Delhi,” it said.

Likewise in the case of BJP leader and former HP CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, it said, his style of “falsifying PAN details is as much cosher.”

“He quoted PAN AAKTD99648, which does not exist, in his affidavit to become eligible for fighting 2007 state Assembly elections. But in the elections held five years later, he found it convenient to quote a different PAN AAKPD9964E. Dhumal has five criminal cases pending against him under Sections 188, 186, 143, 499 and 500 of the IPC,” Cobrapost claimed.

Many ministers quoted non-existent PAN numbers

However, it said, the most curious case was of five-time BJP MLA and four-time minister Kishan Kapoor from Himachal Pradesh who before the 2007 state assembly elections had “quoted his PAN as AFYPK8382G, but in the next assembly elections we find him in possession of a different PAN AFUPK8382G which is found to be non-existent.”

Interestingly, Cobrapost said, “The minister is accused of indulging in not only in fraud but also in criminal behaviour.” It said in October 2013, Kapoor was booked by the Himachal Pradesh Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, upon a high court order, under the Prevention of Corruption Act for fraudulently allotting a prime residential plot to his wife.”

Kapoor, it said, has nine criminal cases of serious nature, including kidnapping, wrongful confinement, rioting, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation against him.

Like some of her other party colleagues, Cobrapost said BJP leader and cabinet minister from Haryana, Kavita Jain, too had quoted two PANs – AASPJ1161D and ACSPJ1161D. “The first PAN, AASPJ1161D, was found non-existent,” it added.

In the case of Virbhadra Singh too, Cobrapost said while in his affidavit for 2007 elections he had quoted his PAN number as ALPRS6513N, this was replaced by another PAN ALRPS6513N in 2012. “We found his earlier PAN ALPRS6513N to be non-existent. The four-time Chief Minister, seven-time MLA and five-time member of Parliament (MP) too has been accused of laundering money to the tune of Rs 7 crore by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), with the Special Judge finding prima facie merit in the charges levelled against him by the ED,” it added.

The Cobrapost investigation also stated that these revelations assume significance since the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) was investigating 98 MLAs and 7 Lok Sabha MPs for discrepancy in their assets and declared sources of income. “Last year the CBDT apprised the Supreme Court of its investigations into the assets of 42 MLAs and 9 Rajya Sabha MPs, in response to a petition filed by NGO Lok Prahri,” it said.

Assets of 320 MPs rose over 100%, of 6 others by over 1000%

The petition had claimed that the assets of 320 MPs who were re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014 had grown by over 100 per cent, whereas in the case of 26 MPs it had risen by over 500% and in case of another six MPs by over 1000%.

As it was revealed that there were over 10.52 lakh “bogus” PAN cards of individual assessees in existence, the apex court had also noted that this was “not a minuscule number”. It had gone on to add: “It could harm the economy and create adverse effect on the nation.”

Quoting an observation from the CEO of Lucknow-based Lok Prahari, S.N. Shukla, in the matter, the website said: “Despite the Supreme Court refusing to institute an inquiry into the phenomenal rise in the wealth of the politicians named in the petition, the government should have taken initiative on its own to let the nation know how they all get so rich between elections if they are really serious about bringing transparency in political life of the county.”

For the BJP, a Troubling National Election Outlook

It appears impossible for the BJP to win a majority on its own in 2019. It may still win enough seats to form a coalition government, but it will have to bargain with allies deeply frustrated with Modi’s wilful, unresponsive ways.

A year ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party looked almost certain to retain power after the next national election. But recent opinion surveys show its popularity waning. A Lok Sabha majority for the party on its own now appears unobtainable. Even if its seat total slips badly, it may still be able to form a government with the support of allies, but they may demand a change of prime minister.

In May, a CSDS-Lokniti survey found that only 22% of the Scheduled Castes favour the BJP, down 8 percentage points since January. The story is similar among the Scheduled Tribes. Support from farmers plunged from 49% a year earlier to 24%. Among the other findings:

  • 61% of all those surveyed said that the government had done badly at controlling prices. 
  • 55% said it had performed poorly at curbing corruption.
  • 61% said that the government was corrupt. 
  • 64% had a negative view of development under the BJP.
  • 57% said that jobs – Modi’s signature promise of 2014 – are harder to find under the BJP. 
  • 47% were dissatisfied with the government’s overall performance – up from 27% a year earlier. 
  • 38% of 2014 voters for the BJP and its allies did not want them re-elected.

If we consider the BJP’s prospects state-by-state, a similar picture emerges. Let us begin with states where the BJP may make gains. Its best hope is Odisha, where it won one of 21 seats in 2014. This appears to be the only state where its popularity has risen sharply. It is risky to underestimate chief minister Naveen Patnaik, but the BJP might pick up between 10 and 15 seats there. 

Modest gains may be possible in the Northeast. The BJP might improve a little in Assam, where it won 7 of 14 (although recent surveys show it trailing), and in the smaller states where it won 1 of 10.  It may also gain a handful in West Bengal where it won 2 of 42 in 2014. 

But taken together, those states elect only 87 MPs. That number is dwarfed by the 326 seats where the BJP will probably lose some or many. 

It is likely to lose a few in Delhi (where it won 7 of 7), Haryana (7 of 10), Chhattisgarh (10 of 11), Gujarat (26 of 26), Uttarakhand (5 of 5) and Himachal Pradesh (4 of 4).  Those states elect 63 MPs.

Also read: Fear Is Going to Be the BJP’s Platform for 2019

It will probably lose a few and perhaps many in Bihar (where it won 22 of 40, with a further 9 going to its allies) and Jharkhand (12 of 14). Also in this list is Karnataka (17 of 28).  The uneasy alliance between Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) appears set to survive at least until the Lok Sabha election, and is likely to capture a few additional few seats. The BJP will probably lose some, perhaps many, in Maharashtra (where it won 23 of 47) if no agreement is reached with the Shiv Sena. Even if those two parties contest together, perceptive observers in the state believe that each will try to ensure the defeat of candidates from the other. These states elect 129 MPs.

The party may lose massively in Uttar Pradesh if the alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party holds up, perhaps with understandings with the Rashtriya Lok Dal and/or the Congress. Most of the 71 of 80 seats that the BJP won there in 2014 are at risk.

Finally, the BJP appears certain to lose a large number of seats in two other sizeable states.  In Madhya Pradesh (where it won 27 of 29), a recent survey found the Congress with a comfortable lead.  In Rajasthan, where the BJP won all 25 seats, polls suggest that it is in serious trouble.  It made the curious choice of Vasundhara Raje Scindia as chief minister, even though in her first term in power she ineptly alienated all factions in the BJP and led the party to defeat in 2008.  A similar fate awaits it today. The Congress appears poised to recapture the state government and most Lok Sabha seats there as well. In these two states, the BJP is very likely to lose most of the 52 of 54 seats that it won in 2014. 

Workers carry a huge cut-out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan as part of preparations for the BJP rally. Credit: PTI Files

In the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the total number of Lok Sabha seats are 102. In 2014, the BJP won four seats, two of which came from Andhra Pradesh where it was in alliance with the Telugu Desam Party. In 2019, those numbers are hardly likely to improve.

To sum up, the party will probably make limited gains in states that elect only 87 MPs, while it is faces modest-to-major losses in states where 326 seats are at stake.

Also read: Narendra Modi’s Speech in Parliament Made His 2019 Campaign Priorities Clear

It appears impossible for the BJP to win a majority (272) on its own. It is still quite possible that it will win enough seats to form a coalition government. But it will have to bargain with allied parties that are deeply frustrated with Modi’s wilful, unresponsive ways. If the BJP wins little more than 200 seats, those parties may insist on a change of prime minister. The RSS, which prefers government through institutions to one-man rule, is reportedly ready with an alternative. If the BJP’s popularity declines even further, its alliance might even struggle to form or to sustain a government.      

The situation is fluid, so things may swing back in its favour. Amit Shah’s organisation building may reap rewards. So may communal polarisation, although it has found little traction outside Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Unexpected events may help the BJP, or its resourceful leaders may spring dramatic surprises that turn things round. ‘Brand Modi’ still has persuasive power, greatly magnified by many fawning or intimidated media outlets. But for the present, the dream of a Congress-mukt India, never mind an opposition-mukt India, is in real jeopardy. 

James Manor is a professor in the School of Advanced Study, University of London. He is the author of numerous books including Power, Poverty and Poison: Disaster and Response in an Indian City (1993) on the 1981 illicit liquor disaster in Karnataka.

Why I Am Resigning From the BJP

‘Speak against the government and you’re anti-national and more recently, anti-Hindu.’

Political discourse is at its lowest point in the country, at least in my lifetime. The partisanship is unbelievable. People continue to support their side no matter what the evidence. There is no remorse even when they are proved to have been spreading fake news. This is something that everyone – the parties and voters/supporters are to be blamed for.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has done a great job at spreading some specific messages with incredibly effective propaganda, and these messages are the primary reason that I can’t support the party anymore. But before we get into any of that, I’d like everyone to understand that no party is totally bad, and no party is totally good. All governments have done some good and messed up on some fronts. This government is no different.

The good

1. Road construction is faster than it was earlier. There has been a change in methodology of counting road length, but even factoring that in, it seems to be faster.

2. Electricity connection increased – all villages electrified and people getting electricity for more hours. (The Congress did electrify over five lakh villages and Modi finished the job by connecting the last 18,000 so, you can weigh the achievement as you like. Similarly, the number of hours people get electricity has increased ever since independence, but we might have seen a larger increase during BJP).

3. Upper level corruption has reduced – no huge cases at the ministerial level as of now (but the same was true of UPA I). At the lower level, things seems to be about the same, with increased amounts; no one seems to be able to control the thanedar, patwari et al.

4. The Swachh Bharat Mission is a definite success – more toilets built than before and swachhta is something embedded in people’s minds now.

5. The Ujjwala Yojana is a great initiative, though how many people buy the second cylinder remains to be seen. The first one and a stove was free, but now people need to pay for it. The cost of cylinders has almost doubled since the government took over, and now one costs more than Rs 800.

6. Connectivity for the North East has undoubtedly increased. More trains, roads, flights and most importantly – the region is now discussed in the mainstream news channels.

7. Law and order is reportedly better than it was under regional parties.

Feel free to add achievements you can think of in the comments below. Also, achievements necessarily have caveats, failures are absolute.

The bad

It takes decades and centuries to build systems and nations, and the biggest failure I see in the BJP is that it has destroyed some great things on very flimsy grounds.

1. Electoral bonds – This basically legalises corruption and allows corporates and foreign powers to buy our political parties. The bonds are anonymous so if a corporate says I’ll give you an electoral bond of Rs 1,000 crore if you pass this specific policy, there will be no prosecution. There just is no way to establish a quid pro quo with an anonymous instrument. This also explains how corruption is reduced at the ministerial level – it isn’t per file/order, it is now like the US – at the policy level.

2. Planning Commission reports:  These used to be a major source for data. They audited government schemes and stated how things are going. With that gone, there just is no choice but to believe whatever data the government gives you (CAG audits come out after a long time). The NITI Aayog doesn’t have this mandate and is basically a think tank and PR agency. The plan/non-plan distinction could have been removed without removing the Planning Commission.

3. Misuse of CBI and ED: These are being used for political purposes as far as I can see, but even if they aren’t, the fear that these institutions will be unleashed on those who speak up against anything Modi/Shah related is real. This is enough to kill dissent – an integral component of democracy.

4. Failure to investigate Kalikho Pul’s suicide note, Judge Loya’s death, Sohrabuddin murder, the defence of an MLA accused of rape whose relative is accused of killing the girl’s father  in Unnao. The FIR wasn’t registered for over a year.

5. Demonetisation: It failed, but worse is the BJP’s inability to accept that it failed. All propaganda of it cutting terror funding, reducing cash, eliminating corruption is just absurd. It also killed off businesses.

6. GST implementation: It was implemented in a hurry and harmed business. Complicated structure, multiple rates on different items, complex filing… Hopefully it will stabilise in time, but it did cause harm. The BJP’s failure to acknowledge that is extremely arrogant.

7. The messed up foreign policy with pure grandstanding: China has a port in Sri Lanka, huge interests in Bangladesh and Pakistan – India is surrounded, the failure in Maldives (Indian workers not getting visas anymore because of India’s foreign policy debacle) while Modi ji goes out to foreign countries and keeps saying Indians had no respect in the world before 2014 and now they’re supremely respected (This is nonsense. Indian respect in foreign countries was a direct result of our growing economy and IT sector, it hasn’t improved an ounce because of Modi. Might even have declined due to beef based lynchings, threats to journalists etc.)

8. Failure of schemes and failure to acknowledge/course correct – Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, Make In India, Skill Development, Fasal Bima (look at reimbursements – the government is lining the pockets of insurance companies). Failure to acknowledge unemployment and farmers crisis – calling every real issue an opposition stunt.

9. The high prices of petrol and diesel – Modi and all BJP ministers and supporters criticised the Congress for it heavily when it was in power and now all of them justify the high prices even though crude is cheaper than it was then. This is just unacceptable.

10. Failure to engage with the most important basic issues – education and healthcare. There is just nothing on education, which is the nation’s biggest failure. The quality of government schools has deteriorated over the decades (ASER reports) and no action is being taken. They did nothing on healthcare for four years, then Ayushman Bharat was announced — that scheme scares me more than nothing being done. Insurance schemes have a terrible track record and this is going the US route, which is a terrible destination for healthcare (watch Sicko by Michael Moore).

You can add some and subtract some based on your own personal understanding of the issue, but this is my assessment. The electoral bonds issue is huge and hopefully the Supreme Court will strike it down. Every government has some failures and some bad decisions though, the bigger issue I have is more on morals than anything else.

The ugly

The real negative of this government is how it has affected the national discourse with a well-considered strategy. This isn’t a failure – it’s the plan.

1. It has discredited the media, so now every criticism is brushed off as a journalist who didn’t get paid by the BJP or is on the payrolls of the Congress. I know several journalists for whom the allegation can’t be true, but more importantly no one ever addresses the accusation or complaint – they just attack the person raising the issue and ignore the issue itself.

2. It has peddled a narrative that nothing happened in India in 70 years. This is patently false and the resulting mentality is harmful to the nation. This government spent over Rs 4,000 crore of our taxpayer money on advertisements and now that will become the trend. Do small works and huge branding. Modi isn’t the first one to build roads – some of the best roads I’ve travelled on were pet projects of Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav. India became an IT powerhouse from the 1990s. It is easy to measure past performance and berate past leaders based on the circumstances of today. For example, one might ask: “Why did the Congress not build toilets in 70 years? They couldn’t even do something so basic.” This argument sounds logical and I believed it too, until I started reading India’s history. When we gained independence in 1947 we were an extremely poor country, we didn’t have the resources for even basic infrastructure and no capital. To counteract this Nehru went down the socialist path and created PSUs. We had no capacity to build steel, so with the help of Russians, the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), Ranchi, was set up that made machines to make steel in India — without this we would have no steel, and consequently no infrastructure. That was the agenda — basic industries and infra. We had frequent droughts, every 2–3 years and a large number of people starved to death. The priority was to feed the people, toilets were a luxury no one cared for. The Green Revolution happened and the food shortages disappeared by the 1990s — now we have a surplus problem. The toilet situation is exactly like people asking 25 years from now why Modi couldn’t make all houses in India air conditioned. That seems like a luxury today, toilets were also a luxury at some point of time. Maybe things could have happened sooner, maybe 10–15 years ago, but saying nothing happened in 70 years is a horrible lie to peddle.

3. The spread of and reliance on fake news. There is some anti-BJP fake news too, but the pro-BJP and anti-opposition fake news outstrips that by miles in number and in reach. Some of it is supporters, but a lot of it comes from the party. It is often hateful and polarising, which makes it even worse. The online news portals backed by this government are damaging society more than we know.

4. Hindu khatre mein hai – they’ve ingrained it into the minds of people that Hindus and Hinduism are in danger, and that Modi is the only option to save ourselves. In reality Hindus have been living the same lives much before this government and nothing has changed except people’s mindset. Were we Hindus in danger in 2007? At least I didn’t hear about it everyday and I see no improvement in the condition of Hindus, just more fear mongering and hatred.

5. Speak against the government and you’re anti-national and more recently, anti-Hindu. Legitimate criticism of the government is shut up with this labelling. Prove your nationalism, sing Vande Mataram everywhere (even though BJP leaders don’t know the words themselves, they’ll force you to sing it!). I’m a proud nationalist and my nationalism won’t allow me to let anyone force me to showcase it. I will sing the national anthem and national song with pride when the occasion calls for it, or when I feel like it, but I won’t let anyone force me to sing it based on their whims.

6. Running news channels that are owned by BJP leaders whose sole job is to debate Hindu-Muslim, national-antinational, India-Pakistan and derail the public discourse from issues and logic into polarising emotions. You all know exactly which ones, and you all even know the debaters who’re being rewarded for spewing the vilest propaganda.

7. The polarisation – the message of development is gone. BJP’s strategy for the next election is polarisation and inciting pseudo-nationalism. Modi ji has basically said it himself in speeches – Jinnah; Nehru; Congress leaders didn’t meet Bhagat Singh in jail (that was fake news from the PM himself), the Congress leaders met leaders in Pakistan to defeat Modi in Gujarat, Yogi ji’s speech on how Maharana Pratap was greater than Akbar, JNU students are anti-national they’ll #TukdeTukdeChurChur India – this is all propaganda constructed for a very specific purpose – polarise and win elections – it isn’t the stuff I want to be hearing from my leaders and I refuse to follow anyone who is willing to let the nation burn in riots for political gain.

These are just some of the instances of how the BJP is pushing the national discourse in a dark corner. This isn’t something I signed up for and it totally isn’t something I can support. That is why I am resigning from BJP.

PS: I supported BJP since 2013 because Narendra Modi ji seemed like a ray of hope for India and I believed in his message of development – that message and the hope are now both gone. The negatives of this Narendra Modi and Amit Shah government now outweigh the positives for me, but that is a decision that every voter needs to make individually. Just know that history and reality are complicated. Buying into simplistic propaganda and espousing cult-like unquestioning faith are the worst things you can do – it is against the interests of democracy and of this nation.

You all have your own decisions to make as the elections approach. Best of luck with that. My only hope is that we can all live and work harmoniously together – and contribute towards making a better, stronger, poverty-free and developed India, no matter what party or ideology we support. Always remember that there are good people on both sides, the voter needs to support them and they need to support each other ,even when they are in different parties.

Shivam Shankar Singh worked on the BJP’s election campaigns in several north-eastern states as part of Ram Madhav’s team. 

Arunachal: Congress Alleges Kiren Rijiju Used Indian Air Force Helicopters for BJP Events

The state’s Congress unit has written to the Prime Minister’s Office demanding a probe into “misuse of government machineries” by the Union minister of state for home.

The state’s Congress unit has written to the Prime Minister’s Office demanding a probe into “misuse of government machineries” by the Union minister of state for home.

Kiren Rijiju at a BJP rally in Arunachal's Tali. Credit: Twitter/@KirenRijiju

Kiren Rijiju at a BJP rally in Arunachal’s Tali. Credit: Twitter/@KirenRijiju

New Delhi: The Arunachal Pradesh unit of the Congress party has written a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) demanding immediate investigation into “misuse of government machineries” by Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju during his visits to the state.

Stating this at a press meet held in Itanagar on October 31, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Takam Sanjoy reportedly said the party has sought a probe into the matter – specifically into chartering of Indian Air Force helicopters mostly for BJP rallies and party meetings instead of government events.

According to a report in The Arunachal Times, Sanjoy particularly cited a ‘BJP Maha Rally’ held on October 30 at Tali circle in the state’s Kra Daadi district which was attended by both Rijiju and state chief minister Pema Khandu. Sanjoy alleged that Rijiju used an IAF helicopter to attend the party meeting.

Speaking to The Wire from Itanagar, Sanjoy said, “This is a serious matter. While the PM talks about ethics and a corruption-free government, his own minister is misusing government machinery. A party event can’t be funded by public exchequer. If the PM is serious about delivering achhe din, he should form a committee to inquire how many times Rijiju has misused his official position in this regard.”

The APCC president further said at the press event that “Rijiju has violated the government of India guidelines and norms many times in the name of ‘official purpose’. We have written a letter to the PMO because this is absolutely against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of a ‘corruption-free government’ in the country. Such falsified activity of the MoS home and the state chief minister has negated his government’s policy of ‘achhe din‘.”

One of the remotest corners of the state, Tali has no proper road connectivity. “The minister could have hired a private helicopter instead of using government machineries for the party’s activities,” Sanjoy added.

A former Congress MP, Sanjoy lost the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to Rijiju from the state’s Arunachal West constituency. Rijiju, who left the BJP after losing the Lok Sabha polls in 2009, had thereafter joined the Congress. He returned to the BJP just before the 2014 elections.

Rijiju responds

In a series of tweets on Thursday evening, Rijiju strongly denied the allegations and noted that he used “home ministry helicopters” and not those belonging to the Indian Air Force.