Past
I still vividly remember the political environment from 2011 onwards when Congress was facing heat due to various corruption cases. During that time, many UPA scams erupted like a wild volcano. There was 2G scam, Coalgate, Agusta Westland chopper deal, CWG scam, Irrigation scam, Aircel-Maxis scam and many others. Congress was just not able to handle the heat generated due to these cases.
Those days, Dr Swamy's legal activism created a pressure cooker situation for Congress. Apart from court activism, Dr Swamy's barbs at Congress worsened the situation for dynasts. His witty comments and cryptic messages created furore amongst nationalists. Dr Swamy actually dug out the entire history of Sonia Gandhi and placed it in public domain. Dr Swamy’s brutal exposure of Rahul Gandhi’s debilitated political acumen caused irreversible damage to his career. The blow was so lethal that the last scion of dynasty became a subject of mockery in India's political environment.
Especially from 2011 to 2013, Dr Swamy was all over the Indian political space. His interviews, public speeches, court battles, TV debates and Twitter interactions became a rage among the youth of India. The masses were waking up to a new reality as Dr Swamy’s ideas received grand reception. During the same time period, the leader of opposition from BJP was virtually sleeping over Congress scams. For all practical purposes, Congress didn't face meaningful criticism from BJP leaders like Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Advani. As a result, Congress could easily introduce many anti-Hindu acts during its tenure.
Dr Swamy's activism precipitated public anger to reach disproportionate levels. As a result, the public started baying for the end of Congress through slogans such as ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’. This sentiment manifested in the 2014 LS elections when Congress was comprehensively defeated by BJP.
BJPs LS victory in 2014 was climactic because for the first time, Congress had bitten dust so badly. The expectations were high that Modi will usher in a golden era for India. His power-packed speeches exposing Congress (using Dr Swamy's anti-corruption fight) and 15 year track record as Gujarat CM made him look promising. However, this victory turned out to be anti-climax.
Present
After six years, BJP government has failed to deliver justice in corruption cases. Honest officers are shunted out or given non-serious responsibilities. For example, Mr Ashok Khemka, who exposed Vadra's land dealings in Haryana, is consistently transferred from one place to another. ED officer Rajeshwar Singh was hounded on fictitious grounds because he was seriously investigating Chidambaram's role in the Aircel-Maxis scam. Instead of promoting these officers, the govt suppressed their nationalistic endeavors.
Moreover, crooked officers were promoted because of their affinity with a system that thrives on corruption. These pliable officers are like a double edged sword because their loyalty shifts according to the party in power. They are efficient agents of match fixing among political opponents.
BJP effectively used investigating agencies prior to state elections and indulged in sporadic investigations just to gain electoral advantage over other parties. On the other hand, non-election time has been relatively peaceful for BJP's opponents. This is a happy agreement between BJP and Congress.
The party with a difference has adopted Congress template of governance to consolidate its hold across the country. Horse-trading, political blackmail, importing Congressmen and usurping control of state governments through unethical means have become common action points for BJP.
Amidst all this, the goal of ‘Corruption free India’ is dumped into the store room of BJP office. The rot continues to spread with the tacit support of political leaders having no desire to contain and reverse the alarming trend.
It is a misfortune of the country that nationalist agenda, so vigorously built by Dr Swamy, was first hijacked and then willfully diluted by opportunists.
- Gaurav Bhatia
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