JOIN USIt is anybody’s guess whether the conviction of former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad will be a deterrent against corruption for politicians.
Lalu is among the few politicians to be found guilty of serious corruption and to undergo imprisonment. He may have to be in jail for up to seven years. But it has taken almost two decades for the charges to be investigated and the court to pronounce its verdict. The offence was committed many years before that. A potential offender can even be encouraged by the slowness of the investigative and legal processes. Lalu also would have escaped disqualification from membership of the Lok Sabha if the government had its way with the ordinance nullifying the Supreme Court judgment on the matter. However, even the odd case of a politician being made to pay for his misconduct and misdemeanour is encouraging. The fodder scam, in which Lalu, many other politicians and bureaucrats were found guilty, involved hundreds of crores of public money. If the system was unable to book them it would have increased cynicism among the people about the working of the rule of law.
Attention will now turn to the political consequences of Lalu’s conviction, especially in terms of its impact in Bihar and at the national level in view of the forthcoming general elections. Lalu’s RJD seemed to show signs of revival after years when Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (U) parted company with the BJP in the state. There is uncertainty about the support of the backward castes and minorities constituencies which Lalu nurtured for a long time. He has run the state government by remote control when he was in jail last time. But managing the party’s affairs and running an electoral campaign from jail may be more difficult.
The absence of Lalu in the electoral filed may prompt Nitish Kumar to make efforts to extend his influence to Lalu’s constituencies. Lalu was a loyal ally of the Congress. With his star waning, the national party may think that an alliance with the JD(U) may be more rewarding. Nitish may also think on the same lines. While the politics may be uncertain there will be no doubt in the public mind about the positive message sent out by the conviction. What is however needed is a better and faster mechanism and procedures to ensure that those who steal public money are punished without delay.