A case of political vendetta?

Harassment of rivals and vindictive arrests are common in Indian politics, and the latest such case is the arrest and internment of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Chandrababu Naidu. The former Chief Minister was arrested, typically, in the early morning hours on Saturday by the Andhra Pradesh CID on charges of corruption and embezzlement of public funds. The CID has said that Naidu is the main accused in a Rs 371-crore scam involving diversion of funds meant for skill development when he was Chief Minister of the state. He has been remanded to judicial custody and is lodged in a jail in Rajahmundry. Other TDP leaders may be arrested in connection with the case. Shockingly, all 21 TDP MLAs have been put under house-arrest. 

No-one would oppose investigation of corruption charges against political leaders, their arrest, prosecution and conviction. The complaint is actually that most such cases are not investigated and prosecuted, and even when they are, convictions are rare. Few politicians have ever gone to jail for corruption. When they have, it was because their political rivals did them in. That is the case with Naidu, too. It is the YSR Congress chief and Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy who is leading the charge against Chandrababu Naidu. It is no surprise that the action against Naidu has been launched just some months before the state is to go in for Assembly elections. Naidu may still be in jail at the time of elections, and even if he comes out, he and his party will have the stain of corruption on them. 

It is ironic that Jagan Mohan Reddy is driving the action against Naidu. Reddy has faced much more serious charges of corruption, and has spent many months in jail. The TDP recently called him a chief minister-on-bail. Is Naidu’s arrest then revenge for that? Naidu is Reddy’s main political rival in the state. Selective invocation of charges of corruption and financial misdemeanours and other criminal charges and harassment of political rivals has become the norm now. It is done by the central government all over the country using its agencies. State governments do it using their police forces. The timing and manner of arrests are well chosen to produce the maximum impact. Naidu has not got much support from other parties, except a weak expression of sympathy from the BJP. The law should take its course in Naidu’s case, and he would be deserving of punishment if found guilty. But its selective and motivated enforcement is wrong. It violates norms of justice and creates a vicious circle of vendetta politics. Naidu was once a star. His fall shows how fickle politics can be.