JOIN USThe resignation of Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has come too late to be of any political use or moral advantage for him, his party, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), or the government. Deshmukh resigned in the wake of the Bombay High Court’s order for a CBI investigation into the charge made by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh that the minister had demanded collection of Rs 100 crore per month from liquor bars, restaurants and other establishments. The minister’s position had become untenable after the charge was made in public, and he could have set a good precedent and saved himself from embarrassment if he had quit and offered to face an investigation then. His party also did not consider it necessary to tell him to resign. NCP leader Sharad Pawar thought it would be a loss of face if the minister resigned but has now had to stomach a bigger embarrassment. If he had other designs, they are not known yet.
While Deshmukh has resigned, it made little sense for the Maharashtra government to approach the Supreme Court to prevent the investigation. The court has rightly rejected its petition. What the High Court has ordered is a preliminary investigation, to be completed in 15 days. The government’s opposition to the probe only exposed its own bad faith and weakness. The collection of hafta by politicians in power is a known fact. What is different here is that a serving police officer made the charge. The government was duty-bound to clear its name and should have welcomed a probe. It should have ordered a credible investigation on its own. It did not do that, and when the court ordered one, it tried to block it. It is true that the CBI is a “caged parrot”, and its investigation might not give comfort to the government, the minister or the parties behind them. But the court acted because the government did not.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray must have been relieved that Deshmukh resigned. He was not in a position to demand the minister’s resignation because of coalition compulsions. A dismissal could have had adverse consequences for the government. A preliminary investigation for 15 days can turn into a longer one and can give a breather to the government. But it will also continue to be under pressure as long the investigation is on. The fact that Param Bir Singh made the charge of extortion against the minister only after he was moved out of his post makes his position weak, but that may not make the charge weaker. The probe might dig up more dirt and could hurt the government more in the coming days.