Oppn challenges PM's assertion that BJP alone fights corruption

By Saiyed Moziz Imam Zaidi
New Delhi, April 9 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attacked the previous dispensations for their apparent lax attitude towards dealing with corruption, saying that it was only after 2014, when the BJP-led NDA came to power, that the issue was dealt with severely.

The Prime Minister said that unfortunately, India got a legacy of corruption at the time of Independence and lamented the fact that instead of removing it, "some people kept nourishing this malady".

He recalled the "scams and the prevailing sense of impunity just a decade ago, when the UPA was in power".

"This situation led to the destruction of the system and an atmosphere of policy paralysis brought development to a stand still," he said.

After 2014, the Prime Minister reiterated that the priority of the government was to instil faith in the system and for this, the government started taking action against black money and benami property in a mission mode and started inflicting damages on the corrupt as well as the reasons behind corruption.

However, the Opposition disagrees with the Prime Minister with former Union minister Kapil Sibal underlining that the conviction rate was higher during the UPA regime. Sibal also questioned the conviction rate in the current government which was only 71 in 2016.

"PM to CBI: Don't spare the corrupt, March 2016: Jitender Singh told Parliament. But the fact is 2013: 1,136 persons convicted for corruption, 2014: 993, 2015: 878, 2016: 71. Conviction of the corrupt higher during UPA! Men may lie but facts do not lie. Who is protecting the corrupt?" Sibal had tweeted.

Such is the Opposition mistrust over the issue that 14 political parties went to the Supreme Court to get a guideline on political cases, but had to withdrew after the court snubbed it, saying that there can't be separate rules for politic.

The opposition has been questioning the CBI, with RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha saying that the central agencies are "working on BJP's script".

"CBI and ED are working on the script given by the BJP. When the BJP will not be in power, its leaders will face the same treatment," Jha said.

"The pressure politics of the Central government would not affect (RJD chief) Lalu Prasad. He would not take a step back after such an act. The political fight should be contested in a political way. They should stop CBI and ED games," he added.

The Opposition also alleged that the central agencies are behind the leaders of non-BJP parties while those who join the BJP become clean.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has alleged that BJP leaders are involved in Rajasthan's Sanjeevini scam, Poshan Aahar Yojana in Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh's NAN scam.