“Not every policy is well thought out. Many policies may be well intentioned but will fail. The PM’s demonetization decision, for instance, was a great disaster. But no politician or bureaucrat was taken to task for that colossal blunder. It was soon forgotten as a mistake. But the intention of the accusers in Sisodia’s case is not to mourn the loss to the public but to remove a star performer of a small but upcoming opposition party from the political firmament.”

“The campaign to shatter the opposition parties by picking on their weak links with the help of the Enforcement Directorate had been conceived! Every political party, including the BJP, needs money to operate. The army of workers employed full-time keeps expanding with electoral successes. If success is elusive, inducements are offered to cross over. Inducements require money.”

What is the truth behind the hype about a ‘corrupt’ AAP leader, Manish Sisodia? I am as blank as any other thinking Indian. Only diehard BJP supporters and gullible members of the public will swallow the propaganda that is being proliferated to condemn the man. But where is the evidence?

The intention of the accusers is not to mourn the loss to the public due to his policy, but to remove a star performer of a small but upcoming opposition party.

Unlike the Bengal minister from whom crores were recovered, nothing was found in the CBI searches on Sisodia’s offices, home and bank locker. The charge against him seems to be that the policy adopted by him and his party on the sale of liquor had caused huge loss to the exchequer. This is a charge that can be made against governments and corporates in India and all parts of the world at various times.

Not every policy is well thought out. Many policies may be well intentioned but will fail. The PM’s demonetization decision, for instance, was a great disaster. But no politician or bureaucrat was taken to task for that colossal blunder. It was soon forgotten as a mistake. But the intention of the accusers in Sisodia’s case is not to mourn the loss to the public but to remove a star performer of a small but upcoming opposition party from the political firmament.

When the BJP succeeded in winning the UP Assembly elections and forming the governments in three other states, besides UP, Modi held a victory rally of his party’s committed workers outside the party office in Delhi. He voiced his intention of booking the corrupt as the next important mission of his regime. His supporters roared their approval. Little did they know what he meant. Even informed observers did not read his real intent.

The campaign to shatter the opposition parties by picking on their weak links with the help of the Enforcement Directorate had been conceived! Every political party, including the BJP, needs money to operate. The army of workers employed full-time keeps expanding with electoral successes. If success is elusive, inducements are offered to cross over. Inducements require money. When the party has not succeeded at the ballot box and not succeeded in enticing greedy legislators of other parties in sufficient numbers, this novel use of Central agencies to ‘coax’ reluctant MLAs to join the bandwagon is activated. The ploy works in most places. It worked in Maharashtra. But where nuts are hard to crack, like in the case of AAP legislators, new ways have to be found.

Is the alleged liquor scam in Delhi one such experimentation? At the moment, nothing is clear. It is true that the adage ‘there is no smoke without fire’ has a lot going for it, but we have not seen any sign of that smoke from all the Goebbels-like propaganda that has been dished out. A slight connection could be discerned in the purported association of the Telangana CM’s daughter in the raids carried out all over India in connection with the ‘scam’.

This piece of possible evidence was not pursued, it seems. The conclusion independent observers will draw is that since the Telangana CM is another thorn to be tackled later, it could be that his daughter’s explanation published in the media was accepted by the CBI, which was the agency entrusted with this inquiry. Surprisingly, the ED was left out at the beginning, though the allegations involved skimming off vast amounts of money. On September 5, for the first time, it was announced that in the sting operation carried out on one of the many accused in the case, a beneficiary of the new policy had hinted that Kejriwal and Sisodia were given their share of the spoils. It is something like Rahul Gandhi calling Modi a chor in the Rafale matter. Nobody believed him. I do not know much about Sisodia but I refuse to believe that Kejriwal will accept tainted money for personal use. As for party funds, most politicians are complicit. Another thought that entered my police officer’s mind on reading about the Sisodia case is that no details of recoveries, if any, from the IAS and other officials of Delhi’s excise department were leaked to the media. This is quite unusual. If monies had been found in the searches, the propaganda could have acquired greater authenticity. It appears that the CBI drew a blank there, too!

The effect of accusing IAS and assorted excise department officials in a case that has not been proved so far will not wear off easily. I learn that IAS officers are not readily available for deputation to the Centre these days. With the Sisodia case fresh in the mind’s eye, postings to the Delhi state administration also will be avoided. Officers will not like to get involved in the running spat between the BJP and the AAP. Any officer earmarked to serve the AAP government will be sure of being marked. Too many are the risks involved in associating even officially with a party that Modi and Shah want to dethrone by any means, fair or foul! Another game is being played by the BJP in Jharkhand. Hemant Soren, the CM of the tribal-dominated state, is said to have been found guilty by the Election Commission of awarding a mining contract to himself. The Governor has not disclosed the contents of the EC’s findings to the public. He has not moved against the CM, though a week has passed since he received the report. He has kept everyone guessing of his intentions, prompting the CM and his alliance partner, the Congress, to resort to ‘resort’ politics to safeguard their flock! Last Monday, Soren got his MLAs and those of the Congress to pass a vote of confidence in him in the Assembly. He must have got that idea from Kejriwal.

It is reported in the print media that the Jharkhand Governor has dashed off to Delhi for ‘guidance and directions’. If this is how governance is going to be administered in the states, we as a people are condemned to non-existence. The government will not function till this matter is resolved. But the party at the Centre that pulls all the strings is keeping all parties guessing, awaiting a suitable time to strike.

(The author is a retired IPS Officer)