Not just a code of conduct, but a law is needed for everyone regarding criminal matters.
New Delhi: In an important decision in 2001, the Supreme Court had ruled that a “public servant” convicted of the offence of corruption should not be allowed to hold any public office until he was acquitted by a higher court. A person convicted of corruption or any other offence should be treated as corrupt and a criminal until he is declared completely innocent of that crime by the court. The court gave this decision in the case of a bank officer. Similarly, the Election Commission of India and many organisations have been recommending that a public representative, i.e., an MLA, MP, or minister, should be barred from holding office or contesting elections after the charge sheet is presented in the court with proper evidence of a serious allegation. The Election Commission is a constitutional body like a court, but no government or Parliament has taken steps to implement this recommendation. The result of this is that in states like Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Delhi, even the leaders and ministers who have been jailed on charges of serious crimes are not resigning. Some are misusing their power by accusing the investigating agencies of bias and putting pressure on the courts.
In the new cabinet formed under the leadership of Nitish Kumar in Bihar, more than 70% of the leaders have cases of serious crimes registered against them. Many cases are going on in court. The ministers themselves have recorded the cases registered against them in the manifesto in writing. The culmination is that on the date of surrender before the court in one case, the leader was taking the oath of the law minister of the state. Everyone knows that the appointments and facilities of the lower courts in the states are received from the Law Department-Ministry. A former minister and legislator of the ruling Janata Dal (United) has publicly spoken in the media about the newly appointed minister of his government.
Not only in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, but in many states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra, there have been serious allegations against leaders of various parties, even ministers, MLAs, and MPs. They give these details in the election affidavit. Can they be called a certificate of character and an ideal public servant? At an event after coming to power and also in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that special courts and time-bound hearings could be arranged for the cases pending against the leaders. But it seems that the Law Ministry and the Supreme Court have not taken any concrete action on this proposal so far.
Many politicians have a lot of displeasure with the courts and even the judges. Similarly, in 2005, when some leaders made remarks against the courts, the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice R.C. Lahoti, said: “If the ruling power is in great trouble, then get the courts dissolved.” Later, the ruling Congress leaders apologised and got a bill to change a law related to education. The top judges have accepted the malpractices of the lower courts and efforts are on to improve them. But in criminal cases, the police in the states are under the authority of the state governments, i.e., the leaders of the ruling parties. Therefore, there is an alliance between corrupt officials and politicians in registering cases, placing lapses in FIRs, or destroying evidence. There was a delay of years in getting the punishment of Lalu Yadav and other accomplices from the court in the fodder scam of Bihar. The news of the fodder scandal was published in 1990. But Lalu was attacking the offices of the newspapers by calling the judges and journalists like us, who published the news, high-caste extremists.
In Uttar Pradesh, also, Mulayam Singh or Mayawati do not fail to take the cover of caste when the scam is exposed. Karunanidhi, or Jayalalithaa, in Tamil Nadu, also continued to target the media. Crores of cash and property documents are being received from the homes of Mamata Banerjee’s ministers and associates in West Bengal, but the government is on the defensive. Before this, you took the CBI officer into custody, or Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself sat on a dharna for her police personnel. Recently, the controversy surrounding the demand for his resignation after serious allegations of murder against the son of a state minister sitting at the Centre continues. So, the question is not of one party. Not just a code of conduct, but also a law is needed for everyone regarding criminal matters.
Coalition politics has created more crises in recent years. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh have been troubled the most by this problem. One of the major reasons why Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has not come under fire for allegations of corruption is his tight control and the lack of pressure or coercion. Nitish Kumar may get into new trouble this time due to the Lalu family and many tainted and controversial leaders of the party. They have also been changing allies frequently. So, further change will be difficult.
Not only this, opinion of the parties on the leadership of him or Mamata or Rahul Gandhi at the national level will not be easy. After Delhi, after getting power in Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal and his close people started seeing the post of Prime Minister easily and they are running in haste. But due to serious allegations against Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia, the coming months may force them to apply the brakes. Keeping transparency, honesty, and the public interest paramount are the true guidelines for a public servant.
The author is editorial director of ITV Network, India News and Dainik Aaj Samaj.