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| Shoab Lone's sensational allegations in assembly | | A litmus test of Azad's claim of crusade against corruption | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | Jan 12
Ironically enough round the time Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was making a tall claim of his all out war on corruption, stating that it was the prevalence of corruption in the state that forced him to come to J&K, leaving behind his political role at the national level and reiterating his resolve to bring J&K out of the morass of corruption, an independent MLA Mohammad Shoab Lone, the young son of assassinated PDP MLA from Sangrama, Ghulam Nabi Lone who was Minister of State for Education in the Mufti government, was blasting all the claims of corruption being controlled, by alleging that a Cabinet Minister in the Azad led government had taken a bribe of Rs 60,000 from him, for his approval on the file, pertaining to the case of Shoab Lone's sister.
This tumbling of skeletons in the cupboard of Azad government poses a challenge for the Chief Minister. Shoab Lone who declined to name the minister concerned in the House, but assured that he would pass on the name of the minister he was referring to the Chief Minister, presents a litmus test for Azad to prove his bonafides as a crusader against corruption. Under the anti corruption law both taking of bribe as well as paying the same is a cognizable crime, providing punishment for both. By making the sensational revelation of bribe of Rs 60,000 having been paid by him to get the file pertaining his sister's case move and get approval of a Cabinet Minister, young Shoaib has virtually confessed his offence and crime. While he is liable to punishment under the anti graft law, it will be an acid test for the Chief Minister to unearth the scandalous revelation and allegation, by making the complainant to give the name of the corrupt minister and then take appropriate action against the corruption minister under the law. Any hush up of this case now will only put Ghulam Nabi Azad in defensive and prove all his claims of all out war on corruption as a hollow slogan.
Azad's repeated claims of all out war on corruption in the administration and the public life, are already under cloud, in view of allegations from various quarters of the Kundal panel report in the bungling and irregularities in the Forest Department and State Forest Corporation having been tempered with and sought to be hushed up by punishing only the guilty officers in the departments, while letting the politicians including some minister involved in the same to go scout free.
Still another case where the government stands in the dock is the notorious sex scandal of Srinagar and many more similar scandals in which some high ups, both in the bureaucracy and among the politicians are involved. Even after lapse of over one year and the case under investigation by the CBI and even the State High Court monitoring the same, the Srinagar sex scandal once again rocked the state assembly. In a typical case of alleged offender, threatening to expose his co offenders, one of the accused in the case Raman Mattoo, a former MoS tried to block the discussion over the matter in the House taking the plea of the same was subjudice and at the same time threatening to expose many other alleged culprits in the case, whose involvement in the scandal has not been brought out before the public yet.
The Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's claim that his war on corruption will not stop or in anyway get less intensity this year in view of state assembly elections 8 to 9 months ahead and that with an eye on the votes, he would not like to displease the corrupt, will be put to test. It is not only the financial corruption which is a matter of concern and which is eating into the vitals of the society and the nation, but political corruption is a more concerning issue, since it is the root cause of financial corruption and creates a vicious circle. The reported move by the government to appoint 18 public figures, belonging to the two major ruling coalition partners, the Congress and the PDP as Chairpersons or Vice Chairpersons of public corporations and boards, ahead of assembly elections is being construed as a political corruption, aimed at influencing the forthcoming assembly elections. Distributing loves and fishes among the party leaders, activists and workers is as much a serious corrupt practice as is to get or give bribe to get ones case settled favourably. This type of political corruption breeds financial corruption in the administration as well as in the public life. |
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