Nagpur News: The corruption allegations against the ruling Congress party by India Against Corruption (IAC) chief Arvind Kejriwal had drawn instant flak from members of the opposition, with the BJP being the happiest and loudest in its calls for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. However, when similar and more direct allegations were made against BJP President Nitin Gadkari, neither the Congress, nor the NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) nor any political party opposite BJP uttered a word of condemnation.
What can possibly be the reason behind the Congress and its allies missing out on this sterling opportunity to raise fingers against the opposition, in the midst of such a critical political crisis?
Arvind Kejriwal is a young fledgling in the Indian political arena, yet he has raised doubts about the credibility of Robert Vadra and Union law minister Salman Khurshid. The allegations were made by Kejriwal, but the demand for investigation was made by the BJP.
Everyone had expected Kejriwal’s allegations of Gadkari’s Purti Sugar and Power Limited depriving farmers of their rightful land to serve as the Congress’s triumphant comeback. Everyone had expected loud voices to be raised against the President of the chief opposition party by the ruling party and its allies. No such thing happened.
Local Congress and NCP politicians in Gadkari’s hometown Nagpur also had nothing to say, possibly because their leader Ajit Pawar has also been dragged into the matter by Kejriwal. Another important point is that Gadkari has fans in every political party, at least in Nagpur. Gadkari was once an ordinary party worker; people still remember seeing him roam the streets of the city on his scooter. He doesn’t stay aloof or inspire the kind of awe and fear that other politicians do. This is a big reason behind the light reaction to the allegations against him at the regional level. Most do not believe them, or are not taking them seriously. However, there seems to be no explanation for the lack of clash and reactions at the Central level.
According to sources, senior leaders of Gadkari’s own party provided the information that enabled Kejriwal to levy charges against him.
Having enjoyed his position of Party President and , Gadkari’s name has featured in the list of candidates for the second time as well. This is something other prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitely and Gopinath Munde find difficult to digest. A lot of people find Gadkari’s growth from a Public Works Minister to the President of the country’s leading opposition party difficult to accept.
Gadkari is one of the biggest hindrances to Modi’s Prime Ministerial ambition. A lot of Modi’s affairs are handled by Ram Jethmalani, who, in turn, is dependent on Modi for his flailing legal practice. Hence, Jethmalani is strongly advocating Modi to be the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections.
In a way, the conspiracy against Gadkari took root in Gujarat and then made its way to Delhi, though the capital is currently the nerve centre for the issue. LK Advani has also been playing a role. Jharkhand’s Rajya Sabha aspirant Ashutosh Mishra is considered to be a person who provided vital info to with Kejriwal,It is through him that the evidence against Gadkari reached the dissatisfied in Delhi, from whom it went into the hands of Arvind Kejriwal, according to talks in the Delhi political circles.
According to reliable sources after the first failed attempt BJP bigwig who happens to be member of a Rajya Sabha came into action and took a help of Political Editor of a prominent English daily newspaper who ask the Nagpur office to dig information of Gadkari companies. This newspaper has been running a series of news related to Gadkari.
This fact is surely known to the powerful among the Congress and its allies, who are also aware of the support Gadkari has from members of their own parties. This is the reason behind the ruling party’s silence on corruption charges against Gadkari.
Nagpur Today tried to get the opinions of Congress and allied party workers in the city, but they refused to comment, saying they have received no instructions from higher authorities.