Hatchet Therapy

The entire exercise was meant to begin a process to clean up a corrupt system. Instead, the empire has struck back. We have a relentless attack on Shanti Bhushan, senior lawyer and co-chairman of the panel drafting the Lokpal bill, who’s been dragged into controversies over properties in Noida and Allahabad. More salacious perhaps is the matter of the CD, mysteriously circulated to media houses, where Shanti Bhushan is apparently in conversation with Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh. The Bhushans have produced forensic evidence that the CD is doctored; government labs apparently say they are authentic. And now, sources in the Congress are hinting at more damaging exposes on the Bhushans.

To add to this bizarre theatre where the Congress is suddenly taking the moral high ground on corruption, party spokesman Manish Tewari was seen declaring that “those who would attack others should introspect on their own standards of morality”. Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh led the initial charge, first questioning Anna Hazare’s antecedents and admiration for Narendra Modi, then the Bhushans. He subsequently also landed up in Lucknow and said he was inviting Anna Hazare to sit on fast against the corruption of the Mayawati government.

Sting Rays Left, Amar Singh and Digvijay Singh at the 4th annual Kshatriya Federation conference in Jaipur

So is this whole anti-corruption tamasha nothing more than backhanded politics or, worse, a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Well, right now what’s more intriguing is the massive effort being put into discrediting the anti-corruption brigade. As for the Bhushans, the mud is being thrown at father Shanti but the real target is son Prashant, who has for years been at the forefront of several sensational anti-corruption cases, including the 2G scam. The great irony was that the day several top executives of the telecom companies were sent to jail, Prashant, the man who set the entire 2G ball rolling, also found himself in the dock.

A scrutiny of the kind of cases he’s fought makes it clear that this is a man who would have many enemies. He stuck his neck out on the issue of judicial accountability, even directly taking on judges of the apex court. He’s been battling corruption since the Bofors era and, most recently, with the 2G scandal several big corporate houses have faced huge losses and embarrassment while the Manmohan Singh government has been pushed to a corner. Over the years Prashant has assisted several people’s movements, worked with activists and groups ranging from the middle to the Left. He’s been outspoken about the excesses of the state and political parties on both sides. In some ways, Prashant could be called one of India’s top whistle-blowers.

It’s only natural that a man who’s fought so many entrenched interests would have powerful enemies among the corporates, the judiciary and the political class. Even police and intelligence agencies would not have taken kindly to his views on state excesses and Maoists. But now, Prashant also seems to have lost the support of many former associates from the activists sector, many of whom now oppose the anti-corruption movement and the committee framing the Jan Lokpal bill. He says he’s deeply troubled by this but stands his ground on fighting institutionalised corruption at the top. “I believe the campaign to discredit the bill comes from a lack of understanding of what is required to fight high-level corruption. I believe my former colleagues will have a dialogue and that issues will be ironed out.” On the issue of the proposed Jan Lokpal becoming a supercop or having too many powers, he says: “I don’t buy this argument for a second as our anti-corruption agencies don’t have adequate power to see through particular cases. Many people who are objecting have no idea of how difficult it is to hold the powerful accountable.”

And what of the targeted smear campaign which is more damaging than the critique? As Prashant says, “There will be many people with a motive to get me in the government, corporate sector...not to forget Amar Singh who is central to this drama.” (Those who say this is a Congress smear campaign also point to the fact that Amar Singh, fabled as a political fixer, was also a central character in the cash-for-votes scandal.)

Now that the battle is on, Prashant is being discredited at every level. A whisper campaign suggests that all his PILs are actually tools to blackmail. Explains Prashant: “All I can say is that when one business house wants to catch another and provides information in this regard, I obviously take it—as long as I am confident that the information exposes corruption and that the documents are genuine. But I don’t allow them any control over the PIL that I file as I never charge any fees for PILs.”

Then how does he generate an income? “A quarter of my cases are not PILs. And I am able to take up certain cases because my expenses are minimal. My house and office are free as I live with my father and my staff salaries are also paid by my father. I do this in public interest and act on the basis of my perception of public interest.” At this stage, all the Bhushans can do is wait and see what comes next. Those opposed to Prashant say his karma is catching up with him and his father.

So what really is the strategy behind the attack on the anti-corruption movement? One may have expected the Congress to just let the Jan Lokpal bill get bogged down in the drafting and legislative minefield. Why was it necessary to launch this sort of no-holds-barred attack? Party sources say the consensus was that such forms of militant activism are a threat to the future. Besides, as a leader asks, “There are so many contradictions and divisions in the anti-corruption movement, why shouldn’t we exploit it?”

This suggests that the ruling establishment was indeed rattled by the energy released during the Anna Hazare fast. Now the Bhushans are on the mat; earlier it was Hazare himself, for charges ranging from his approval of Narendra Modi’s development record to spending money on a birthday celebration. The latest is that Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde is having second thoughts about being on the draft panel. Commenting on the manner of the vilification campaign, the Lokayukta said that “everything stinks”.

The question now is whether this entire campaign will disintegrate (as the political and ruling class would like it to) in the face of so many mini-scandals and charges? Will the Bhushans step down from the panel? (At the time of writing, they said they had no intention of doing so.) In other words, will the empire win this round, pulverise the anti-corruption movement? They certainly could but the reverse can also happen. The attack on a genuine public outburst could turn out counter-productive. The danger for the UPA is next time round the energy tapped by the anti-corruption movement could move to specifically targeting the Delhi regime.

After all, at the end of all this drama we have to ask why after such a terrible season of scams should a government be so scared of public anger against corruption or a law that would give greater accountability?

10 Unanswered Questions

• When Amar Singh says the CD is doctored, how come the CFSL concluded it is not?
• If CD isn’t doctored, how come Mulayam Singh’s 2006 lines match verbatim with 2011 CD?
• Which forensic reports can you trust when there are different CDs doing the rounds?
• Why is the Congress talking in two voices after relenting before the Jantar Mantar protest?
• Does Digvijay Singh’s attack on the Bhushans have the OK of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi?
• Was the Noida farmhouse land scam issue leaked because the CD story was losing steam?
• Are the Bhushans being attacked because they have stepped on too many toes?
• If the Bhushans are made to leave, will the smear campaign stop or will it go on?
• Could the relentless attacks result in a totally watered down Lokpal bill?
• Is the Congress endearing itself to voters with its tacit support to the attacks?

The Bhushan Case Files

Prashant Bhushan has appeared in a number of high-profile public interest cases since the early ’90s

• Bofors Challenges in the SC two Delhi High Court decisions to close the Bofors probe in 1991 and ’93
• Panna-Mukta Files petition before Delhi HC against a 1994 deal with a consortium comprising Enron Oil and Gas India Limited (EOGIL) and Reliance India Ltd (RIL) for exploitation of offshore oil and gas fields
• Cogentrix Appears on behalf of a PIL petitioner after the power company files a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in 1999 challenging the order of the Karnataka HC for a CBI probe into alleged payment of kickbacks for awarding a power project
• Enron Appears for labour union CITU in a PIL challenging the power project and seeking a probe into charges of corruption in awarding this power project in Maharashtra
• Narmada Bachao Andolan Appears for the NBA in 2000 to stop construction of Narmada dam above earlier approved mark
• Arundhati Roy Counsel for the author-activist in contempt case for criticising the judiciary. Convicted, Roy had to spend a night in jail in 2002
• HUDCO funds Files petition in 2003 questioning arbitrary grant and misuse of loans by HUDCO for political/extraneous considerations under the watch of then urban development minister Ananth Kumar. Matter still pending
• Disinvestment Files PIL in 2003 challenging government decision to disinvest in state-owned oil marketing companies HPCL and BPCL without Parliament’s approval
• MMTC chief tenure Files petition in 2004 challenging the arbitrary decision of the government to grant a three-year extension to then CMD of Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC) without CVC clearance
• Neera Yadav appointment Files petition in 2005 challenging the appointment of Neera Yadav as UP chief secretary despite there being several corruption cases against her. She was removed from the post.
• Scorpene scam Files petition in 2006 seeking investigation into the alleged involvement of middlemen in the Rs 18,000 crore submarine deal. Petition pending in Delhi HC.
• Bellary mining Files petition in 2009 against the illegal mining in the Bellary reserve forests by the Reddy brothers. Matter still pending in the apex court.
• 2G swindle Files writ petition in 2010 before Delhi HC raising irregularities in allotment of 2G spectrum. After dismissal of petition, files an SLP in the SC. The court orders a CBI investigation monitored by it. Later, along with a separate affidavit, submitted the infamous Radia tapes which speeded up the probe into the spectrum allocation.
• Corruption in judiciary Issued contempt notice when he states in a magazine interview that eight of the last 16 chief justices of India were corrupt. Father Shanti Bhushan submits a sealed envelope with the list of corrupt judges.
• Taj Corridor Case Files PIL before the Lucknow bench of Allahabad HC in 2011 challenging the non-prosecution of Mayawati and one of her cabinet ministers because a lower court refused sanction. Also appears in a PIL challenging the shifting of the Taj Corridor case from one bench which has already substantially heard the matter to a new one.