Sisodia, Sanjay, now Kejri: AAP in the crosshairs

They say human beings lose their logic in their vindictiveness. And this in particular rings true in the current political situation in the country when several leaders are being forced to make frequent trips to the offices of law enforcement agencies on one charge or the other.

The Aam Admi Party (AAP) no doubt leads in the array of leaders who are in jail. First, Delhi Health and Family Welfare Minister Satyendra Jain was arrested on allegations of money laundering and later resigned from the Cabinet.

Then came the turn of none other than Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who was arrested by the CBI in February this year for irregularities pertaining to the Delhi Excise Policy case and has been in jail since then, having been denied bail.

A few weeks ago, a vocal critic of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and AAP MP Sanjay Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on money laundering charges, again pertaining to the liquor scam.

On Monday, it was the turn of none other than high profile Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to be summoned by the ED in the Excise policy case. Allegations are also been made on links between Kejriwal and Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K. Kavitha.

Meanwhile, AAP leaders are fearful that Kejriwal, one of the key proponents of Opposition unity and a frontline leader of the INDIA alliance may be arrested by the ED.

They claim that the BJP is trying to finish off AAP by dumping its top leaders behind bars.

Whatever may the truth behind the allegations being made against AAP leaders in the scam, there is the stark reality that it is only leaders of parties which have taken on the BJP head-on who are being grilled by the agencies and being put behind bars.

This does not apply only to politicians but also to members of the media fraternity some of whom are bearing the brunt for being critical of the policies and practices of those in power.

They are many who feel that the ‘targeting’ of AAP by the agencies has a lot to do with its rise from a fledgling outfit born in the heat of the anti-corruption movement led by veteran activist Anna Hazare, to the status of a political force now in power in two states.

Not only BJP, there are many in the Congress too who are wary of AAP’s political ambitions which could prove to be a stumbling block during seat sharing discussion of the INDIA alliance of which both parties are an integral part.

Political tactics with a vindictive touch have hardly yielded results in the past. All one has to do is recall the heady days of the Emergency from 1975-77 when then PM Indira Gandhi made sure all senior opposition leaders from Morarji Desai to Atal Behari Vajpayee were marched off to jail and any resistance was snuffed out.

Then came the watershed Lok Sabha polls in 1977 when a wave of public anger over the Emergency and its excesses swept her and the Congress out of power with the party reduced to just 154 seats - half of what the newly born Janata Party won.

Though Indira regained power a few years later, the Congress had learnt its lesson and since then, has always made sure not to sway from the trodden path of secularism and democratic traditions whatever may be the challenges.

As the all crucial Lok Sabha polls of 2024 draw near, one can be pretty sure that many more leaders will come under the scanner of the agencies.

While there is no doubting the fact that the corrupt deserve to be investigated and punished, such probes will also have to be unbiased without giving room for any allegations of political vendetta if they are to stand public scrutiny and assume an air of legitimacy.