On 21st December 2017, a 'stunning' court verdict was delivered in the infamous 2G Scam matter; which was said to have cost the national exchequer lakhs of crores of rupees. The main accused A Raja, former (Minister of Communications & IT) and M K Kanimozhi, MP and daughter of M Karunanidhi have been acquitted by a Special Court in Delhi in the matter relating to the 2G spectrum license allocation in 2008. The 2G Scam Verdict raises more questions than it answers questions:
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) at the time had alleged that the UPA government hand undercharged mobile telephone companies for the licenses of frequency allocation. It was estimated that the scam resulted in losses of ₹1.76 trillion. Hence, in April 2011, the CBI filed a charge sheet alleging that about $4.8 billion loss was caused as a result.
The court has now delivered a verdict based on lack of evidence against A Raja and other accused. According to Special Judge OP Saini, who for 7 years “religiously sat in open court, waiting for someone with some legally admissible evidence in his possession but all in vain. There was neither documentary evidence nor witness testimony that could prove the charges made."
It was largely based on public anger against the many scams that were said to have occurred during the UPA2 regime, that UPA lost the mandate of the people. Furthermore, it was largely based on the assertions of clean new, corruption-free governance and promises of putting away the corrupt and cleaning up the system after the BJP came to power. The clean chit given by the court to all the major accused by way of the 2G Scam verdict is now seen at best as a major embarrassment for the current government or at worst smacks of collusion at some level.
The opposition has now seized on the verdict as vindication; as proof of victimization and of a smear campaign cooked up by the former opposition. The Congress and the TMC have asked for Vinod Rai to quit all his posts and for a probe into his role as then CAG in the matter. Ever opportunistic politicians are framing this as a conspiracy to malign the UPA government as well.
At this point, many BJP supporters are feeling disillusioned and let down. After all the furore and the promise of bringing the corrupt to book, it would seem that no one will pay for something that was being touted as the scam of the century. Is it that the current government does not have the will to proceed against the accused because of a quid pro quo arrangement that seeks to protect all those in positions of power and influence; regardless of political or ideological persuasion? Or is it that this was a political gambit meant to wrest power based on a manufactured public anger?
Based on this 2G Scam verdict, other questions are now bound to occur to us: Why is Robert Vadra still a free man? When in the opposition, the BJP had launched a concerted campaign against the ‘damaad of the dynasty’ and had promised to prosecute him for all manner of wrongdoings including land-grabs, interest-free loans, illegal political favours and more. Over 3.5 years of the current dispensation and Vadra remains a free man; running his many businesses unimpeded.
We also have to ask – What happened to the Lokpal Bill? In 2011, the BJP had extended strong support to the Jan Lokpal Bill, or the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill; when public sentiment was strongly in favour – 87% Indians supported it. However, years down the line, the bill is still not law; Anna Hazare, one of the progenitors of the bill has alleged that the previous and the current government have diluted the bill meant to check corruption in public life and to hold people accountable for the same.
In light of this - as well as the 2G scam verdict - what do we make of this current government's much-touted commitment to removing and fighting corruption?
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