Chandrababu And CBI, A Saga Beyond The Limits Of Imagination

Oct 26, 2018, 18:15 IST

Kommineni Srinivasa Rao

It is a mater of concern that Union government's premier investigating agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is mired in controversies. Even more so considering the CBI Director and the Special Directors were involved in a verbal war of allegations.
The fact that the Centre had to intervene in the matter and transfer the two officers and subsequently, the newly appointed Director also faced allegations gives us a peek into the state of affairs in the investigative body. While the CBI's decline began during the Congress rule, the BJP regime appears to be continuing the downfall.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi alleged that Dr. Alok Verma was transferred because he was probing the Rafale deal. Although Rahul's claims have no basis, he would have chosen a different narrative had Dr. Verma not been transferred. In the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's past criticism of the CBI as the Congress Bureau of Investigation, this bureaucratic feud in the top agency certainly irks him. In these circumstances, PM Modi is facing similar allegations from the Opposition parties.

This is not the first time that PM Modi is facing such allegations and would not be limited to the present. The core truth in this fiasco lies in the bitter realization of reality that the parties in power are habituated to using the police and other agencies for political benefit and to attack the Opposition parties in their weak spots.
Prior to 2014, then Congress President Sonia Gandhi was accused of manipulating the CBI in the direction of carrying out raids against her political rivals. In Andhra Pradesh, it is an unwritten truth that a prominent leader was jailed in false cases after he resigned from the Congress.

A CBI Officer went on to say that the agency would run by the word of Congress leader Ahmed Patel. On the other side, the Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) yellow media would air and project the CBI raids as a fair deal. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu severely condemned the CBI's attitude in transferring the top officials. But he refused to comment on the allegations against the newly appointed CBI director.

Chandrababu, who had threatened to attack Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) through the Andhra Pradesh Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) against the Telangana ACB's expose of the note for vote case, is now talking about democratic spirit and institutional ethics. During former PM PV Narasimha Rao's regime, there were allegations over the deliberate attack on senior BJP leader LK Advani through the then CBI Director Vijayarama Rao. As a result of it, Advani had to resign from his post and only after he was given a clean chit by the Courts, he contested in Lok Sabha elections.

On the other hand, even after the arrest of TDP MLAs in note for vote case and serious allegations on Chandrababu Naidu, no substantial action has been taken. Political experts believe in this respect that Chandrababu is next to no one in managing and manipulating the political, judicial and bureaucratic system in the country.

Speculation is in the air that the TDP MPs continue to meddle in the affairs of the CBI. It is abundantly clear that the Central and State governments continue to operate the CBI and the ACB, Intelligence agencies respectively to work in their favour. The reason behind it lies in the political agenda of retaining power at all costs.

Before addressing the need to bring reforms to the investigative bodies, we need to bring in political and election reforms. Politics in its current shape attracts bleak chances to reform unless election reforms are implemented. Politically strong individuals will continue to manipulate the government bodies. Irrespective of the party in power, the country needs to get rid of the ugly side of the agencies like CBI.