Why we may never know the truth behind Vyapam scam
The past few weeks have been difficult for the BJP government. The Sushma-Lalit-Vasundhara controversy has left them red-faced. The BJP spokespersons and leaders have been battling it out on news debates and shows to defend the indefensible.
Arnab Goswami had barely breathed on the Lalitgate issue, when the death of Aaj Tak journalist Akshay Singh, who was investigating the infamous Vyapam scam rocked the media fraternity, which has been relentlessly pursuing it since then.
Whistle blowers of the scam have appeared on television, and have directly accused Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of being involved in the scam and of a major threat to their lives. At the time of writing this article, news came in that a constable who was being questioned by the STF (special task force) team in connection with the scam was found hanging, thereby taking the toll of dead people associated with the scam to 46.
However, the most appalling thing in the Vyapam scam is the deafening silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which probably, is giving mental strength and confidence to the kingpins to carry on their truth lynching activities.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign, Modi's motto "Na khaounga na khane doonga" gained much prominence and spoke of his intent to root out corruption in the country. However, given the current situation it appears that Modi has forgotten his own motto just too soon. Given the BJP's actions in the past one year, it strongly appears that the truth behind the Vyapam scam might never come out.
1. A probe by CBI or NIA will lead to nowhere as seen earlier
Saradha scam: Before March this year, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Modi were baying for each other's blood, until their newly found bonhomie quickly turned into friendship. BJP, which wishes to expand its footprint in Bengal in the coming 2016 Assembly elections, had promised to send Mamata and the other Trinamool leaders to jail over their alleged involvement in the Saradha scam. But post their friendship, everything fell silent. One of the main accused Mukul Roy wasn't arrested and there has been a significant slowdown in the CBI investigation. In return, the TMC has supported the BJP on various bills in the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP is quite short of numbers. This is a perfect example of how, a quid pro quo has completely silenced Modi, who once, didn't miss any opportunity to go after Mamata.
Exerting control over investigation agencies for personal benefit: Ever since BJP's rise to power at the Centre, it has exercised control over investigation agencies for its own agenda. Saradha scam is just one example. Recently, Rohini Salian, special public prosecutor in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, alleged that the National Investigation Agency told her to go soft in the case after the BJP government took over at the Centre. If true, it won't be surprising given the involvement of Hindu extremists. Whatever the truth is, an allegation of such serious nature is immensely worrying. Further, in December 2014, Amit Shah and others accused were acquitted in the Sohrabuddin case, however, the CBI still hasn't responded or challenged its decision, which is astonishing, given the fact that it was the CBI, who had pressed charges against him.
2. Fear of the scam trail
Given the deep involvement of several ministers from Madhya Pradesh in the Vyapam scam, with even Union minister Uma Bharti's name cropping up a couple of days back, the BJP is dreading as to how long the list is. If a fair investigation is done, it might lead to several other names which BJP would definitely want to avoid, given they are already traversing choppy waters with Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje's names in the Lalitgate controversy. Furthermore, it might even dent their chances in the upcoming Bihar elections. Therefore, the BJP is betting on the "forgetfulness" trait of the Indian public, which, as often witnessed in the past, forgets about issues in a few days or weeks in some cases. But Modi and the BJP are willing to play the waiting game, given that they have just completed one year in power and running out of public trust so soon would make things too difficult.
As journalists and media houses fight it out to unearth the truth, Modi is busy fulfilling his dream of globetrotting in the name of foreign diplomacy. He has not spoken or acted on the Vasundhara controversy and it is highly likely that he won't act on this as well because taking action against one would mean trouble for the other one as well. However, it needs to seen as to how many more deaths will the Vyapam scam need to break Modi's silence. If it does not, then it will give the Congress a golden chance to plot their comeback trajectory.