Gadkari guilty of impropriety or corruption?

Activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal took on the BJP by making allegations about land allocations made to the party’s president Nitin Gadkari and other benefits that the political leader-run industries have received.

Kejriwal had pointed out that dam water meant for irrigation has been diverted to meet the demands of private businesses like power plants and sugarcane plants, an allegation that has been dismissed by Gadkari and the BJP. But is it an important point considering that the diverted water constitutes less than 1% of the total water of the dam?

According to Siddharth Varadarajan, Chief Editor of The Hindu, it is.

“1% is also not acceptable given the place which is drought-prone, “he said.

“While all the facts do not point out to any form of criminality, there is definitely a whiff of impropriety. The India Against Corruption (IAC) team is making a greater case of a deeper level of empathy and sympathy within the different political parties,” Varadarajan said.

He pointed out that even after 60 years of independence these industries are there to benefit the politicians and it is part of the system that is unchanging.

But could these allegations spell political doom for Gadkari and others of his ilk?

Varadarajan said, “These are small examples of questionable transactions, misappropriation by well connected individuals. IAC has shone light on what is unsavoury in Indian politics.”