Kushwaha, raids and the BJP’s misadventure

Syed Muqhtar Naqvi’s defence and offence at the afternoon press conference after the raids commenced on several places linked to Babusingh Kushwaha did not wash. Babusingh Kushwaha, a prime suspect in the multi-crore scam in the implementation of the National Rural Health Mission, was only yesterday admitted to the Bharatiya Janata Party with the dual intent of weakening the rivals in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in February and strengthening itself. But these raids have neutered the BJP’s hopes; it in fact has embarrassed it no end. The party that went loud and clear about the need to end corruption during the Lokpal debates in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha ought to have known better than to have taken into its fold the discards from, of all people, Behen Mayawati’s stable. [caption id=“attachment_172347” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“CBI does lend itself to this construct that it is a handmaiden of any party in power. Screengrab/ibnlive”]  [/caption] Hard to defend such a choice, Naqvi bent backwards but worse was his charge against the Congress, itself not a party of saints. That the warrants for the raids on at least 60 places linked to Kushwaha was issued only yesterday, the day the BJP rolled out the red carpet was cited as mischief – including misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation, and even a hand-in-glove job between the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party government. True, CBI does lend itself to this construct that it is a handmaiden of any party in power. Recall how almost every political party represented in Parliament confessed to CBI’s misuse one time or the other. But in this case, did the Congress and the BSP, if BJP were to be believed, have a scent that the worthies like Kushwaha, Badshah Singh, got onto the agency’s roster? Unlikely, for it takes days of planning, marshalling of manpower for simultaneous raids spread over a large geography. A warrant is also not easily secured unless the court is properly convinced. That there was a case against Kushwaha’s alleged misdeed existed is hard to deny. He was too hot for even Mayawati to retain him; she feared his image would hurt her prospects. This has to be said despite the CBI’s reputation for being what it is. Of course, no major crime involving huge sums of money, or big names, gets investigated without the oversight of the political establishment. The CBI, despite its claims to being autonomous, has been forever obliging to the political bosses. That, however, does not support Naqvi’s contention, made as a spokesperson from the BJP’s national headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, that it was all stage managed. That these spokespersons are past masters at delivering spin on demand is well known. They use rhetoric – Naqvi did so in full measure, with a poker face. They use metaphors to drive home a point – here was his assertion that even a gutter when it flows into the Ganges gets cleansed. Here, he actually giggled, a sure giveaway that even he did not believe in what he was saying. It was all there for everyone to see. The press conference was nationally televised. The BJP, instead of seeking contrived arguments, would have been better placed politically had it straight away sacked the suspects imported from the BSP and admitted to error of judgement. These blatant misadventures are a reality. For, even BJP could not have imagined that getting these UP politicians to weigh in on its behalf for gains in UP was actually misbranding itself. The party would have at least faintly smelt of some stale roses. Likewise, it could have publicly told the former Karanataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, who set the BJP the deadline of 15 January to assign him a suitable position in the party, to get off from his high horse. But it has not done so. In the bargain, the BJP has shown itself to be as expedient as any other political party – with a disconnect between what it says and what it does. A mirror image, obviously, of the Congress. Or any other, which is the country’s bane. But then, can one expect any better of the politicians and political parties?