AAP to File Rafale Corruption Complaint Against Modi in New Lokpal
While AAP plans to go after Modi’s corruption, there are multiple complaints of corruption against AAP legislators.
By Rakesh Raman
As India is soon going to appoint its first Lokpal – the top anti-corruption ombudsman – Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to file a complaint against PM Narendra Modi who is a prime accused in the Rafale corruption case.
Reports suggest that a former Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose is expected to be the country’s first Lokpal. His name is in active consideration by the Lokpal selection panel headed by Modi.
An AAP leader Gopal Rai said today that his party will file Rafale and Sahara-Birla corruption complaints against Modi with soon-to-be-appointed Lokpal.
While AAP plans to go after Modi’s corruption, there are multiple complaints of corruption against AAP legislators. Recently, the party decided to defy the notice from Delhi’s anti-corruption body Lokayukta which had asked AAP MLAs to reveal the details of their assets.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel – who is also an AAP member – said that the Lokayukta’s notices to Delhi MLAs for revealing their assets and liabilities are ‘politically motivated.’ The Lokayukta office had issued notices to the legislators, asking them to give details of their assets and liabilities by January 28.
While bureaucratic and political corruption is rampant in Delhi, new reports suggest that the office of Delhi’s Lokayukta has received 41 complaints of corruption against the AAP legislators. The complaints are against the AAP MLAs as well as ministers.
[ The Integrity Bulletin Launched to Cover Corruption Issues ]
Most Indian politicians evade prosecution and imprisonment in cases of crime and corruption with the false pretexts that the complaints against them are politically motivated.
This is also happening in cases against Modi. There are a number of examples including Rafale and Sahara-Birla payoff allegations against Modi where the Supreme Court refused to take action.
Earlier, referring to Sahara-Birla case in which Modi is allegedly involved, lawyer Prashant Bhushan said that Supreme Court’s hands tremble when it comes to big fish.
Although it is not clear how Lokpal will deal with high-profile corruption cases, people believe that Lokpal will be able to reduce corruption in the country.
हम नवनियुक्त लोकपाल के सामने राफेल घोटाला और सहारा बिरला डायरी को लेकर शिकायत दर्ज करेंगे : @AapKaGopalRai pic.twitter.com/xjkef6UOqp
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 18, 2019
“PM Modi was scared of putting himself under scrutiny of Lokpal. BJP promised Lokpal before 2014 Lok Sabha election but allowed its tenure to be completed before it appointed the anti-corruption ombudsman,” Gopal Rai said.
He added that Modi has now appointed the Lokpal because he is perhaps aware of the fact that his party BJP will get defeated in the Lok Sabha election.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications on different subjects.
