Sonia Gandhi Leads Protest to Highlight Corruption in Modi’s Rafale Deal
Congress is demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe in the Rafale case which is stated to be the biggest scam in the world.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi – who also is the mother of Congress president Rahul Gandhi – led a protest today to highlight the corruption in Narendra Modi government particularly in the Rafale deal.
Supported by Congress MPs and other opposition leaders, the protest was held outside Parliament. The protesters held placards that read “Modi corruption exposed”, “Rafale scam exposed”, and “Rafale cover-up out in the open”.
Congress is demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe in the Rafale case which is stated to be the biggest scam in the world. The Rafale deal is stated to be worth Rs 130,000 crore (approximately USD $20 billion). It is alleged that the Modi government – particularly Modi himself – has committed criminal misconduct under Prevention of Corruption Act while signing the Rafale deal.
The leaders of Modi’s party BJP have stated that allegations against Modi are baseless, although they have not clearly responded to the questions raised by the opposition leaders.
UPA Chairperson Smt Sonia Gandhi and other Congress MPs protest against PM Modi’s deal on the Rafale which he made without any approvals or clearances at the Parliament. pic.twitter.com/nwm8kOnxj3
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 10, 2018
Many Modi supporters believe that this is a political gimmick that the opposition parties are trying to play against PM Modi. A BJP leader and Modi’s friend Arun Jaitley has refuted the allegations, saying that it is an attempt to malign the government by spreading falsehood regarding the 2016 Inter-Governmental Agreement for the procurement of Rafale fighter aircraft.
“The unsubstantiated allegations against the government constitute nothing but reprocessed lies by forces increasingly desperate to prove their relevance,” Jaitley wrote in a Facebook post.
Obviously, the Modi government will not agree for a JPC probe.
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Now, a large number of Indians are using social media platforms such as Facebook to offer their comments and share the news about the corruption in the Modi government. However, as it happens in most other corruption cases in India, the truth will never get revealed about the shady Rafale deal also.
Corruption in Modi Government
Meanwhile, the level of corruption has increased manifold in India during the past 4 years. Besides unchecked bureaucratic and political corruption, Modi himself is also facing serious corruption charges including the bungling in the Rafale deal.
Opposition parties in India are up in arms against the government, as they are demanding a thorough inquiry into the alleged corruption deals of Modi.
MPs protest at Parliament seeking a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into PM Modi’s Rafale deal. pic.twitter.com/FkRTYeGLVE
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 10, 2018
Although no inquiry against the political bosses in India can reveal the truth, opposition parties including Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) have demanded thorough investigation.
An Indian lawyer, activist, and politician – Prashant Bhushan – who has revealed information about Modi’s own corruption said that even the Supreme Court of India is not working freely and has refused to take appropriate action against Modi.
In fact, Modi is not the only politician in his political group Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who is facing corruption charges. Among the BJP leaders and Modi’s friends who are facing serious corruption allegations include:
- BJP President Amit Shah,
- Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj,
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley,
- Rajasthan Chief Minsiter Vasundhara Raje,
- Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and
- Former Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.
The other cases of corruption include mining scam, Goa housing loan scam, MP admission scam, fake currency scam, LED bulbs scam, and others.
But the Modi government did not hold any proper inquiry in all these cases and these politicians are having a ball with public money. Obviously, if thieves are the rulers, who will catch and punish them?
During the past four years of Modi’s rule, the country has gone back by almost 40 years while political and bureaucratic corruption has become pain in the neck for commoners in India.
As most Indian journalists are corrupt, Indian media is under the tight control of Modi government. A couple of days ago, the Editors Guild of India had censured the Modi government for its repeated attacks on press freedom in India.
As journalists are not performing their duties truthfully, most corruption cases do not get reported. If they get reported, government ignores them and makes false claims that no corruption is happening under the Modi government. The truth, however, is that corruption is happening at every step in the current government.
A new study reveals that corruption has increased considerably under the Modi government. CMS-India Corruption Study (CMS-ICS) 2018 claims that it has covered both rural and urban locations of 13 states and 11 public services.
According to the study, 75 percent households have the perception that the level of corruption in public services has either increased or remained same during the past 12 months.
Similarly, the global anti-corruption organization Transparency International has lowered India’s rank from last year’s position of 79 to 81 this year. According to the Transparency data, India with a poor score of 40 is more corrupt than countries such as China, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Mauritius.
As corruption has been increasing exponentially under Modi government, the Supreme Court of India has asked the government to appoint Lokpal, the top anti-corruption ombudsman in India.
But what will Lokpal do? If top courts of the country are scared to take action against Modi, Lokpal will also become a toothless outfit. That’s for sure.
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.
