Madhu Koda creates record in many ways. He is the first independent MLA to become Chief Minister. Along with these unbreakable records Koda had fallen in the Hawala scandal. The political parties which honeymooned with Koda are trapping him in the Hawala net because he is no more useful to them politically. Congress party which supported Koda and Lalu is suddenly whitewashing it as the cleanest party. It is a routine political matter to use CBI and corruption cases to checkmate the opposition parties. It is high time to rescue the legal arms from political hawks.
The Times of India writes (6 November 2009)
Madhu Koda's meteoric rise would have normally made for a heartwarming story. Once a labourer in iron-ore mines, he won assembly elections from
Jharkhand in 2000. Five years later and only in his mid-thirties, he was appointed state minister for mines in a BJP-led government. From 2006 to 2008 he was the Jharkhand chief minister. But now Koda stands accused of being part of a massive corruption scandal and faces the possibility of arrest.
Raids by the Enforcement Directorate and the income tax department over the past few days have unearthed Koda's alleged involvement in illegal transactions worth over Rs 2,000 crore, including several properties and acquisitions abroad. Latest investigations show that the former CM might even have been negotiating to acquire an SEZ in Noida for a staggering Rs 4,800 crore. The scale of allegations against Koda yet again throws the spotlight on corruption in Indian politics and the propensity of politicians to amass extraordinary wealth through illegal means.
Koda is by no means the first politician or even chief minister to be accused of massive corruption and to face arrest. Former Bihar CM and Union minister Lalu Prasad had been implicated in the multi-crore fodder scam, which first came to light in 1996, and was jailed for brief periods. That year, the CBI seized a few crores of rupees from Union communications minister Sukh Ram's house and subsequently arrested him. Lalu and Sukh Ram are distinguished by the scale of corruption charges against them and the high office they held. There are of course several corruption scandals that have tainted politicians big and small, including former prime ministers. Besides, many of our MPs face criminal charges. In the current Lok Sabha, nearly 30 per cent of the MPs face criminal cases.
In such a situation it isn't surprising that citizens have little faith in politicians. It is unfortunate that while investigating agencies and the media have highlighted corruption in the highest places, these cases have dragged on for years. Though some people have been punished in the Bihar fodder scam, it continues to make its way through courts at various levels. In the Sukh Ram case, a trial court found him guilty 13 years later under the Prevention of Corruption Act for amassing disproportionate assets. Sukh Ram has since appealed the verdict. The time taken to decide these high-profile cases gives the impression that politicians are above the law. If politics and crime cannot be prised apart, that represents the biggest threat to India's future.
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