The Hindu : Judev invokes the Mahatma

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Wednesday, Nov 19, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Judev invokes the Mahatma

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI NOV. 18. Quite unabashed by the controversy he has generated at a most unfortunate time for the Bharatiya Janata Party, Dilip Singh Judev, who has been in the eye of the political storm raging since Sunday, has now invoked the Mahatma in defence of his action. And for good measure, as if the Mahatma was not enough, he added that "everyone needed money'' for good causes, even Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh.

And the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, campaigning in Chhattisgarh today has reportedly declared that Mr. Judev will be the party's star campaigner in the State. The party president, Venkaiah Naidu, has also muttered something about nothing wrong in taking money for "a social cause."

It was on the morning of November 16 that The Indian Express carried a report saying that a videotape had caught Mr. Judev in the act of accepting money for help in securing mining rights in Chhattisgarh and Orissa for an Australian firm. The next day he had to quit his job as Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests and the Prime Minister ordered an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation to look into the allegations.

The argument now extended by Mr. Judev is that money is needed by all parties, and sometimes it is needed for a "social cause." Did not the Mahatma take money from the Birlas? Didn't Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh need money? And he, Mr. Judev, was a victim of a "conspiracy by missionaries'' from "across the seas'' who had carried out religious conversions in Chhattisgarh, a sin that he was fighting against as a social crusader.

That was Mr. Judev's argument spelt out during the course of an interview given to a television news channel telecast here last night. And earlier on Sunday, in the video tapes which allegedly captured Mr. Judev taking wads of notes, touching them reverentially to his forehead before keeping the bundle next to him, he had exclaimed that God was great, but money was no less than God.

The new theory — conspiracy by missionaries — fits in nicely with the party's charge that the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister was a "nominee of the Pope'' whose main job was to convert the poor and unsuspecting tribals to Christianity.

The BJP would have us believe, by its argument, that if a trap is laid and a man is caught then he is not guilty. Perhaps it is not aware that police and vigilance departments of the Government daily lay traps for the unsuspecting to catch their victims red-handed. The result for the ordinary mortals is that a first information report is lodged immediately, and often the man is arrested well before the case is investigated and the chargesheet filed.

But Mr. Judev is not an ordinary mortal — he was seen as the party's favourite man to lead the Government in Chhattisgarh in the event of the BJP winning the elections. But now, the BJP is trying to make the best of a bad situation. It has come to the conclusion that offence is the best form of defence, and as a party leader said today, the BJP had decided to fight this out aggressively in its campaign.

After all, when Mr. Judev resigned from the Minister's job yesterday, any "sin'' of his had been cleansed. Who could point a finger at him? Had he not resigned upholding the highest moral tradition? Had not a CBI inquiry been ordered? Is he now not a shining example of political morality?

Given the state of politics (and corruption) in the country, the BJP's brazenness on this issue may even be acceptable. But what is truly amazing is that BJP leaders have not taken a dim view of Mr. Judev scandalising the Father of the Nation and the country's martyrs who died on the gallows during the freedom struggle. When Mr. Naidu was asked what he had to say about Mr. Judev's comments on the Mahatma and Bhagat Singh his response was "money was taken for a social cause.''

It was not clear whether Mr. Naidu meant that money was taken by Mahatma Gandhi or Bhagat Singh or Chandrashekhar Azad or Mr. Judev. Will it be expecting too much to ask the BJP to explain?

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