UPA resorting to ugly means
23 March 2013 11:22 PM GMT
It is regrettable that the Central Bureau of Investigation has raided the home of top DMK leader MK Stalin, who is also the son of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi, two days after his party withdrew from the United Progressive Alliance. The CBI’s move illustrates yet again that it has been reduced to a political tool of the ruling party at the centre and is no longer an independent investigative agency. The Congress, whose leaders are now shedding crocodile tears over this raid, has no excuse for allowing it. Coming so soon after the action by the DMK, it seems to be a case of political vendetta.  The CBI reports to the prime minister’s office and neither the prime minister nor his cabinet colleagues can plead ignorance about its activities. It is not the case that no action should be taken against Stalin if he has indulged in wrong-doing but a raid such as this hours after a momentous political act by the DMK smacks of the abuse of the process of investigation for political ends. This is a complete misuse of the CBI which is a national investigative agency and not meant to be a tool of any one political formation.
Public confidence in the CBI has taken a beating in the last few years with the agency more than willing to act against Congress detractors while easing up investigations about Congress allies. The CBI is increasingly being viewed as unprofessional and politicised, with neither the will nor the capacity to ensure the quality of the investigation or the prosecution of the cases entrusted to it. The CBI has not performed well in a series of politically sensitive cases in the last few years be it the investigations into the corruption in the Commonwealth games or into the Nira Radia tapes. This is a pointer to the deep malaise in its functioning. As a result of the politicisation of the CBI impartial probes in cases involving powerful people are hampered and well-meaning officers in the agency are demoralised. The Congress has furthered this decline in the agency’s functioning by giving patronage to pliant officers. None of this is in the interests of the country. The government at the centre should ensure that the CBI functions independently and that the politicisation of CBI is reversed and its integrity restored so that it can adhere to its primary goals.
Public confidence in the CBI has taken a beating in the last few years with the agency more than willing to act against Congress detractors while easing up investigations about Congress allies. The CBI is increasingly being viewed as unprofessional and politicised, with neither the will nor the capacity to ensure the quality of the investigation or the prosecution of the cases entrusted to it. The CBI has not performed well in a series of politically sensitive cases in the last few years be it the investigations into the corruption in the Commonwealth games or into the Nira Radia tapes. This is a pointer to the deep malaise in its functioning. As a result of the politicisation of the CBI impartial probes in cases involving powerful people are hampered and well-meaning officers in the agency are demoralised. The Congress has furthered this decline in the agency’s functioning by giving patronage to pliant officers. None of this is in the interests of the country. The government at the centre should ensure that the CBI functions independently and that the politicisation of CBI is reversed and its integrity restored so that it can adhere to its primary goals.
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