Why close case against Maya?

What’s the reason behind the CBI’s sudden decision to shut the case against BSP supremo and former UP chief minister Mayawati? Is the CBI acting on behalf of the poll-bound government, living up to its hard-earned sobriquet ‘caged parrot’? And in no uncertain terms, the country’s top probing agency is closing its files against the top notch leaders who have even the remotest possibility of forging pre- or post-election alliance with the beleaguered UPA, pointing towards the backroom negotiations that have been underway to facilitate such unscrupulous tie-ups. Clearly, the disproportionate assets case against Mayawati has been rolled back fearing not only the BSP leader’s possible ire directed against the Centre, but also in the wake of the union cabinet ordinance – seeking to protect convicted legislators from being electorally disqualified – being shot down, by none other than the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi himself, who perchance stands for a cleaner, more transparent brand of conducting politics. Absolving Mayawati, right after closing files against the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, does not leave a straw of doubt as to how the Centre is extending its ‘thanksgiving’ in anticipation of the possible overtures from both Maya and Mulayam in a volatile, pre-poll season. 

Naturally, the clean chits given to the two of the biggest regional satraps are nothing but carrots that the Congress-led UPA government must dangle in order to not only ensure its own continuance in the seat of power, but also as a way of escaping the duo being felled by the might of the SC order disqualifying convicted politicians from contesting. Sure, the case of Lalu Prasad Yadav will be held up as an example of something that the leaders must avert in order to pursue lucrative political careers. So, the slew of closures from CBI once again establishes how the body is merely an instrument of well-timed wrath or favour on the part of those who occupy the seat of power. Already, the political dispensation that will call the shots in 2014 is taking shape, and its hazy contours are becoming visible.