Chidambaram and the travesty of law

Finance minister P Chidambaram should not have been allowed to harass an industrialist through the misuse of the police to protect his son. The industrialist had suggested through a tweet that Karti Chidambaram, the son of the finance minister, had amassed a fortune larger than that of Robert Vadra. Though the industrialist should not have made the charge though a medium such as that of a tweet, for there are more formal forums before which to lay it, nonetheless, it is not for the government to misuse its police powers in cases like this. As a former home minister, Chidambaram should be more responsible and not harass political opponents or public-spirited citizens. We remain a democracy, despite the autocratic tendencies, seen recently, of some in power. It is open for citizens to point out wrongdoing by those who have been appointed to posts in government or by their progeny. These politicians are only the representatives of the people and are not above them. Chidambaram himself stands accused in several cases of wrong-doing including in a case relating to his Lok Sabha election, which, if decided against him, would mean that his very appointment as a cabinet minister is questionable. The Manmohan Singh government has a lot to answer for, including several cases of scams in at least one of which Chidambaram has been an accused. If the charge against his son is wrong then there is recourse in law. It is clear that the case against the industrialist is false. He should not have been arrested and charged under the Information Technology Act for hacking and for the wrongful loss through the destruction of information, for these are acts he didn’t do. It is obvious to anyone with familiarity of the Internet that posting tweets on Twitter does not constitute hacking. The government should  refrain from interfering with the Internet freedom to settle political scores. The Internet is an important means of democratic expression and an exchange of views is essential in democratic countries.   

There have been many cases in India of the progeny of political leaders making money through illegal means through the misuse of their parents’ office. Some of these cases have been in the news recently, as for example Robert Vadra which needs to be probed seriously. It becomes difficult to prove these cases for very often the investigation into them is slack. This should not happen  as in a democracy as all are equal before the law. If the families of the powerful get away with crimes then it is a travesty of the law. Chidambaram should not grudge an investigation into his son’s finances.