Congress’ Double Speak: Rajasthan CM Shunts SP for Action Against Smuggler

AKHILESH YADAV, CM, UP

ASHOK GAHLOT, CM, RAJASTHAN

'Two Sides of The Same Coin'

As the nationwide outrage against victimization of Durga Shakti Nagpal refuses to die down, there are reports that Congress Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot has punished a police officer for taking action against a smuggler.

Only the other day the Congress President Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telling him that the government should see to it that no injustice is done to Durga Shakti Nagpal. In response, the Centre has asked the UP Government to send report on her suspension from service.

It may sound strange that even after knowing the mind of the Congress President, the chief minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot has chosen to remove the Superintendant of Police of Jaisalmer, Pankaj Chowdhary. His offence was that he opened the case of one Hazi Fakir who was charged with smuggling and other illegal activities on Indo-Pak border. The first case against Fakir was filed way back in 1965, the year India was at war with Pakistan.

Is the Congress chief minister protecting the alleged smuggler and if so why? The reason is, Fakir is father of Saleh Mohammad, the local Congress MLA of Jaisalmer. The Congress’ nexus with criminals and mafia is well known. And the Party’s leaders don’t mind being caught in the company of smugglers and mafias.

In blatant display of supporting criminals, the chief minister of Rajasthan has hit at another Police officer in his state. The Congress government shunted out the Bharatpur SP because he had taken action and booked the mafias doing illegal mining.

The story does not stop here, only a few months back, the Harayana Government penalized Ahok Khemka, an IAS officer for initiating proceedings against Robert Wadhra, son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi for alleged land deals and financial irregularities with a private firm running into several hundred crores of rupees.

Before taking a position on corruption, the Congress leadership and the government it is heading in states and at the Centre should clean its stables first. The Centre still can show some guts in pinning down the Samajvadi Party and its government in Uttar Pradesh by taking up the case of Durga Shakti Nagpal seriously and sincerely. The Centre should not appear to be pretending to act and doing nothing under the garb of procedural delays. There is enough evidence to prove that the UP Government suspended Durga Shakti Nagpal on false charges.

Under the rules, the state government should reply to the Centre within 15 days of receipt of the communication from New Delhi. It is more than a week when the Department of Personnel and Training that controls the officers of Central Services has sent communications to the chief secretary of the state government. It is still awaiting a reply from Lucknow.

Given the track record of the UPA Government it may ultimately prove that the concern being shown by the Centre or by the Congress President Sonia Gandhi, are nothing but public posturing. It will be sad day for our democracy if the Centre withdraw its hands and let an honest and upright officer go down fighting against a system that is ruled by criminals and mafias.

~R. K. Sinha