Kya Mera PM Chor Hai?

Is it appropriate to call one’s own PM a thief, or a chor?

This question is doing rounds for the past week or so. It began when Congress President Rahul Gandhi, in a rally in Rajasthan, said, “Gali gali mein shor hai, desh ka chowkidar chor hai” (there are cries in every nook and corner, that the country’s watchman is a thief). Congress, continuing to be aggressive, even ran a hashtag, #Mera PM chor hai. The BJP responded to it by trending #pura khandan chor hai (the whole family is of thieves) on Twitter.

This churlish political mudslinging isn’t new to this country. Right from socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia, one can count several such instances. But the first time a direct allegation of fraud was levelled straight against a Prime Minister was during the Bofors gun scam (mid-1980s to early 1990s). V.P Singh resigned from Rajiv Gandhi’s Cabinet and that led to the chants of “Gali gali mein shor hai, Rajiv Gandhi chor hai.” Rahul Gandhi must have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. During the 2G scam (mid- to-late 2000)  the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- led opposition used the same slogan in Parliament.

Today, Rahul Gandhi is reusing this slogan to attack Narendra Modi, but suddenly we are told that the post of the Prime Minister deserves respect. Some senior journalists, too, have fallen for this argument. Instead of asking whether ‘Congress would lose ground by calling the PM chor’, the channels should be debating if the BJP is losing credibility after being accused of fraud. Nonetheless, Godi (lap) media doesn’t surprise me anymore.

More importantly, just like Rajiv Gandhi, Modi can’t blame anyone else for this crisis. After Indira Gandhi’s assassination, he too rode the wave of being “Mr. Clean”. But the Bofors scam ruptured that image, and he lost his Prime Ministership. VP Singh, IK Gujral and AB Vajpayee became Prime Ministers, successively, but couldn’t furnish any proof of corruption in the court of law. Yet, it was a test case of how public perception can turn an election on its head and damage the reputation of a leader permanently.

In spite of being aware of this history, Modi’s callous handling of the Rafale case is bewildering, even as Rahul Gandhi is persisting with the issue. The Modi government changed the contract that existed under United Progressive Alliance and entered a new agreement in 2015 with the then French President Hollande. According to the earlier agreement, India was supposed to get 126 fighter jets, as opposed to 36 now. The jets have allegedly become far expensive as well. Further, the Modi government replaced HAL, the experienced government company, with Anil Ambani’s newly launched one. Modi has not answered any of those grave charges, which indicate crony capitalism, vested interests and corruption.

Hollande’s recent statement has made it worse for the Indian government. It was reported that Anil Ambani had invested money in Hollande’s partner’s film project during the Rafale deal. When asked about this, Hollande told a French reporter that it was not the French government that suggested Anil Ambani’s company for the Rafale deal.

Who benefited from Rafale?

Whether Modi took the lead in promoting Ambani’s company and whether the BJP benefited from it, are questions the nation deserves answers to. In such cases, blatant bribery is hard to locate, much like Bofors. But latest revelations in the Indian Express are sensational. The paper has reported that an officer in the Defence Ministry had objected to Modi’s Rafale deal. The Comptroller and Auditor General CAG is currently auditing it, and its report is awaited by December. Much depends on the content of the report.

The BJP has understandably responded aggressively to the allegations. Some of its responses, such as allegations of  an international conspiracy and Pakistan’s backing, are not even worth addressing. It is interesting to remember that former PM Indira Gandhi had sought a similarly ludicrous refuge in 1974 when the Opposition began a nationwide stir against her government.

In Prime Minister Modi’s defence, the government fielded everyone from the Defence Minister to the Agriculture Minister. The Defence Minister, under whom the deal was signed, Manohar Parrikar, is seriously ill. But the current Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is on a trip of her own. Her flip-flop on this issue, the pressers she has addressed, might make for a book in itself.

Usually, the defence forces are left alone in controversies like these. But Modi has even dragged the Air Chief Marshal and other officers in it, and made them issue certificates of approval to the Rafale deal. A similar thing had happened during the Bofors scam. The issue is not about the quality of Bofors or Rafael, it is about cronyism in the deal.

If Modi wants to get rid of the “chor” tag, the only recourse left for him is transparency, not deflection. He must come clean and answer the questions raised by the Opposition. People must know the cost of planes. People must know why a company with zero interest was roped in. All this does not go against national security. These tactics didn’t work for Rajiv Gandhi, they will not work for Modi. In fact, Modi’s reluctance to answer intensifies the suspicions people may hold regarding the Rafale deal. If he has no vested interests, why is he afraid of answering the questions? This doesn’t behove a man boasting of a 56-inch chest.

The government should accept the Opposition’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Rafale deal, instead of objecting to the word “chor”. The post of a PM does not make one qualified to command the nation’s respect. Respect must be earned through actions. And Modi has a long way to go in that regard. In the US, actor Robert De Niro, from a public platform, recently said, “Fuck Trump.” We must be thankful that the discourse hasn’t gone that far in India.