IS CBI THE MOST POTENT TOOL FOR POLITICAL PARTIES?

The arrest of Gujarat home minister Amit Shah amongst all the drama in Ahmedabad which was been played out of New Delhi leaves everyone with a curious question- Is CBI the ultimate weapon to settle political rivalry or score political points?

Yes, Amit Shah’s name has been doing the rounds in the Soharabuddin controversy for sometime now and it was not the Congress but the Supreme Court that directed the CBI to reopen the case. It’s tough to say at this stage whether Shah is actually guilty or has been framed by the Congress as alleged by the BJP. The final authority on this would be the court which means, we will have to wait a little longer for the real story to emerge.

Hypothetically, if the court does find Shah guilty on all the charges that have been levied against him then it will no doubt give the victim’s family a sense of closure and will also underline the fact that justice might be delayed but is not always denied if investigated in an honest & unbiased fashion even if it involves politicians & businessmen. CBI will have to be appreciated for its thorough investigation. But the paradox of this kind of an outcome is that it will reinforce the notion- that CBI is a political weapon used to settle political scores.

If we take up a few cases involving high profile politicians that have been investigated by the CBI then it paints a sorry picture of the investigating agency. The Jagdish Tytler case in which the CBI gave him a clean chit last year saw a huge outcry from the Sikh community which compelled the Congress party to not issue the party ticket to him just before the Lok Sabha election last year. The case was reopened and last week the CBI has yet again given a clean chit to Tytler. The CBI said in the court that it did not have any evidence to prosecute Tytler. The CBI has made some progress against another Congress leader- Sajjan Kumar, who is also accused in the 84 riots.

Outside the Congress fold there are at least three big cases that are been investigated by the CBI. The Mulayam Singh disproportionate assets case has been under investigation for sometime now but there hasn’t been any progress. There have been allegations made by senior legal counsels against the government for directing them to go slow on the case. Similarly the Mayawati illegal wealth case has seen been on the slow track. So why can’t the CBI expedite the process in these cases? The main factor behind that is the direction from the government to the CBI to go slow on these cases. Even though both Mulayam & Mayawti are just lending outside support to the government and have in fact joined hands with the BJP on issues like the price rise but when it comes to critical issues like the ‘nuclear deal vote’ in 2008 & the ‘cut motion’ the Congress has used these court cases to bargain for their tacit support. Mulayam & Mayawati did not vote against the government when it came to these key issues. Now is that just a mere co-incidence or points to a larger game? The acquittal of Ottavio Quattrocchi in Bofors scandal has further raised questions on the credibility of the CBI to investigate cases without any bias.

But it’s not only the Congress that has used the CBI, even the BJP during the NDA tenure ensured that it used the investigating agency for its benefit. The NDA governments virtually put on hold investigation against BJP patriarch LK Advani in the Babri demolition case. Even the Congress is not too keen to resurrect the Babri demolition issue. This became increasingly clear after the Liberhan commission report was hushed up last year. The Congress fears that by prosecuting BJP leaders in the Babri demolition case it might give the BJP a new lease of life and it may actually work to BJP's advantage. The Congress does not want to take that risk, especially now when the BJP is on the backfoot.

These high profile political cases clearly highlight that political parties have been using the CBI to their benefit. But the CBI has been the biggest victim as this appraoch has undermined its credibility even though it is on par with world class investigating agencies like the CIA & FBI.

Since the Congress led UPA is in power, the Congress should initiate the process of making CBI an autonomous body on the lines of the Election commission and the Lok Ayukta. This will not only help the CBI break shackles when it comes to unbiased investigation but also give Congress the high moral ground. But this is something which the political fraternity will oppose as that would change the dynamics of the political games that are played out over and over again.

HAS INDIA GIVEN AWAY THE ADVANTAGE?

Except for the initials of their first two names ‘SM’, there is nothing common between foreign ministers of India & Pakistan. SM Krishna is a soft spoken man who does not belief in tough & straight on the face talk but more in mild diplomatic tone of communication. His counterpart SM Qureshi on the other hand is far more aggressive and articulate in his communication. No wonder then that even before Krishna’s plane landed in New Delhi back from Islamabad, his counterpart in Pakistan Qureshi had quashed the Indo-Pak talks.

The problem with Indo-Pak talks has always been the hype surrounding these discussions. The media from both sides expect some sensational announcement that would change the future course of these two nations. So even if both sides make some small progress after series of talks, it takes just one issue to trample them..

Post 26/11, the scenario was gloom for a year before the Indian PM; Dr Manmohan Singh took the initiative to talk to Pakistan. The Sharm El Shaik fiasco did put Dr Singh under a lot of pressure but it was his personal agenda to make sure that the talks between the two sides do not derail.

But the biggest hurdle for Indo-Pak talks to make progress is India’s demand for action against the perpetrators of 26/11. Even if the Pakistan government is willing to take action against these suspects, it simply cannot. The plethora of dossiers submitted by India clearly points the finger at Hafiz Saeed. The Pakistan government did take some action by filing a case.But the courts could not convict him citing lack of evidence. But the Headley revelation has brought a new twist in the tale. The role of ISI (Which was in doubt all this while) in the attack has not only put Pakistan on the back foot but also jeopardized the peace talks.

The reason why Saeed is still a free man today is because the 26/11 attack was done with the full backing of the ISI. So even if the government tries to take action against Saeed, ISI won’t let that happen. The Pakistan army cannot afford to let ISI be pulled in this case as that would globally tarnish Pakistan’s image.

That is the key reason for the failure of the foreign ministers’ meeting. Given the recent turmoil in Kashmir, Pakistan got the license again to raise the Kashmir issue to distract the focus of the talks. So what does India do from here onwards?

There are three options India has from here.

First- Stop talks with Pakistan till it delivers on the 26/11 case. But then that leads to a deadlock again and wipes out all the progress made in the last few months.

Second- Push the US to pressurize Pakistan to take some action. But that’s again not going to fetch any positive result as US’s priority is Afghanistan for which it needs Pakistan. No wonder then that a fresh package of $500 million has been unveiled by Hillary Clinton for Pakistan. And the US has refused to publicly comment on ISI’s role in the 26/11 case.The reason- US is not in favour of declaring Pakistan a terrorist sponsored state.

Lastly- Opens talks on all issues including Kashmir with the hope that Pakistan would respond by taking some action in the 26/11 case.

The last option seems the only way ahead for India at the moment. But then by doing so India will again lose the diplomatic edge by taking more steps whereas Pakistan without taking any action against the 26/11 conspirators would be in a dominant position to drive the talks forward. It is clear from the statements made by the foreign minister that Pakistan is not desperate for talks with India.

Going to the United Nations with all the evidence collected against Pakistan will not be of much help as United States cannot allow any sanctions against Pakistan as that would deter its Afghanistan plans.

The only way ahead for India is to keep talking to Pakistan even if that means slow progress on the 26/11 front. Freezing the dialogue process will become a big problem at this stage. India should not hesitate to discuss all core issues as India would be in a much better position to handle the Kashmir issue rather then Pakistan which would find it difficult to not respond to the 26/11 case. The bottom line is that ups and downs have been part & parcel of Indo-Pak talks and the talks should continue.