Article : Shri Arun Jaitley on "Contrived Anger and a Manufactured Dissent"

"Contrived Anger and a Manufactured Dissent"

Arun Jaitley

(Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha)

During the election to the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, the Congress Vice-President, Shri Rahul Gandhi, referred to promises made by other political parties and tore a piece of paper in disapproval. This was a solitary incident on the basis of which a view could not be formulated whether this was a contrived anger or a political style. Subsequently in 2011, during the debate on the Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha, he suggested a constitutional amendment and claimed that his speech was a game changer. Earlier this year, after the monsoon session of Parliament, the Central Government proposed an amendment which would enable convicted MLAs/MPs to enjoy substantial privileges available to a member of a legislative body. The Congress Party and its high command had approved the proposal. The Cabinet had okayed the proposal. At a Press Conference he claimed that the proposal was a ‘non-sense’. He has now disagreed with Maharashtra Government’s proposal to reject the Commission of Inquiry report on ‘Adarsh Scandal’.

Is this a contrived anger and a manufactured dissent aimed at image correction or is it a genuine expression of opinion? The Congress Party and its governments have a scandalous record on the issue of corruption. It has recently decided to align with a convicted Lalu Yadav. The anger was missing. In the 2G spectrum allocation scam where a monumental loss has been caused to the National Exchequer, the Congress Party has tried to put a lid on the scandal by producing a spurious JPC report which carried no credibility. It exonerates the guilty and blames the NDA government. In the Coal block allocation scandal, the illegally allocated blocks are yet to be cancelled. There is no urge in him to stand up and protest. He remained a mute spectator when day after day scams took place in relation to the Commonwealth Games.

A crusade against corruption has to be continuous and consistent. It cannot be sporadic. It can not be a put-on exercise. Sporadic reactions dramatized before the media are only intended to show oneself as different even though you are still a part of the same cesspool. If Shri Gandhi feels so strongly on the Adarsh issue, the guilty must be prosecuted and certainly not be the Country’s Home Minister. This anger is not natural, it is contrived. This is a case of a manufactured dissent.