If Jagan can be framed, will the common man be spared?

In one of the most high-profile cases seen in recent times, the president of the YSR Congress party, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has been jailed for allegations of quid pro quo deals. It's over four months now that Jagan has remained in prison while the charges against him are yet to be proved. 

Meanwhile, the CBI has so far filed four different chargesheets in a case that smacks of political vendetta. It is obvious even to the layman that filing several chargesheets is a ruse to keep Jagan behind bars till 2014 elections. The underlying intention is to keep him away from the people and tar his image in the eyes of the masses. 

Thus far, the antics of the dirty tricks department of the Congress leadership have not paid off because of the overwhelming response that Vijayamma and Sharmila received during the run up to the June bypolls which was swept by the YSRCP. It would be worth recalling that the party had won 15 of the 18 Assembly constituencies and the Nellore Lok Sabha Constituency by a thumping majority.

What is it that riled the Congress leadership about Jagan? It is important to recall that following Dr YSR's tragic demise in September 2009, 152 out of the 156 MLAs belonging to the Congress and the state Assembly passed a unanimous resolution asking the High Command to nominate YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as the Chief Minister of AP. 

What needs to be understated is that Jagan was still reeling under the shock of his father's unfortunate death while these events were unfolding. The Congress leadership, unable to stomach his popularity within the party chose to maintain stoic silence for some time before it installed K Rosaiah as the Chief Minister.

Jagan wanted to meet the families of those who gave up their lives or died of shock on hearing the news of his father's sudden death. When Jagan sought the High Command's permission to embark on his Odarpu Yatra (condolence tour), the leadership did not heed his request. Things came to a tipping point in 2010 when Jagan was expelled from the Congress following which he founded the YSR Congress party. 

After this watershed event, there was no looking back for Jagan. Jagan grew from strength to strength and the huge turnouts at his rallies rattled the Congress and Telugu Desam party alike. It was perhaps for the first time in the history of AP politics that the ruling party and the main opposition party ganged up against a third party! 

The fact remains that charges were framed against Jagan for acts that he did not commit. He was neither an MP nor an MLA, nor did he hold any government position of authority or influence. Yet he was accused of being responsible for the issue of 25 GOs from which he was alleged to have benefited.  However, none of the ministers, barring one or two, who were actually responsible for the issue of Gos in question have been interrogated by the CBI! 

What has emerged out of the CBI investigation over the past 14 months or so, is that it is a tool of the Central government and the Congress party and is being used brazenly to settle political scores. It is unfortunate that a premier agency such as the CBI has been reduced to a rubber stamp of the ruling party. 

The bizarre logic put out by the CBI is that Jagan can influence witnesses and tamper with evidence if let free, while ministers who enjoy positions of power and authority and are responsible for the issue of the controversial 26 GOs continue to go scot free! 

In spite of Jagan's widespread popularity and the fact that he is the unrivaled youth icon in the state, Jagan continues to be behind bars. What is unnerving is if the CBI and the ED can do this on frivolous counts to a powerful man, an MP and the son of a former chief minister, what is the fate that could befall a common man? Imagine what the state could do to an 'aam aadmi' who runs afoul of the system.  

In a system where the odds are stacked against him, the common man may find it increasingly difficult to prove his innocence. What can a poor man do when the system is out to get him? Jagan's case is a clear indicator of how the system can frame even a VVIP! In such a situation, where does the common man stand? 

It is very important to cleanse the police machinery and the investigating agencies because the judiciary leans heavily on them for evidence. The demand for freeing the CBI from political clutches by the Anna Inc and others must be seen in this context. The sooner this is done, the better it is for the common man's survival in today's India, where corruption has reached the doorsteps of the highest in the land. 

The very same CBI will bend every sinew to insulate and protect those who have come under a cloud now, because the fire's in the Congress leadership's backyard. If one needs any evidence of this, one only needs to look at some of the tombstones in the CBI graveyard--Bofors, Quatrocchi, Hasan Ali, Lalu Yadav, Mulayam and Mayawati. If it's not wrenched free from the clutches of its political masters, there is every danger of the CBI going the way of the Gestapo, KGB or the dreaded SAVAK, in targeting political foes selectively.
The scales are heavily weighed against the aam aadmi and unless he stands up and backs all efforts to keep the CBI independent, he's in for a grim and disturbing future.

Reshmi@sakshipost