Is Finance Minister Arun Jaitley taller than Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah? The question is significant in the light of the fact that the alacrity with which the party high command acted to suppress opposition against Arun Jaitley in connection with the DDCA scam was not shown while dealing with a virtual political intrigue within the party against Modi and Shah after Bihar-poll debacle in particular. At the same time, the action against Azad is viewed as an ulterior motive behind the modus operandi of shielding other State Cricket Associations that have been headed by BJP stalwarts including Modi and Shah.
Contrary to the strategic-move by the party to allay the opposition against PM Modi and BJP President Shah within the party by ignoring veterans' and MPs' concerted attacks on the leadership after the Bihar poll debacle, the party took all by surprise when it came out with the decision to exercise coercive measures against Kirti Azad for accusing Jaitley of shielding the corruption in the DDCA. Reacting to the humiliating defeat of the party in Bihar, party stalwarts L. K. Advani, M. M. Joshi, Yashwant Sinha and Shanta Kumar had held none other than Modi and Shah responsible for the poll-debacle, implicitly endorsing the deplorable remarks by the party MPs from Bihar Shatrughan Sinha and R. K. Singh against the leadership during the elections. Incidentally, the BJP high-command has preferred to withhold action against those forces who have been active in pointing a finger at Modi and Shah for the Bihar poll debacle. Senior members of the Modi cabinet including Rajnath Sinha and Nitin Gadkari were swung into action to allay the disgruntled leaders instead.
But when BJP MP from Bihar, Kirti Azad accused Jaitley of shielding corruption in the DDCA being its President for 14 long years, he had to bear the brunt. He was suspended from the party for seeking probe against Jaitley who had slapped a defamation case against Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal on the same issue. Kejriwal has accused the CBI -- that raided his office in the garb of corruption charges against his Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar -- of having an ulterior motive to destroy DDCA files in his office. Kejriwal contended that Jaitley was involved in the scam and in order to destroy incriminating documents pertaining to Jaitleyis involvement in the scam, CBI was drafted to raid his office.
Although Azad who is a former cricketer and son of former Chief Minister of Bihar Bhagwat Jha, he is, however, believed to have nothing to do either with Kejriwal's allegation against the CBI that is accused of working in tandem with Jaitley or political gambits to use the sport for his personal elevation, the party could not afford to let Azad denounce Jaitley's role in the DDCA presumably with the fear of a possible indictment of the party's other stalwarts too. In fact, he has been the victim of a possible threat of collateral impact of the exposures on the powers-that-be at the Centre in particular.
Prime Minister Modi who happened to be President of Gujarat Cricket Association for long during his stint as Chief Minister of the State was supposed to have professional interests in the DDCA that functioned under Jaitley. If Jaitley had been President of DDCA for 14 years, Modi headed the GCA from 2009 to 2014. Significantly, after becoming Prime Minister, Modi resigned from the GCA and chose to pass on the baton of the Gujarat Cricket Association to his most trusted aide and the BJP National President Amit Shah for obvious reasons.
As per the by-laws, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the consortium of State Cricket Associations that elect the Board officials through their representatives. As such, different State Associations work in tandem with each other to prevail upon vital decisions of the Board including appointment of the BCCI President and they have a say in the constitution of the BCCI by dint of evolving a consensus over exercising their voting rights in favour of a common candidate even for the post of the BCCI President.
This is evident from the fact that before his appointment as BCCI President, Sheshank Manohar had to call on Modi, Shah and Jaitley ostensibly to invoke political blessings. Moreover, cutting across political lines, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and President of Mumbai Cricket Association, Sharad Pawar's decision to come out in favour of Jaitley against corruption charges levelled by Azad assumes a greater significance. The action bears testimony to the fact that these 'cricket operators' have been working in cohesion while dealing with omission and commission of the cricket regulatory bodies and they are unlikely to leave a single stone unturned in covering up the alleged irregularities in the DCCA in order to escape corruption charges on them.
Besides, different corporate houses and many moneybags play key roles in the functioning of BCCI and State Cricket Associations as well. IPL teams are owned by corporate houses, film stars and business tycoons. Being a corporate lawyer by profession, Jaitley has much clout among corporate houses that stand by him -- whether it is to bag the Finance portfolio in Modi's cabinet or his choice to appoint a BCCI Chief from his coterie. Holding the portfolio of Information and Broadcasting -- in addition to Finance portfolio -- he is able to dictate his terms with filmstars who own IPL teams.
Notably, if incriminating documents are, however, found against Jaitley while conducting a detailed probe into his role in the DDCA scam, he is expected to divulge details about the connivance of top leaders who happen to be at the helm of affairs in different State Cricket Associations too. As such, in view of Jaitley's potential as 'Cricket Operator' to damage the credentials of his party's stalwarts, the BJP appears to have been left with no option except to ward off the possible threat of backlash by breathing down the neck of Azad whose expose is supposed to be detrimental to the party's top leadership involved in cricketing from West Zone units -- that includes the GCA, too -- of the BCCI in particular. In fact, the action against Azad is believed to have been prompted by the fact that if irregularities are found in DCCA, other State Cricket Associations can be implicated for sharing the booty, too.
To top it all, the pertinent question that remains unanswered is whether the post-Bihar-poll acrimony within the BJP still continues to have sinister implication on the Modi-Shah leadership? The other important question is: Has Azad aimed to settle scores implicitly with Modi and Shah, who are supposed to be hand-in-glove with Jaitley while discharging their responsibilities as Presidents of GCA, under the prodding from their adversaries belonging to the Advani-camp within the party?
BW Reporters
D.P. Sharan has been a journalist for the past 30 years and has served many national dailies, magazines and channels. He has also been a member at the Central Board of Film Certification, Mumbai under I&B Ministry, Government of India
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