Lalu must face the law

THE Income Tax Department on Monday seized benami properties, presumably owned by RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter, son-in-law and son who is the Bihar Deputy Chief Minister. Lalu Prasad is among the most vocal challengers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. A very obvious defence, which has already been deployed by the family, is that the tax initiative is vendetta. But politics is more a game of perception than facts, and this round may just be going against the maverick former chief minister, who controls a majority stake in the Bihar government. The reason for that is obvious: his history with corruption cases, and a conviction too. Moreover, in the immediate aftermath of the action, the family has hardly given any credible explanation of the surprisingly long list of properties.

The Modi government’s focus, however — apart from pulling down the JD(U)-RJD arrangement — is on conveying a sense of urgency in its drive against black money and corruption. The targeting of politically uncomfortable entities, be they individuals, parties or media houses, does anything but suggest sincerity in the effort. Often public sympathy will not lie with anyone perceived as corrupt, even if targeted for political reasons. But that can soon begin to prove counter-effective when major allegations of corruption in other cases get no attention — as in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan or Punjab.

A major source of Prime Minister Modi’s popular appeal has been his professed zero tolerance for corruption, within or outside the government. Some convincing action against suspect leaders of the BJP or its allies would put a seal of authenticity to this claim. Action against AAP leaders in Delhi — perhaps warranted in some cases — evokes no more than a shrug only because of this decreasing credibility. As various agencies of the government go after wrongdoing, special care must be taken in political cases — of ensuring fast-track action. Move towards the charge-sheet stage quickly, or clear the suspect. Else it would be called nothing but use of government machinery to malign political opponents. Voters may not understand economics or statistics, but they do have an acute sense of political nuance.