As soon as corruption allegations are made, leaders talk about judgment in the public court. However, from a legal point of view, only the court’s decision is valid. But there is a long process to reach the court’s decision. Meanwhile, the spots on the leader’s hem have left their impact among the public. Those lucky ones who are acquitted by the court, personally, they and their families heave a sigh of relief. But what is possible to compensate for the damage caused to his image in the meantime?Can such leaders regain their old status? Today is the day of victory for Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and their AAP party. Through the court’s decision, they are showing a mirror to the central government and its investigating agencies. But before reaching this point of victory, he had to pay a heavy price.
Will they be able to regain what has slipped away with time? That’s why many well-known faces of Indian politics have been surrounded by allegations. Along with long interrogation by agencies, many also had to go to jail. A look at the attacks on some such leaders and their consequences in the name of today’s court decision in the Kejriwal and Sisodia case.
Relief from court after losing a lot
Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are the product of Anna movement. This movement was started against the alleged corruption of the then UPA government. The heat of this movement had heavily criticized the UPA government and many of its ministers. It had to suffer heavy losses in the elections. On the other hand, in the name of system change, Kejriwal’s political avatar was born by sidelining Anna Hazare.
Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia.. Photo: PTI
He formed the AAP party. Took power in Delhi state three consecutive times. But the situation changed before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The new liquor policy of the Kejriwal government, which was later withdrawn, became a pain in the neck. Leaders like Kejriwal, Sisodia, Satyendra Jain, Sanjay Singh had to go to jail for a long time. BJP once again won all seven Lok Sabha seats. Surrounded by allegations of scams, Kejriwal not only lost power in Delhi but also lost the elections himself. Since then he has been away from the limelight.
Now he has been acquitted by the court. Will the public also accept him as spotless? Obviously this decision is taken only in elections. They will have to wait for that. On the other hand, the perception that is created among the public about a leader is not easy to erase. Opponents keep fanning him.
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The genie of Bofors who snatched power from Rajiv
Remember the genius of Bofors who ousted Rajiv Gandhi, who was called Mr. Clean, from power. His colleague minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh had raised the issue of bribery in Bofors and then every day the Indian and foreign media put the Rajiv Gandhi government in great trouble with one sensational expose after another. His special friend Amitabh Bachchan not only left the membership of Lok Sabha but also resigned from politics.
Bofors became a big issue in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections. Vishwanath Pratap Singh became Prime Minister riding the anti-corruption wave. Bofors did not give up even after Rajiv’s death in 1991. Of course, this case proved to be frivolous in the court but Rajiv could not recover from that loss in his lifetime. The truth is that the allegations against him in this case, even after not being proved in any court, are still pursued with mention of them.
Lal Krishna Advani.
Advani proved to be an exception
Lal Krishna Advani, Madan Lal Khurana and Sharad Yadav were caught in the hawala scandal. All of them later got legal relief, but could the political and moral capital be fully compensated? The Jain Hawala scandal that came to light in the 1990s dealt a deep blow to the credibility of Indian politics. In this case, names of many big leaders were allegedly recorded in the diary.
Lal Krishna Advani resigned from the membership of Lok Sabha as soon as the allegations were made and said that he would not contest elections until he was proven innocent. Later, in the investigation conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the case could not stand due to lack of evidence. He got relief from the court, and he again returned to the center of national politics. Advani, who was surrounded by allegations, appeared to be different from this point of view that he resigned the membership of Lok Sabha and announced to contest the elections only after being acquitted by the court. He got symbolic benefit from this sacrifice.
On the other hand, Madan Lal Khurana’s political journey was affected by Hawala allegations. He left the post of Chief Minister. He returned later but his political influence was not the same as before. It is clear that legal relief alone cannot improve the tarnished political image. During the Emergency, Sharad Yadav had drawn a big line by resigning from the membership of Lok Sabha. But even after getting a clean chit from the court in the Hawala case, he could not regain his old image.
George, a symbol of simplicity, got caught in the coffin scam.
George Fernandes, famous for his simplicity and honesty, never got any peace even after being acquitted by the court in the coffin scam. Serious allegations were made against George regarding alleged irregularities in the purchase of coffins. There was sharp criticism in the media. The opposition created a huge ruckus from Parliament to the streets. No one was ready to listen to the aggressive George, who had cornered power while in opposition, after his name cropped up in the coffin scam. He had to resign from the ministerial post. Later he got relief from the CBI court. But this episode tarnished his image. Although he became a minister again, he could not regain his spotless image.
Expansion of communication means increased difficulties
In the 1990s, the reach of TV media was limited. Today there is a buzz about 24×7 news and social media. They repeat the allegations continuously. A narrative once created is repeated again and again. The news of acquittal from the court does not get as much headlines as the news of arrest. Remember the 2G spectrum allocation case. In 2008, A. was the Telecom Minister. Raja was accused of allegedly allocating licenses at low prices.
He was arrested in 2011 and remained in jail for about 15 months. In 2017, the special CBI court acquitted him due to lack of evidence. The court said that the prosecution failed to prove the charges. Kanimozhi had to go to jail in this case. Later the special court also acquitted him. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha went to jail in disproportionate assets case. The special court convicted him in 2014.
In 2015, the Karnataka High Court acquitted him after re-evaluating the evidence. Later the Supreme Court reinstated the punishment of the co-accused. By then Jayalalitha had passed away.B. S. Yediyurappa had to step down as Chief Minister in 2011 after the Karnataka Lokayukta report. Also went to jail. In later years he got relief from the Karnataka High Court and the trial court in various cases. In many cases the charges were dismissed or they were acquitted. Suresh Kalmadi was arrested in 2011 in the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam case. Stayed in jail for several months. In some cases the court gave them relief due to lack of evidence. He was discharged on some charges. He has passed away.
Ashok Chavan was accused of violating rules in the Adarsh Housing Society case when he was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. In 2018, the Bombay High Court raised questions on the proceedings of the CBI and gave relief to them. Later, the case weakened due to issues related to sanction for prosecution and he returned to active politics. But it is true that even after winning the next Parliament or Assembly elections, these leaders would hardly be able to regain their old status.
Heavy media trial on court trial
P. Chidambaram was arrested. Currently on bail. His case is in court. The court takes a long time to decide. Chidambaram, a leader of great political stature and the Home and Finance Minister, is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha. But the jail journey pushed him to the margins. Mulayam Singh Yadav is no more. But the long investigation and court proceedings in the disproportionate assets case adversely affected his image. Same is the situation of Mayawati. The Taj Corridor case caused huge damage to his image. Why do allegations against court decisions weigh heavily among the public?
In reality, the media trial before the court begins with the politicians being charged and sent to jail. With the long reach of communication channels and repeated repetition of allegations, the perception that develops among the public against the accused leaders has a long-lasting effect. In such a situation, the decisions of the public court outweigh the decisions of the actual court of law.
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