In the most brazen form of political appeasement and selling out of all journalistic ethics, most TV news channels and morning newspapers remained silent over the reports of near Rs 6 crore fund bungling by BJP’s Smriti Irani brought to notice by Congress party in a press conference on Wednesday.
A CAG report has clearly pointed to corruption of Rs 5.93 crore by MP Smriti Irani in allocation of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds in Kheda village and other villages.
It is a matter of concern that something as big has not drawn attention- media or legal, even though the allegation is coming from the country’s auditing authority itself. Never before have the media so brazenly closed its eyes to reports such as this. The UPA government was brought down largely due to media noise about corruption. One begins to wonder, if that was all part of a big conspiracy because no scam could be proved later.
Details of the CAG Report
As per rules, every Member of Parliament is allocated a fixed amount (Rs 5 crore per annum) to carry on development activity in their respective constituency. Needless to say, since it is public money, there is a strict procedure to be followed in how this money is spent.
A set of guidelines is followed when a contract is given out in an area. There is a limit to the amount of money allocated under an MP in their respective tenure. According to para 3.21- 3.21.6 of the CAG report, the implementation agency can be none other than the state government.
Ms Irani, however, allegedly violated all these regulations by not providing any tender, not following the right procedure in giving contract (which was given to Shri Sharada Mazdoor Kamdar Cooperative Mandali, Kheda- a BJP workers’ society/ NGO). It is strange in the time of elections there is no check on what goes on in India under the current government.
The report states a total payment of Rs 5.93 crore (apparently for 232 works) including fraudulent payment of Rs 84 lac 53 thousand. Of this amount, the district collector posted at the time stated that Rs 4 crore 8 lac 40 thousand need to be recovered. He said, Ms Irani allegedly ordered that implementation work be given out to someone else (a private group), flouting the state government rules to select an Implementation Agency. Against the scheme guidelines, office / residential buildings for Centre and State government were constructed (Maghrol Panchayat ghar at Rs 69.60 lac given to the same NGO). After this he was obviously transferred on “official grounds”.
In spite of no submission of completion certificate, District Planning Officer paid Rs 3.35 crore for 68 works (October 2015-May 2016) to the NGO. As proof the CAG report carries pictures of incomplete work at sites proposed for “development”. Every site from crematorium at Kabir Mandir, Anklan to Saraswati school at Palaj to unlevelled playground at Anklan, is incomplete. In places where work was done, like shed and platform at Patel Samaj Crematorium, it was funded by donors.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), the most credible source that could ever be, has uncovered the swindle and concluded the report with the recommendation, “State government should investigate the transactions carried out by the NGO and fix the government officials responsible for the negligence.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala highlighted these details about the scam in a press conference on Wednesday and demanded that Smriti Irani be immediately sacked and an FIR be lodged.
Though the matter was reported to government in September 2017, a response is awaited (February 2018) and an FIR still remains to be lodged.
National spokesperson of All India Congress Committee, Mr Shakti Singh Gohil remarked, “had some kind of discrepancy shown up in CAG report during UPA’s time, the BJP would cry foul on top of their voices. Now when their MP is in question, where do they stand?” He called for immediate resignation of Ms Smriti Irani, like any opposition member would demand.
But for the common citizens of India, does it mean nothing that there is nobody pointing out the wrongs done by or under the (present) government, and all accountability is gone? Who is a deshdrohi, the one who swindles the hard earned money of citizens or the one who questions the cheating authority? Was this what democracy meant to be?
