In the mainland, inside Parliament something
unpalatable occurred in July 2008 ~ it was the ‘cash for vote’ scandal… it
continues to haunt… a couple of months earlier, a Delhi court directed the
police to "investigate from all angles" and trace the source of money
in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam. The
court directed the police to carry out "fair and impartial"
investigation without leaving any loopholes to instill confidence in public
mind in the case. The Delhi Police was
told by the court that it can file an additional charge sheet, if necessary, in
six weeks after the probe. It is a
scandal whence the ruling UPA allegedly bribed Indian MPs in order to survive a
confidence vote on 22 July 2008. The vote in the Lok Sabha arose after the Left
Front withdrew support from the government, who wanted to pursue an Indo-US
nuclear deal. But despite opposition of BJP and Left, the Govt won the
confidence vote and survived.
Sometimes one wonders whether things can be
uniform in any perspective in this vast land, which has States with unique
cultural, historical and traditional heritages. Clearly, when it comes to
electioneering and way of party’s strategies, not much changes !
Today there is news of Nagaland Home Minister Imkong L Imchen being
detained near Wokha district for allegedly carrying a cache of arms and
ammunition and Rs 1.10 crore in cash in a vehicle. It is reported that Imchen was going to his
constituency Koridanga in Mokokchung district from Kohima when Assam Rifles
personnel conducting search of vehicles near Wokha district found the arms and
ammunition, liquor and cash, the sources said. It is further reported that
Assam Rifles personnel handed him over to the district administration and
police. Imchen is the Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) candidate from Koridanga
and is also the NPF campaign in-charge of Mokokchung district.
1 Crore is just a coincidence ! ~ couple fo days
earlier, newspapers reported that an
Election Commission surveillance team had seized Rs one crore cash from a
helicopter allegedly being used by a candidate of the Nagaland Peoples Front
(NPF) in Nagaland. A team of EC-appointed observers seized the cash
from a chopper, which was allegedly hired to ferry Nyemli Phom, who is
contesting the Assembly polls from a constituency in Longleng district. The
influence of money in elections in Nagaland is widely in the news though some
have been campaigning for “Clean Elections”. Local newspapers report that apart
from offering money, providing liquor and organising large feasts also became
the norm.
When Tamil Nadu went to polls in 2011, there
were reports of , Election Commission and the Income Tax department making seizure of Rs 54.17 crore of
"unaccounted money"; that was not the final tally. At that point EC's Flying Squad seized Rs
29.87 crore, its surveillance team recovered another Rs 9.24 crore. 521
FIRs were registered in the state and how or whether they were taken to any logical
conclusion, is anybody’s guess.
People have forgotten an incident that occurred in Trichy and one which was
widely reported in all newspapers. At
that time it was described that crisp notes totalling Rs 5.11 crore kept in
five travel bags on the roof of a private bus in Tiruchirappali was seized in
the wee hours, making it the biggest haul of unaccounted money. The seizure was
effected by S. Sangitha , a revenue development
officer (RDO), who climbed up the stationary bus in the dead of night after
getting a tip off from police. Though
ownership of the bus was made known, it was revealed that none staked claim so
far for the cash seized.
Some parties have mastered the art of
distributing cash and material and the art of converting them into votes….
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
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