It was the most awaited event for all politicians from last few months. Due to Jagan’s arrest, entire Andhra Pradesh (AP) came into limelight. He was not that popular and powerful but media and politicians made him so.
I have two views about the aforementioned incident. As every coin has two faces, this incident also has two sides to it and I present the same.
Corresponding view: This is a good example of democracy in the AP as it is clear that those who misuse their powers and those who are corrupt will get punished. Jagan’s arrest is the beginning and soon it will be other ministers and politicians. His family members are trying to gain votes by turning this into a sentimental and emotional matter. By arresting Congress minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana too, CBI proved that it is not partial. After this incident, even if Jagan cashes on his votes through sentiment in the upcoming by-elections, his party won’t survive until general elections, if he is found guilty and is imprisoned. Although the purpose of the arrest is to humiliate Jagan and his associates, ‘seasoned politicians’ like him getting arrested gives an idea of the extent of corruption in our government.
Counter view: Government showed a lot of enthusiasm and unnecessary interest towards his arrest. There are some questions that are coming in the minds of common man even though Jagan stands accused.
Jagan is not a new man to Congress. He was in Congress for a period of five years till 2011. When he was in Congress, there was no one who questioned him about his illegal properties. As soon as he left the party, allegations were raised against his properties and money laundering. What were the parties doing earlier? This is a clear testimony to the fact that politics is nothing more than a dirty game and there is no morality in the present politics.
Secondly, if the government realized that he had misused his powers, it should have arrested him soon after the allegations were raised or it should have waited until by-elections were over. This is where government failed.
While on the other side, CBI arrested Mopidevi Venkata Ramana just to convey that it is not partial towards the government, even though he explained that decisions taken by him were approved by the cabinet. It appeared a strong reason so that the others don’t pose questions about minister’s involvement in this issue.
Moreover, when Jagan filed for anticipatory bail in CBI court, the court itself said that there is no chance of arrest and no need of applying for bail for him. When court itself said that, why did CBI hurriedly arrest him on Sunday itself? All this made people to sympathise with him and his party.
Government thought that his arrest will get them some extra votes but the whole thing turned out positively for Jagan and his party.
Jagan’s arrest completely altered current calculations in Andhra Pradesh politics and we should wait for the real effect of this incident till the election results are out.
Kiran Datta
