The Wadhawan Case: The Corrupt Bureaucrat And The Rich Think They Own The World
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-04-10 18:06:51
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
Those who are corrupt and consumed by the power of money do not think that there is anything that they cannot do. The arrest of the promoters of DHFL, Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, and their family, from a farmhouse in Mahabaleshwar yesterday proves this. The Wadhawans got a transit pass from IPS officer Amitabh Gupta, Principal Secretary (Special), Home, Government of Maharashtra, who described them as "family friends" well known to him who needed to travel from Khandala to Mahabaleshwar for a "family emergency". Thereafter, more than 20 members of the family, along with their cooks and servants, traveled to the farmhouse in 5 cars, making a mockery of the restrictions imposed in the relatively highly-infected state. The Wadhawans are also wanted for questioning by the CBI regarding their transactions with the Yes Bank and they have been avoiding the summons by citing health priorities due to Covid-19. The CBI is considering arresting them after their quarantine ends.
The government of Maharashtra has moved fast after the opposition BJP questioned how the family could travel during the lockdown. It has suspended Gupta and the Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has said that he will order an inquiry into the incident.
This incident proves that the rich and the influential have their connections in all layers of the government. They nurture these connections by providing them all kinds of help and not only monetary gratification. It can be in help in promotions through their politician friends or getting a child admitted to a foreign university or any such matter. Hence, when the Wadhawans requested this "small" favour, Gupta could not refuse. Or is he the fall-guy and was acting at the behest of a powerful politician, as is being alleged in some reports? But being the Principal Secretary in the Home department, Gupta must have known that these were not normal times and the state was grappling with a pandemic. As a responsible bureaucrat, he should have advised them (or whoever asked him to sign the letter) against undertaking the journey. But maybe such was the load of the gratification the Wadhawans had provided him with in the past (or such was the power the politician who ordered him to sign the letter wielded over him) that he threw all caution to the winds for them and has now put his career on the block.
The matter would have remained hidden from public scrutiny if the local people in Mahabaleshwar had not been aware and active. It is reported that the locals informed the police of the arrival of the large group despite the lockdown. Most citizens everywhere in the country are now very concerned about the coronavirus pandemic and are likely to immediately report any unusual activity or on sighting unknown people in their areas. Such activism in the community needs to be strengthened and applauded.
