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Breaking Views: Finance Min, ED at Odds Over Aircel-Maxis Case?

The Aircel-Maxis case has shown that the Modi govt’s fight against corruption isn’t going smoothly.

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Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

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If you were under the impression that the Centre is a tight ship when it comes to fighting corruption, and that everything is going according to plan, then you must know that this myth was debunked on 27 June and that too in the Supreme Court.

Finance Ministry and Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials seem to be at odds with each other. Even if you try to take a closer look at this new development, you won’t  understand who is on which side. Let’s look at some facts.

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During a hearing on a PIL, a government lawyer presents a letter from the finance minister. The letter states that the Joint Director of the Enforcement Directorate Rajeshwar Singh talked to a person in Dubai. The ministry received a report from Research and Analysis Wing eight months ago, and hence he should be investigated.

The letter further states that the Supreme Court should lift the protection it had granted Singh, so that he can be investigated.

Following this, the apex court allowed the concerned officer to be investigated.

Ironically, Bharatiya Janata Party MP in Rajya Sabha, Subramanian Swamy held a press conference and backed Singh. Swamy said Rajeshwar is investigating P Chidambaram and his son, Karti Chidambaram, he is doing a good job, but some people within the government want to obstruct his investigation.

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Swamy then went a step further to allege that a conspiracy is being hatched to remove and discredit Singh. He alleged that the RAW report is a ‘manufactured’ one. He even named the Revenue Secretary while making these allegations.

After all this, the ED director issued a public statement wherein he called Singh a responsible officer and said that the allegations against him were baseless. He said that a phone call was received from Dubai from a person who wanted to provide information and that this was mentioned in the investigation.

Now, the ED director reports to Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia against whom Subramanian Swamy made allegations.

We ask, why are the senior officials angry with an officer who is investigating a leader from the Opposition?

The answer to this question is unclear.

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‘Gang of 4’ Attempting to Discredit Modi?

Swamy also claimed that there is a ‘gang of four’ that is secretly attempting to discredit Prime Minister Narendra Modi by slowing down the fight against corruption. He, however, didn’t reveal any names.

Why now?

During early days of investigation into the Aircel-Maxis case, a police officer from Uttar Pradesh – Rajeshwar Singh – was called and assigned to the ED. This officer is the investigating officer, not just in Aircel-Maxis but many other important cases too.

If the government makes a serious allegation against him then there there is likely to be some truth in it.

We are not trying to pass judgments on any of the people we have discussed. But, if the government knew about this eight months ago, why did they wait till now? Why wasn’t Singh investigated then itself?

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When an officer is due for a promotion, his background is checked and vetted. So when he was promoted, why weren’t these facts considered?

This raises questions about the Modi government's administrative functioning. It is a serious issue.

It is also rare for an ED officer to write a letter to the Revenue Secretary, making massive allegations against the latter.

Singh didn’t use the administrative help he had, and instead turned to the judiciary. He has accused Adhia of siding with the  ‘scamsters’.

Sources from the finance ministry have slammed these reports.

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All Not Well in the Modi Govt?

You may agree or disagree with Subramanian Swamy but when he talks about these stories in terms of facts and figures, then it seems:

All is not well within the Modi government.

This entire chain of events is proof of friction in Delhi’s political corridors. At a time when we've been receiving regular reports about the misuse of the ED, the CBI and the I-T department, one officer is seen fighting against the others.

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