Decoding CBI’s Clean Chit to Mulayam, Akhilesh in DA case

In a baffling move, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday, 22 May, gave a clean chit to Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav in a pending case of disproportionate assets, telling the Supreme Court that it had found no evidence against them.Coming a day after exit polls predicted a landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which concluded earlier this week, this development was clearly unusual and predictably set the capital’s hyperactive political grapevine buzzing, as it is a well-acknowledged fact that the CBI does not take independent decisions in cases involving political leaders.Described famously as a “caged parrot”, it is known that the country’s premier investigative agency only acts at the behest of the government of the day while pursuing such cases.So, how does one explain this act of benevolence by the Modi government at this juncture, given that this dispensation has fine-tuned the art of using investigative agencies against its political rivals and critics. Besides, the alliance forged by one-time bitter political rivals Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has just concluded a fierce and bitter poll campaign against the BJP in the electorally-crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.BJP’s Olive Branch to SPComing a few days before the Lok Sabha election results are declared, Tuesday’s development can only be construed as an olive branch to the father-son duo. It would suggest that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah do not trust the exit polls though several pollsters have gone as far to say that the SP-BSP Mahagathbandhan had failed to make a dent on the ground and that the saffron party could still win up to 60 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.This, then, can only be described as a future investment given an outside chance that the BJP could need more friends in the post-poll scenario.Even if the BJP cruises to a comfortable majority, the Modi-Shah duo would only be too happy if it can stop Akhilesh from joining forces with the other opposition parties, which are working on the formation of an anti-BJP front. The two BJP leaders prefer to do business with regional parties individually instead of dealing with a consolidated bloc.Why Some Exit Polls May Get Uttar Pradesh Completely WrongThe BJP is obviously encouraged by the fact that Yadav junior has not agreed to travel to Delhi for the meeting of opposition leaders on 23 May to discuss their future strategy. It would also be a message to the Samajwadi Party leaders that while the BJP had been generous to them, the same could not be said about the Congress as Vishwanath Chaturvedi, who took this matter to court, is associated with the Indian Grand Old Party.In fact, Akhilesh Yadav had accused the Congress of political vendetta when the petition was filed. The cases pending against Mayawati may also be wound up if she persists with her antagonistic stand towards the Congress. But that would also be contingent on Akhilesh Yadav’s response to the BJP’s outreach.Alternatively, the BJP leaders believe that the CBI move showed that the saffron party has little to fear from Akhilesh Yadav as he no longer enjoys the same stature and standing as he did when he was Uttar Pradesh chief minister. The saffron party’s stunning victory in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election reduced the Samajwadi Party leader to a political pygmy, forcing him to mend fences with one-time bête noire Mayawati. Yadav junior on his own poses no threat to his political competitors as he now draws his strength from his alliance with the BSP.How Akhilesh managed Mayawati, kept hopes alive for SP-BSPBJP’s Goodwill GestureOn the other hand, the more charitable explanation would be that the CBI affidavit is a goodwill gesture by the Modi government to 79-year-old Mulayum Singh Yadav, who had praised Narendra Modi and said he prayed that he would return as prime minister again.The veteran leader had made this statement in Parliament while speaking on the last day of the last Lok Sabha. The Opposition was naturally embarrassed by these remarks while a delighted Modi had thanked the senior leader, saying he was grateful for his blessings.However, the government’s gesture is also an indirect acknowledgement about Mulayam Singh Yadav’s political irrelevance.Yadav senior is now a pale shadow of his old self, especially after his son took over the Samajwadi Party following a bitter family feud.Whatever the reason for their generous gesture to the Yadav leaders, no one believes that Modi and Shah are driven by any desire to go in for an image makeover and don a new avatar as benign leaders who are not vindictive towards their opponents and are instead ready to extend a hand of friendship to them since they are assured of an electoral victory.(The writer is a senior Delhi-based journalist who can be reached at @anitaakat. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for them.)UP Exit Polls: BJP Trumps SP-BSP in Times Now, News18 Surveys

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Decoding CBI’s Clean Chit to Mulayam & Akhilesh in DA Case

Coming few days before the LS results are declared, this can be construed as an olive branch to the father-son duo.

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Topics: Mulayam Singh Yadav CBI Akhilesh Yadav