The “false news” of Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio being summoned by the Enforcement Directorate on the alleged withdrawal of Rs.70 crore for the non-existent High Court building, first reported by a national news outlet and later dismissed by the NDPP is very interesting. There are three separate issues involved here, though inter-related. Whether the chief minister, as alleged, withdrew the said amount or not is one thing and whether the High Court building exists or not is another. The third is whether the Chief Minister was actually summoned by the ED as alleged or not. In any case, all of these three does not augur well for the Chief Minister, who also holds the finance portfolio. It is evidently clear that the money has been drawn as per reports citing RTI queries. It is also a fact that the High Court building does not exist, at least not till now as it is still under construction. Thirdly, the alleged report, and dismissed as false news by NDPP, of ED summoning the Chief Minister is enough to tarnish his image and standing. Here, the Chief Minister being summoned by the ED or not is not the real issue. The real issue is whether there are anomalies in the construction of the High Court building or not. And it seems there are. The opposition parties in India, like the Congress and the AAP, have been alleging that the ruling dispensation was using the government machinery to ‘punish’ political opponents. It is too early to even assume that a similar plan is being hatched against Rio but it cannot be ruled out either.
Several chief ministers in India, former and serving, have been sent to jail on corruption charges. Lalu Prasad, a former Chief Minister of Bihar, was imprisoned in a corruption case popularly known as Fodder Scam. Three-time CM of Bihar Jagannath Mishra was also convicted and sent to jail. Madhu Koda, former CM of Jharkhand was also sent to jail on charges of corruption. Former CM of Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa was similarly sent to jail for nepotism and corruption. Om Prakash Chautala, former CM of Haryana, was convicted for accepting bribes and sent to jail. P.K. Thungon, a former CM of Arunachal Pradesh and a union minister, was also sent to jail in a graft case. And the ‘queen’ herself, J Jayalalithaa became the first CM in office to go to jail. She was convicted on charges of amassing illegal wealth. In politics, there are no permanent friends of enemies. As such, you can’t trust anybody. Many politicians have been sent to jail in India for political reasons as well as on corruption charges. The precedent is there and it is not impossible that a CM be sent to jail if proven guilty.
Meanwhile, ‘Facta Non Verba’ as we know means ‘Deeds Not Words’ which also means that words don’t matter. The NDPP’s words of denial in defense of the Chief Minister matter or not, soon we shall see.