“Dilip Ray, a founding member of the BJD and Union Coal Minister in the Vajpayee Government, was sentenced to a three year jail term by a Trial Court in 2020, in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of a coal block in Jharkhand in 1999.
His conviction has just been stayed by the Delhi High Court. Immediately following the stay in the conviction, news comes that he is likely to contest the Odisha Assembly Elections from Rourkela on a BJP ticket.
This is how Mr. Modi fights corruption” via Jairam Ramesh on X.
According to a report by the Indian express, 23 out of 25 opposition ministers who were charged with criminal cases received an acquittal after joining the BJP 2014 onwards. The Indian political system mandates that at this point you’re either at the behest of the ruling party or the behest of Income Tax or ED (which indirectly implies mercy of the BJP).
Ajit Pawar’s case on Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank had sought closure from the Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing. The case was reopened when BJP came to power with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena block.
When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was questioned as to why leaders with criminal charges are joining the BJP, she said that the party is open and we are welcoming everybody. At the very least, a to-the-point, no-nonsense answer from one of the lesser diplomatic BJP leaders.
When Nitin Gadkari was recently asked by an interviewer about BJP washing powder which cleans politicians stained with corruption, he replied that BJP has an eco-friendly soap. Politics is a game of composition, limitation, and contradiction. We have to get into unexpected alliances to strengthen political might.
Out of the 417 candidates that BJP has fielded till now, 116 have come from other parties including 37 from Congress. When PM Modi says that he wants to create a Congress-free India, he implies roping in all their leaders and including them in the BJP. One Nation, One Election, One Party.
From Ashok Chavan to Suvendu Adhikari, all opposition leaders have managed to quash cases against them by joining the BJP. Looks like it is time for Arvind Kejriwal and company to follow suit.