Why ED's arrest of TN minister Senthil Balaji is a blow to federalism

The arrest of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a case of alleged money laundering after 18-hour questioning in a midnight operation by the probe agency has raised serious questions about the very concept of federalism in the country, and the way pre-trial arrests are being carried out with impunity against the BJP’s political opponents.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu minister Balaji’s arrest mirrors Karunanidhi’s 2001 ordeal

The ministers in states where the BJP is not in power come into sharp focus after similar operations in New Delhi against two AAP ministers, including the deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. The denial of bail, even after several months, comes as a shocker to those who believe in basic freedom in the country. Even the Supreme Court has not provided relief like bail to persons detained for months together in pre-trial cases.

No minister in a BJP-ruled state or its ally, has come in for such questioning by the ED, let alone raids or arrests, leading fodder to the charge that the Union government is misusing central agencies like the ED, Income-Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to target parties which are against the BJP.

Also read: Who is Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, whom the ED has arrested?

Accused not found guilty

In several cases where the central agencies have resorted to pre-trial arrests, the accused persons have not been found guilty in the lower court orders, right from the 2G case where all the accused were declared to be innocent. So who will take accountability for the arrest, detention in Tihar jail, and the denial of liberty to politicians like Kanimozhi and A Raja? So much hype was created by the Bofors case used by the BJP to target Rajiv Gandhi and Congress leaders but in the end, the lower court acquitted all the accused in the case.

In this case, relating to minister Balaji, there is a clear case of political interference in the acts of the ED. The case relates to a cash-for-jobs scam in the transport department during the AIADMK rule of J Jayalalithaa in 2014-15 where no such precipitous action was taken by the ED as long as he was in the AIADMK. When he crossed over to the DMK, he suddenly came under the ED scanner. The ED activities gained momentum when Balaji targeted Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai for wearing an expensive, imported Rafale watch when he claimed he had only four goats with him. Ever since, Annamalai has launched diatribes against Balaji using every available opportunity, making out corruption charges against him for his handling of the liquor trade as the minister in charge of Prohibition and Excise in the MK Stalin government of the DMK.

The BJP leaders want to make out a case that the law should take its own course in the Balaji case and refer to Stalin’s own speech hitting out at Balaji while he was in the AIADMK. Politics apart, the ED has not crowned itself with glory by selectively targeting those opposed to the saffron party, and sparing those in the ruling BJP. Questions can be raised about the inaction of the ED in Karnataka where allegations of corruption were made against BJP ministers by industrialists. The issue of 40 percent corruption even struck a chord among the electorate which voted out the BJP from power, but the central agencies remained mute spectators.

Also read: ED arrests TN minister Senthil Balaji; CM Stalin visits him in hospital

No accountability

It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court did not intervene about the unbridled power seemingly acquired by the central agencies to browbeat the Opposition; even petitions were moved in the court seeking relief and guidelines. The central agencies believe that they can raid anyone or arrest anyone and that they will worry about evidence and prosecution later.

In the cases of action by the agencies, there is no official statement from them in the courts on the ‘documents’ etc. found during raids, as claimed by the agencies during the raids. There is clearly no accountability at all on the part of the agencies, giving credence to the view that the raids and arrests were being carried out to please their ‘masters’, the ministers, or the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The action in the cash-for-jobs scam case has come even after the complainant had informed the court that he was withdrawing the charge against Balaji that he had made in 2014-15.

However, the investigation and the raids under the case continued unabated as far as the ED goes, emboldened by the Supreme Court observation that the investigation can go on though the complainant did not press for charges.

Also read: ED raids Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji in money laundering probe

The rules and procedures of the central agencies should be altered such that they are held accountable for their actions, and that in case of pre-trial arrests which finally end in acquittal for the accused, the directors and chiefs of the agencies who carried out such pre-trial arrests should be asked to undergo the same period of detention in the same jail where they lodged the accused. Such a course of action alone will deter these agencies from carrying out political tasks for the ministers in the government.

Arrested for power cut?

With regard to Balaji’s health, doctors have admitted that there were three blocks in the minister’s heart and that he would have to undergo surgery immediately, the DMK will go to town with charges of torture by the ED and causing him untold anxiety during prolonged questioning at midnight.

The ED will be projected as a villain, as also the BJP, as the DMK in the days to come will highlight this as a case of a witch-hunt.

Also read: ‘Cruel intentions evident’: Stalin flays ED for ‘inhuman’ treatment of arrested min Senthil Balaji

The DMK also seeks to establish a link between the BJP’s anger over a power cut during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Chennai two days ago, and the raids and arrest of Balaji who also holds the Electricity portfolio, a day later. The provocation for the raids and arrest seems to have come from a power cut, according to the DMK.

When the Jayalalithaa government arrested Karunanidhi, Murasoli Maran and TR Baalu, the BJP-led government at the Centre sent a missive to the state that the arrest of Union ministers by a state government would go against the concept of federalism, and wanted them to be realeased. Equally, one wonders if the BJP-led government at the Centre would look at the arrest of state ministers like Sisodia and Balaji by central agencies as against the same concept of federalism.