The Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information and Broadcasting Mr. Arun Jaitley met former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Ms. Jayalalithaa at her residence on Sunday.
The meeting, as stated in the statement released by the AIADMK, was a "courtesy" meeting but party sources said that the minister discussed about the bills the Union government was to introduce in the next session of the Parliament and that he sought Ms. Jayalalithaa's support to get the bills passed in the Rajya Sabha.
Enticing support in this manner by a senior minister like Mr. Jaitley would have been perfectly fine but for the fact that Ms. Jayalalithaa is currently a convict, that too in a serious case. She is neither a Chief Minister nor even an MLA. Following conviction, she was disqualified from being both, but despite that she continues to be, by virtue of sheer sycophancy, AIADMK's "Makkal Mudalvar." (People's CM)
Ms. Jayalalithaa's appeal over the disproportionate assets case in which she was convicted in September last year is pending before the Honourable High Court of Karnataka, and until the verdict comes in her favour she remains a convict. The Election Commission has also announced the by-election to the Srirangam constituency which now remains vacant following her disqualification.
At a time like this, was it right for a Union minister, that too a senior one, and of the stature like that of Mr. Jaitley, to visit her and solicit political support? Let alone soliciting support, was even a "courtesy" meeting, as the official party communiqué wants us to believe, proper?
Mr. Jaitley is a representative of the people, a senior minister in the Union cabinet, and a respectable voice in the BJP. He represents the Union government and his meeting a convict was grossly incorrect, exceedingly deplorable and was in complete violation of the basic principle of morality expected out of people holding high Constitutional offices.
The message that this meeting sends out is that the present government has no regard for the criminal justice system, and that it would go to any extreme extent to have its way through.
On one hand the BJP says that it will fight corruption, and on the other it seeks support from a person who has been convicted for having possession of crores of ill-gotten money. What hypocrisy!
Mr. Jaitley must answer to the people of this country whether by meeting a convict has he not degraded the sanctity of the office which he holds, insulted the polity where judicial pronouncements are honoured, and brought shame to his fellow Parliamentarians.
