Once powerful, life comes full circle for Madhu Koda
FOUL WEATHER The former Jharkhand chief minister, accused in a coal mining scam, now finds himself shorn of both political clout and powerful friends
RANCHI: Courted once by the high and mighty, today Madhu Koda mostly has only a few common villagers to keep him company. Ordered last week by a CBI court to stand trial for corruption in the coal scam case, life has turned full circle for the ex-Jharkhand chief minister.
Despite having risen from being a lowly labourer at SAIL’s iron ore mine to becoming the mineral-rich state’s mines minister and chief minister some years ago, Koda now once again finds himself both shorn of clout and powerful friends.
For someone accused of money-laundering and amassing a huge amount of wealth, he leads a rather modest life in his ancestral village Patahatu, sipping tea with former associates and reminiscing about the lost glory days.
His home is equipped with all kinds of modern facilities, but it in no way matches the grandeur of the mansions owned by other successful politicians.
Koda enjoys some remnants of power: as an ex-chief minister, he travels in a Tata Safari tailed by a posse of policemen in a Gypsy during his weekly visits to Ranchi to meet his only daughter studying in a public school. He is also invited to attend public functions, big and small, in his home district of Singhbhum.
But the taint of corruption for which he spent three years in jail as an under trail has severely dented his stature.
Once beaten up brutally by other inmates at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail, his alleged links to a staggering scam totalling over Rs 3,000 crores dealt a body blow to his political fortunes.
He lost a parliamentary election and a subsequent bid to enter the state assembly by winning the Majhgaon seat.
As the odds, both legal and MADHU KODA political stack up against him, Koda continues to talk tough. “We will go to the appellate court to challenge the charges. I am innocent and convinced that justice would accrue to me,” he told HT. A small band of loyal friends also vouch for his honesty. “We are sure he will come out clean of all the charges,” says Champak Rathore, his friend from his old days of penury.
But the circle of his friends and followers has shrunk considerably. Crowds still throng his home but they mostly LOCAL BJP LEADER visit to meet Koda’s legislator wife, Geeta. Once feared and respected, local officials also reportedly seldom take his recommendations and requests seriously.
“You will only find those people with him these days whom he obliged with his black money when he was chief minister,” said a local BJP leader derisively.
A majority of those associated closely with him during his stint as chief minister are now either behind bars or absconding.
Served as the Jharkhand Mines and Cooperative Minister between February 2005 and August 2008
Was elected chief minister and served in the post between September 2006 and August 2008
Was charged by CBI and accused of taking huge bribes for illegally allotting iron ore and coal mining contracts
Was charged by ED with laundering `3,549 crore
Was charged by Income Tax department for not filing income returns
Was arrested by state police’s vigilance wing on 30 November, 2009. Currently out on bail
We will go to the appellate court to challenge the charges. I am innocent and convinced that justice will be meted out to me You will only find those people with [Madhu Koda] these days whom he had obliged with his black money when he was chief minister
Among everything else, Koda and his friends are accused of investing their allegedly illgotten wealth in distant countries such as Indonesia, UAE and Liberia.
Koda has been given a clean chit in two cases – one registered by the CBI and the other by the state vigilance.
Yet, redemption for Koda is nowhere in sight with a slew of corruption cases still pending in court.
Koda was invited to attend a college function recently, and his presence there triggered a fresh round of gossip among the audience.
Unconfirmed reports that Koda had installed currency counting machines at home and paid unemployed youngsters to count his daily collection during his days as the chief minister refuse to die down. Despite being pushed in political oblivion, Koda still gets tongues wagging.