Why the arrest of Kejriwal may have big consequences
There might be some people who think like this: India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) is an independent investigative body that has gone after some key people in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) purely to rid the nation of corruption. But I personally do not know a single person who thinks this.
There is a perception that Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on Thursday night for political reasons. Even so, people believe that the ED must have some sort of dirt on AAP to prove its claim that Kejriwal took kickbacks to devise a liquor policy that favoured some “wholesalers from the south.” Otherwise, how could a sitting chief minister of Delhi be arrested from his home, and his former deputy, Manish Sisodia, spend so many months in jail?
As publicly known so far, what the ED has as evidence against them in the Delhi liquor policy case are statements of co-accused who turned approvers. If there is further evidence, we do not yet know.
While denying bail to Sisodia, who has been in prison since February 2023, the Supreme Court observed that just because a policy enriches some people, and it is natural for government policy to benefit some people, it does not automatically prove that politicians adopted it for kickbacks. The ED is yet to show a money trail establishing that AAP leaders received bribes.
The liquor policy case has demonstrated the ease with which the ED can put popular politicians in jail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the reluctance of courts to grant bail. What is the consequence of this extraordinary phase in Indian politics? What is the consequence of Kejriwal finding himself in a lock-up on corruption charges?
I guess that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s analysis is that it stands to gain. The typical BJP supporter may not be enraged by Kejriwal’s arrest, but I am certain there are millions of voters who are.
People in general do not like bullying. Especially in South India. This is probably because when a person seems to be getting bullied, onlookers are reminded of their own bullies. Also, even though the BJP is clearly wary of Kejriwal’s charms, it appears to underestimate an important aspect of his popularity. Many people who do not vote for him still like and admire him. Many people are found to admire Kejriwal, whose party has swept Delhi assembly elections more than once, for understanding what many Indians want—good education for their children and free quality healthcare. So the arrest of Kejriwal could have increased his heft as politician.
Another consequence of his arrest is not so obvious —the de-intellectualization of the sacredness of institutions.
It is now becoming clear to the average Indian why institutions are important, and this realization is dawning without the annoying mascots of institutions—sanctimonious scholars and activists. It is not an easy realization because from a voter’s point of view, the government’s right of way is strong and obvious. That institutions, like courts, investigative agencies and the Election Commission, should be equal counterweights to an elected government is usually a pious argument made by Indian intellectuals that seems more like an expression of their own fight for relevance. The government, however, is an expression of the people; how can it fulfil their broad wishes if institutions come in the way? Aren’t institutions, after all, the fiefdom of eggheads whom people rarely elect?
In fact, aren’t modern governments in all democratic countries an expression of mass distaste for the intellectual class and bureaucracy? And if a government appears to be unethical, isn’t this just another reflection of human nature? How then can scholars and clerks hinder the actions of a government elected by the people? And on the question of ethics and morality, what right do some bureaucrats have to decide what they are?
But then, Kejriwal’s arrest has amplified the importance of institutions as emphasized in civics lessons from school. In this way, the arrest of the AAP leader may have inadvertently done more to underline the importance of independent institutions, especially the courts, than any other event in recent memory.
If it comes to be that a court hears Kejriwal’s plea for justice, and he comes to court himself to exploit the occasion as a politician, some ludicrous aspects of the money laundering act could be laid bare for the public. The Supreme Court may put the extraordinary powers that can be exercised under the PMLA to a test of consistency with basic principles. If the Court could deem electoral bonds illegal, as it recently did, perhaps a draconian law could get a similar look-in as well.
If that happens, it would demonstrate that unelected institutions could act in a more democratic way than a government. Ordinary people might then be able see that an institution is an election of ideas. There is campaigning and persuasion, even biases and superstars. Eventually, the fittest idea wins, and the fittest idea is usually the most ethical idea that has considerable public support.
There is an aspect of a nation’s moral character that cannot be measured by votes, and need not be measured at all. It just wins. Because it protects everyone from bullies.
The high-profile nature of the case could draw popular attention to the importance of fairness