Of all the defences we have seen, of politicians facing cases and raids, for acquiring disproportionate assets, Babu Kavlekar’s is surely the most unique. He says that forward caste politicians and bureaucrats are unable to digest that he, a backward caste Dhangar community boy, is rich. “A person from the Dhangar community owns a bungalow and it is not easily digested”.
His next peeve is the “priority” of the government. “It is for the government and the ACB to decide its priority. For them Babu Kavlekar seems to be to priority rather than the drug mafia which is ruining the youth of Goa”. He then went on to mention the Beach Cleaning scam where the Lokayukta has asked the government to ask the CBI to investigate case afresh.
(An aside: His party chief Shantaram Naik, on the other hand decided to come to his defence and address a press conference saying that the raids on Kavlekar were politically motivated. There was no mention of caste there).
Kavlekar’s caste card is self-defeating and impressed no one. It actually weakens his defence rather than strengthening it. The government may have any priority in investigating the cases. What matters here is if the cases have merit or not. Not once has Kavlekar spoken about or given evidence to justify his assets and his wealth. The purchases made in Kerala are still subject to scrutiny. According to one of the highest functionaries in the state, he owns half a dozen (approximately) more flats and houses.
This needs to be verified and investigated. Thus, there are serious grounds to investigate his case on priority. In fact, the counter argument that this case should have been treated with greater priority, holds more substance.
While there has been a common refrain that those from weaker sections somehow find themselves at the receiving end of the long arm of the law while politicians from the more advantageous sections of the caste ladder have had a relatively easy time, Babu Kavlekar, cannot expect special treatment because he is a Dhangar.
He is right. No one should feel jealous about his milky white palatial bungalow. But when you allegedly have undisclosed wealth and properties and lands in Kerala and other places, then your neighbours may yet be super jealous. But for investigating agencies, it falls in the domain of suspected criminal activity, which cannot get caste protection. Hence the raids are justified,
The argument that the Congress should be making – and both Kavlekar and GPCC president Shantaram Naik failed to do so – is that the government should act or facilitate, to ensure that its own ministers indicted in scams should be brought to book. Incidentally former tourism minister Dilip Parulekar finds himself in the eye of the Serula land grab scam in his personal capacity, and the beach cleaning scam in his capacity as minister. It took the Congress a full two days to get back at the BJP and demand that the government should act on the recommendation of the Lokayukta and hand over the beach cleaning scam to the CBI. But yet again the Congress and Babu Kavlekar are unable to -obviously- state or justify that the charge of disproportionate assets against him is incorrect and he has evidence to prove it. Do you find a single statement from any Congress leader which emphasises that “Babu Kavlekar is clean and he has no disproportionate assets?”
All that the party and the accused leader are doing is attributing motives. While Babu will have to sort out its own battles, the Congress needs to have the gumption to question the government on cases involving the Congress turned BJP ministers especially Pandurang Madkaikar. But that won’t take the stain away from Kavlekar or the party. At best it will strengthen the narrative that the radar of investigating agencies should be pointed across the political board. But that happens in only an ideal world.
