Team Modi faces a tough call over an insider
Siddhartha Tripathy
As if the political scene in the national capital had not had enough drama over the past few weeks with sundry controversies, another potentially major cause célèbre has just landed to spice up the narrative. So far the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government at the centre had been dealing with external challenges, what with opposition and critics pointing accusing fingers over the Rafale deal, the Vijay Mallya issue, and even its RSS association. The latest one, however, has come from within – although involving one of the usual suspects.
Senior BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy – who is an ace intellectual and a member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, but more well-known these days as an anti-corruption firebrand and a past master of petitions – recently dropped a bomb of a letter at the office of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The letter seeks an official go-ahead to drag none other than Hasmukh Adhia – Finance secretary of India, who is also Secretary of the Revenue department – to the court over a plethora of corruption allegations.
In a letter that ran two full pages, Swamy started with claims that Adhia had a key role to play both in the making of the Punjab National Bank scam and its fallout.
“The Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, as it is popularly known today, is about the grant of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) by the bank to the companies of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi for a fraud involving Rs 11,000 crore. Presently, both of them are absconding. The said individuals and their companies are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax (IT) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). Three of the above mentioned four agencies work under the aegis of the Finance Ministry, and directly report to Adhia,” the letter read.
Going into details to make his case, Swamy first pointed out that most of the 21,666 LoUs involving the PNB scam were issued from the year 2014 onwards, the same year that Adhia was appointed as the Finance secretary and the year before he became the Revenue secretary. Although incriminating evidence against the key accused in the PNB scam was found during income tax searches, Swamy’s letter said, the information was reportedly not shared with the Enforcement Directorate. Had such investigations been registered, Red Corner Notices could have been issued against the accused, and they could not have left the country’s shores.
“It is a matter of serious concern as to why the Income Tax and DRI (Department of Revenue Intelligence), both under Adhia, had to wait for Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi to flee India to initiate any appropriate action. This prima facie is indicative of the criminal nexus between Nirav Modi and Adhia – the only authority in the Finance Ministry who happens to be the epicentre of all these investigative agencies,” Swamy wrote.
The man who had famously played a significant role in exposing the 2G spectrum case a decade ago also referred to an investigative story, published earlier this year, that claimed Adhia had received gold biscuits from Nirav Modi as gift, which he later deposited in the Toshakana as an “afterthought”, but did not take any action against the businessman.
“It is a matter of record that no inquiry or investigation was launched in this matter even though it is evident to all concerned that the sender (allegedly Nirav Modi) had an intent to bribe the Revenue Secretary of India, while he was looting the public exchequer of thousands of crores,” Swamy noted.
Citing “reliable sources”, he went on to state that even now Adhia was in touch with Nirav Modi and was “extending him a protective shield”
Before concluding his letter, Swamy also expressed concern over the fact that although 30 months had passed since searches against Nirav Modi had been conducted, the “income tax investigations have not made any concrete progress”.
As Swamy seeks to initiate prosecution proceedings against Adhia under Section 197 of CrPC and Section 19 Prevention of Corruption Act, it will be interesting to see how, and whether, the Finance Minister responds to the letter.
Adhia, after all, has been no ordinary bureaucrat, being widely deemed as one of the important members of Team Modi. Not long after the BJP came to power at the Centre, the highly reputable IAS officer of 1981 batch from Gujarat cadre was roped in as the Finance Secretary of India. Since then he has been known to be deeply involved in the drafting of the Goods and Services Tax as well as being privy to the demonetisation move. With his retirement due next month, will Adhia get a respectable farewell? Watch this space.
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