Graft: Is this the way to go?

The Aam Aadmi Party’s leaders, including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy, acted with surprising alacrity in sacking a minister accused of corruption. The axe fell on the minister suddenly, with the CM announcing it on live television. This is a departure from the usual practice in most parties, with the issue dragged out till either the proof is irrefutable, or it just dies down, fading from public attention.

We don’t really know if the minister was indeed guilty of the charges made via taped conversations a whistleblower exposed. What the AAP tried to do is to climb the moral high horse, and swiftly, to show intent. Not having lived up to high expectations on many fronts since it came to power with an unprecedented majority in Delhi, it may be trying to get back to the anti-corruption plank.

Given its inability to appoint a Lok Ayukta yet, Delhi’s AAP government still has to live up to most promises. Having pointed a finger at Gujarat and at the Modi government for not dropping ministers with links to fugitive former cricket administrator Lalit Modi, this is a point the AAP is stressing, in what promises to be a revolutionary approach to bribery allegations. If he’s later found not guilty, the minister could be resurrected. The only problem is: finger-pointing is an endless exercise in Indian life. Where will leaders draw the line on mere allegations?