The National Herald controversy in India viewed strictly as a legal tangle is a classic example of using existing laws to allegedly commit fraud.
A case study that should be dissected at Harvard Law School rather than on the streets of Delhi; Subramanian Swamy the main complainant was briefly associated with this venerable institution, but was sacked in 2011.
The Harvard Crimson’s op-ed of December 12, 2011 headlined – So Long Swamy — eloquently provides reasons why this action was deemed necessary and gives us a glimpse of the fatal contradictions of a brilliant mind that has sadly lost its moral anchors.
Indeed the National Herald story says as much of the accuser as the accused and therefore cannot be seen strictly through the legal lens, as it should be.
On the face of it, the accused have a case to answer and if anyone other than Swamy had been the complainant this was a fit case if ever there was one for uncovering fraudulent action in high places.
Imagine the accused was just another influential power broker, would Parliament proceedings then have been disrupted and important bills put on the back burner?
No mention has been made in this column so far of who the accused are to simply reinforce the point that this is no ordinary case and hence difficult for the reader to judge it on its merits.
Just picture in your mind for a few seconds the accused to be ordinary folks and not the lingering remnants of a dynasty that has ruled India for over 60 odd years; the word remnants is not used loosely here, it is deliberate, for what we have now is the leftovers of a legacy that is unparalleled in the recent history of the country: A tattered inheritance, a heritage squandered by shallow minds.
Sonia and Rahul pathetically invoke former prime minister Indira Gandhi — more than Nehru, though the National Herald was founded by him — to tell us that she is made of steel like the Iron Lady and so no push–over.
In a time lapse she wishes us to conjure up the image of an Indira Gandhi sitting on a lowly culvert but with a regal mien of an empress to invite the opposition to do its damnedest against her.
Alas Sonia is no Indira and 1978 is not 2015.
In the National Herald the key questions are: Can a non-profit company — a special purpose vehicle — subvert the purported purpose for which it was formed to commit fraud?
Next why did not this company with an outstanding loan of Rs900 million (Dh50 million) sell off a part of its real estate portfolio valued at over Rs20 billion to settle its debt?
The Congress Party says these assets are not saleable as they are largely leased properties. Then there is the issue of ambiguity in India’s non-profit laws: Consequently the possibility that in the future the shareholders of Young India — the non-profit company that is at the heart of this legal tussle - may change its structure to benefit its shareholders.
If so, the Congress Party says the present legal summons is on its alleged past misdeeds, not what may happen in the future.
Taking refuge in past misdemeanours
Meanwhile, bail has been posted, the accused have left the courthouse, the legal luminaries have gone home to fight another day and the TV cameras have moved on: A long legal battle though is ahead of us and it is entirely possible that this case which has so caught the imagination of the public now may be lost in time; one more in an interminable list of scandals and scams the country has witnessed. Its finance minister is allegedly embroiled in a scam, its foreign minister has a case to answer, but she takes refuge in past misdemeanours of the Congress leaders and the Rajasthan and the Madhya Pradesh chief ministers have a case to answer as well, but merrily chug along in their unwavering belief that public memory is short.
Time enough therefore to ask whether the BJP and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been astute enough in letting Swamy enjoy his 30 seconds of glory to make the mighty Gandhis appear in person in court. Swamy is a sensationalist and a gadfly who can turn on anyone if he feels he has been wronged.
Today it is Sonia, tomorrow it can be Arun Jaitley, another pet hate of Swamy or he may turn on Modi himself who allegedly promised him much, but has yet to deliver whether wholly or even substantially; an abridged quote from Nehru’s famous tryst of destiny speech and being recalled because much of Swamy’s bile is caught up with Nehru and his legacy.
The sacked professor has illusions of grandeur and no one will be spared if he or she comes in his way. In a recent interview his loving wife Roxna Swamy, also a fellow Harvard graduate, makes a very strong case for her husband; she said he is a patriot and a leader fit to be prime minister of India. Fortunately for India a devoted and caring wife does not have the last word on such a portentous decision!
Ravi Menon is a Dubai-based writer working on a series of essays on India and on a public service initiative called India Talks.
