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Journalism of Courage
One way of assessing the political significance of Lalu Prasad Yadav8217;s acquittal by a CBI court in Patna in a long-running disproportionate assets case is to ask: what if he had been convicted? The union railway minister would have had to most probably resign. The UPA, under some renewed pressure on the 8220;tainted ministers8217;8217; issue because of Shibu Soren8217;s recent conviction and resignation, would have had to perform far more demanding firefighting. More, the Congress would have been terribly hard put to fill up a Lalu-sized hole in the ruling coalition. Lalu may not be Bihar8217;s chief minister any more but he is still the most charismatic mass politician of the Hindi heartland from the doggedly anti-BJP camp; he has proved himself a generally loyal ally to the Congress. On the other side of the political divide, a conviction of Lalu would have roused a sagging BJP8217;s morale, giving it an issue it could ride with far more authority and at far less risk to itself than the ones it is attempting to mount currently 8212; be it the Indo-US nuclear deal
or the prime minister8217;s 8220;appeasement8221; of minorities.
What, if anything, does the legal triumph in Patna bode in terms of the possibility that Lalu Yadav, administrator, would eventually re-make Lalu Yadav, politician? While Lalu Yadav has every reason to celebrate the verdict in Patna, it would be unfortunate indeed if one of India8217;s most exciting political personalities were to read a political alibi into the legal verdict.
