Politics: Sonia Gandhi Demonizes Income Tax Notice

Recently Sonia Gandhi stated. “Income tax notice is political witch hunting” about the National Herald controversy. The allegation is about misappropriation of funds. The complaint has been filed by Subramanian Swamy.

Sonia Gandhi has described the Income Tax Notice as a “political witch hunt” and as “political vindictiveness”. This really makes me wonder about two things:

1. If an Income Tax Notice to one set of citizens is “witch hunt” and “vindictiveness” should every citizen view Income Tax Notices in the same light, i.e. as an intrument of vendetta?

Politicans are as much governed by national laws, requirements, rights and duties as any other person of the country. The effort of the Constitution was to make every citizen equal irrespective of age, gender, geographical location in the country, caste, religion, class, race, social status or job. Anyone who saw the excellent show Samvidhan (which was telecast on Rajya Sabha TV) on the making of the Indian Constitution would have an appreciation of the effort that went into creating an equal State for all citizens. The Constitution mooted the “one Person = One Vote” which was a great equalizer. This was at a time when women in the United States of America were still struggling for the Right to Vote. (It was only in 1984 that women all over the US were finally granted this right. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_States#Nineteenth_Amendment.) In United Kingdom it took 110 years for women to receive this right on the same terms as men (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_Kingdom).

Call it idealistic or naive but I do have a faith in the Constitution and trust that the Independent Republic of  India offers equality to all.

Given that, if one person (Sonia Gandhi) or an organisation (Youth India Company, the firm that took over Associated Journals Ltd. Which published National Herald) feels victimised by an Income Tax Notice, is that what these Notices should be viewed as? After all in a state of equality what is good for the goose is good for the gander. So if an individual is served an Income Tax Notice can they claim social, race, gender, caste, religion-based or class vendetta? That would mean every person and organisation can do pretty much what they please and not be answerable. On the other hand, if a person is served an Income Tax Notice and has maintained their records properly and paid taxes correctly whould they have any hesitation in sharing the same?

By labelling the Income Tax Notice “political witch-hunt” and “political vendetta” Sonia Gandhi has questioned the sanctity and independent functioning of an agency that pretty much rules the lives of common citizens of the country.

Sonia Gandhi’s description of a notice from this department nullifies one of the most major forces of discipline in the country and raises the question whether Income Tax Notices should be viewed as investigative documents seeking information or as persecuting judgements sentencing the receiver?  

2. Are government agencies mere political (and/or personal) weapons used for hounding political counterparts?

Pop psychology claims that reactions and responses are usually (if not always) a reflection of the person reacting or responding rather than a commentary on an action or the person who has acted. In simplistic terms, if person A calls Person B an idiot and person B is hurt or shaken by it; it means that person B feels s/he is an idiot. Another example: if person A is criticising person C to person B and person B believes that the criticism is stemming from jealousy (rather than judge the criticism on stand-alone merit), it is likely that person B is the one who has the attribute of jealousy rather than person A.

If there is any truth in the pop psychology, Sonia Gandhi believing that the Income Tax department is a political weapon raises questions on what does / did she (and thereby her Party, Indian National Congress) view government agencies as?

In her speech about the Janlokpal Bill in August 2011, Sushma Swaraj had talked about the misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) (Sushma Swaraj’s speech @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afsIMlDuRWE. The CBI point is around 36:05 and continues from 00:00 @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8f38XuG2Gw. For those who have the patience to read through, here is the transcript of her main points about the Bureau:

“Saare vipaksh ke netao ko dekh leejiye udhar (pointing to the Congress side of the Parliament) dekh leejiye; saare vipaksh ke neta kahin na kahin CBI ke shikanje mein phasaye jaa chuke hain...saara bhrashtrachar vipakh mein ho raha haiaur saare ke saare doodh ke dhule hue baithe hain (again pointing to the Congress presence in the opposite side of the House). Aur adhyakshji, ek taaza udaharan toh itna bhayanak; Jagan Mohan Reddy ka. Kal tak Congress ke saansad the; unke pita YSR Reddy Andhra Pradesh ke Congress ke mukhya mantra the; Congress netritva ke bahut chahite mukya manti the, nazdeek the, sabse pyaare the; lekin jaise hi Congress chodi -- le CBI ki raid aur le CBI ka case! Main poochna chahti hoon (interrupted by Congress)... (continuing after a pause) Adhyakshji marne ke baad bhi nahin choda. Jeete jee (uproar from Congress)  

(Sushma Swaraj continuing) “Adhyakshji jeete jee sambandh itne achche aur marne ke baad abyukt bana diya...marne ke baad; accused ke column mein daal diya. Main keval ek baat poochna chahti hoon: Yeh Congress kaunsi pavitra Ganga hai jisme jab tak dubki lagate raho tab tak saaf sutre aur doodh ke dhoole aur bahar nikle nahin ke bhrashtrachar ke putle.

“Log kehte hain ki Congress Bureau of Investigation hain...main keheti hoon CBI Congress Bureau of Investigation nahin, CBI Congress Bachao Institution hain.”)

Around the end of March in 2013, Baba Ramdev had labelled CBI as Congress Bachao Institution as an endorsement of what Swaraj had already said in 2011. Even discounting these statements and that of the Opposition and of an anti-Congress individual, no one can ignore the view of a court, the Supreme Court, no less. Around May 8^th 2013, the country was shamed by Supreme Court’s description of the Central Bureau of Investigation a "caged parrot speaking in its master's voice". This was the apex court of the country describing the most important investigative body of the nation.

If the accusation of a stalwart like Sushma Swaraj and the observation of the highest Court in the country are given credence, pop psychology seems to have nailed it on the head: reactions and response to an action indeed reflects the person reacting, not the action!

As an Indian citizen as equal as any other person of the country in the eyes of law and the Constitution, instead of politicizing the Income Tax Notice that she has received, Sonia Gandhi should produce the relevant records and receipts to prove that she is a law-abiding member of the nation.

Photo: By World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons