The raids on the offices and residences of India’s second richest politician D.K. Shiva Kumar reveal plenty about the Congress and the BJP, the independence of the CBI and Enforcement Directorate, and the use and abuse of money power in electoral politics.
Not to mention the brazen methods that the Narendra Modi–Amit Shah combine have begun to adopt to fulfil their fantasy of a Congress-mukt Bharat, to the wild applause of those who were only recently crowing about ‘a party with a difference”.
But the reporting of the ill-timed raids, even if legitimate, against the backdrop of the Rajya Sabha elections, reveal plenty about the media and how it is being used to “string along” (in Barkha Dutt‘s famous words) to shape perceptions.
Below is the quantum of money seized during the raids yesterday, according to today’s papers. Take your pick.
The Times of India: Rs 10 crore (Rs 8 crore in Delhi)
Deccan Herald: Rs 9 crore
The Hindu: Rs 10 crore (Rs 8 crore in Delhi)
New Indian Express: Between Rs 7.5 crore and Rs 11 crore
The Indian Express: Rs 10 crore
The Tribune: Rs 7.9 crore in Delhi, Rs 2.23 elsewhere
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Vijaya Karnataka: Rs 20 crore (Rs 7.5 crore n Delhi)
Vijaya Vani: Rs 2.5 crore in Bangalore, Rs 6.6 crore in Delhi
Praja Vani: Rs 10 crore (Rs 7.5 crore in Delhi)
Kannada Prabha: Rs 7.5 crore in Bangalore
Udayavani: Rs 0 crore (online) to Rs 10 crore
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Times Now: Rs 5 crore in Delhi
NDTV: Rs 7.5 crore in Delhi
Meanwhile, a Congress “spokesman” has claimed on his Facebook page today that Rs 40 lakh was all that was recovered.
Photograph: courtesy The New Indian Express
Screenshot: courtesy Brijesh Kalappa/ Facebook
Whether the money he has accumulated is 40 lakhs or 20 crores, it is obviously illegal, ill gotten and illegitimate. If one looks at the posh residence that he is standing in front of, it is obvious that he is not as innocent as Churmuri tries to make out. He richly deserves whatever punishment that he gats.
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