Bangaru - The punching bag

I really pity Bangaru Laxman. Time and again, this fellow has been used as a punching bag by all and sundry in Indian politics. His crime was accepting a measly rupees one lakh, most probably for party fund. At least, at the time of accepting the cash, I think he believed he was being offered cash for party fund.  And everyone knows that all political parties accept ‘party funds’ from anyone, in any form, and at any time. And much, much larger sums than one lakh. The sting operator from Tehelka, who filmed the entire transaction clandestinely, had definitely used the phrase ‘party fund’, and then under his breath, he mumbled ‘New year party fund’ meaning to sound like he was offering cash for the ‘New year party’, meaning for the use for personal pleasure, meaning a bribe. Now, if it was a ‘Party fund’ cash, as I am sure Laxman understood it to be, it would not have amounted to bribe, and would have simply been liable to be penal taxed if not declared in the next year’s party’s IT returns. So, Tehelka guys simply stuck to their claim that Bangaru Laxman accepted ‘New year party fund’ from them, and hence it was a bribe. However, as far as the matter meant for Laxman, he was simply doing his job as a party president by accepting funds for the use by the party. I strongly believe that he had never intended to use it for personal use. He never realized he was being offered ‘New year party’ fund; he simply thought it was ‘party fund’ as in ‘Bhartiya Janta Party’ fund.  Immediately after the incident, no one cared to listen to this poor man; he was unceremoniously removed from the party president’s post and has virtually gone into a political oblivion since then, not to talk about the blitzkrieg by the opposing congress and other parties, as if no one ever received party fund in unaccounted cash in their lives! Now eleven years later, as the court pronounced its verdict, the punching bag is being revived once again. The congress is using it to counter BJP’s cornering them on Bofors issue and BJP is once again playing holier than thou by distancing itself from the poor man, saying that they had expelled him from the post and sent him into political wilderness long ago. So, in a country where scams worth thousands of crores are getting unearthed every day, an old man is being humiliated repeatedly for accepting Rs one lakh as party fund.  As it is said, everyone is a thief but only the one that gets caught is the one that gets crucified.