K.V. Seetharamaiah
It has been reported that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer for accepting Rs. 5 crore bribe from a businessman Amandeep Singh Dhall, an accused in the Delhi excise policy case. The crux of the matter is that the complaint against the Enforcement Directorate official was filed by the probe agency itself. CBI is an investigating agency and ED is also an investigating agency. Both of them are in place to weed out corruption and criminal activities. Interestingly, an FIR was filed by the CBI at the request of the ED itself against two accused officials Pawan Khatri, an Assistant Director and Nitesh Khohar, an Upper Divisional Clerk. In the instant case one investigating agency official has sought the help of the other to file an FIR against its own officals. While two ED officials fell prey to the temptation of money, the same ED got its officials booked for the offence they committed. Obviously, it is thorn removing thorn. Investigating agencies officers taking bribe, anti-corruption bureau being neck-deep in corruption, judges taking bribe and teachers taking the bribe for giving marks are nothing but “fence eating the crop”. Money has such an attraction which brings about cleavage between husband and wife, parents and children, teachers and students, friends and friends and relatives and relatives. Money cements the relationship just like more often it divides. Money cements the relationship when someone gives money in times of dire need for it by the other. It strains the relationship when someone does not give it in times of need even when asked. T.P. Kailasam was questioned “What is money”? He said “it is matter of money”. Matter of money is matrimony. There is a dialogue in a Kannada film. A person asks another person , “given a choice between money and education, which would you prefer to have?”. The other person says “Money”. “If I am given a choice, I prefer education”, says the first one. The other one says “everyone prefers to have what one does not have”. The message in the film is obvious. The first one prefers to have education because he does not have it. The second one prefers money because he does not have money. The characteristic of the money is that the more one would have it, the more and more one would like to have it. Insatiable desire for more and more money among politicians and bureaucrats sits in driving seat to make as much money as possible by them. Corruption is more a norm than an exception.