Burnt by a CD

For a politician, nothing could be more damaging than a scandal that smacks of sex and sleaze. banishment from the corridors of power is instant and, in most cases, permanent, writes Anil Pandey

 

A humble compact disc, when it goes viral, can do immeasurable harm. Ask Congressman Abhishek Manu Singhvi. He has discovered the bitter truth yet again to his consternation.

 

Technology has a way of hoodwinking even the high and mighty. The high court instructed the electronic media not to telecast the contents of the CD allegedly featuring Singhvi, yet the video went viral on the social media. The tape was allegedly recorded two years ago and was leaked recently by Singhvi's driver.

 

Singhvi has since opted for self-imposed political exile. In his words, he wants to save his party the blushes. Only time will tell whether the tape was original or doctored, but there is no doubt that it has dealt a big blow to Singhvi's political career.

 

The CD might eventually fade from public memory, but will the lawyer-politician ever be able to live down the damage that it has done to his image?

 

Precedents suggest that the process of recovery, if at all it happens, would take some doing. As it did in the case of senior BJP leader Sanjay Joshi. He had a firm hold on the party organisation until a sex video allegedly featuring him surfaced in the public domain. The police eventually gave the Madhya Pradesh politician a clean chit, saying that a forensic test had conclusively shown that the CD had been “manipulated”.

 

Joshi was brought back into the BJP organisation and given the responsibility of spearheading the party's campaign in the UP Assembly elections. However, he is still far from achieving the kind of political stature that he enjoyed before the scandal upset his once-cruising applecart.

 

Says senior Bhopal-based journalist Shiv Anurag Pateria: “Once a political leader's image takes a knock, it is almost 

impossible for him to claw his way back to the highest echelons of the party. He might return to the party fold, but the scars never go away.”

 

ND Tiwari had to resign as Andhra governor in 2009 when a tape came to light showing him with a masseur. In the Bhanwari Devi-Maderna case, matters were made worse by the fact that it wasn't just about sleaze and sex. It culminated in murder most foul. The sex tape and Bhanwari Devi's murder sparked a hue and cry in the corridors of power in Rajasthan. So much so that a state minister, Mahipal Maderna, and an MLA, Malkhan Singh, are now behind bars. Their political careers are as good as over.

 

According to the CBI chargesheet, Bhanwari Devi, a nurse from Borunda village, came in touch with Maderna through Malkhan. Her proximity with the politicians made her so ambitious that in 2008 she demanded a Congress ticket but was denied one.

 

After winning the Assembly elections, Maderna became a minister. But Malkhan was denied a ministerial berth despite being the sole representative of the Bishnoi community. This created a rift between Malkhan and Maderna. Malkhan's sister, Indra, got into the act and allegedly asked Bhanwari to secretly shoot a video with Maderna and another woman named Gudiya.

 

However, Bhanwari had other plans. She decided to make her own sex video with Maderna. She hid the 49-minute video in a closet in her house. She did not stop at that. Bhanwari went on to shoot a sex video with Malkhan too. Armed with the tape, she started blackmailing Malkhan. In exasperation the latter once again turned to his sister and asked her to help him get Bhanwari off his back.

 

Maderna and Mahipal knew that they would lose everything if the sex tapes were made public. Indra and Malkhan's confidant, Sohanlal, were given the task of salvaging the situation. The duo somehow managed to spirit away the CD from Bhanwari's house.

 

The story took another turn when Indra sought to blackmail Maderna. While all this was going on in a hush-hush manner, a local television channel broke the news about the sex tape on July 23, 2011. The two politicians panicked and threw caution to the wind. They first tried to woo Bhanwari. But when she did not give in, they threatened her with dire consequences. Bhanwari stood her ground.

 

Maderna and Malkhan finally asked some middlemen to fix Bhanwari. They were told that she was asking for Rs 1 crore. Finally on September 1, 2011, Bhanwari was kidnapped and killed.

 

Nobody knows about Indra's whereabouts. The political storm in Rajasthan is far from over. It seems highly unlikely that Maderna and Malkhan will ever be able to regain their political status. However, Maderna's daughter, Divya Maderna, a member of the Jodhpur Zila Parishad and chairperson of The Rajasthan State Cooperative Bank, is trying to cash in on her dad's
political legacy.

 

Sanjay Bafna, national general secretary of the Congress, says, “Maderna did not think about his own image nor about the party's reputation. As far as Singhvi's case is concerned, I will not comment as the matter is
still subjudice.”

 

The Singhvi issue has triggered a debate on how far the media should go in probing a public figure's personal activities. Raghavendra Kumar, senior advocate of the Jabalpur high court, says, “The law cannot interfere in such personal issues until and unless one of the two parties lodges a complaint with the police. These issues should be regarded as personal. However, the person who is involved in recording the intimate moments should be tried under the law of the land.”

 

Many would tend to disagree with the senior lawyer. It can be an unending debate especially when the politicians involved in such tapes promise something in return for the “personal favour”.

 

Opinions may vary on the matter. However, one cannot contradict the fact that whoever has been involved 

or alleged to have been involved in such sex tapes has never regained his lost political throne. 

 

Inputs from Yogesh Bhawra (Jaipur) and Raju Kumar (Bhopal)