Is there more than meets the eye in the case of the government’s decision to review Ms Mayawati’s plea that her disproportionate assets case be looked into afresh? The attorney general has told the court the government will consider her plea. The timing of the case is suspect since the government needs to ensure it has all necessary support during the cut motions in the Budget — Ms Mayawati, news reports are saying, has decided that her party will abstain from the cut motions.
If there is indeed a deal, this is very serious and is far worse than the match and bid-rigging that former IPL chief Lalit Modi has been accused of. What is alarming is that it was just a little while ago that the government was certain it had enough on her to want to prosecute her. Even more alarming is that the BJP is so caught up with IPL that it has not thought it fit to take up this issue.
Arvind Mehta, New Delhi
