Two wrongs do not make a right

Nitin Gadkari’s unilateral exoneration of BS Yeddyurappa prejudices a judicial inquiry the scam-tainted CM has himself instituted into cases of land allotment in Karnataka.

Nitin Gadkari’s unilateral exoneration of BS Yeddyurappa prejudices a judicial inquiry the scam-tainted CM has himself instituted into cases of land allotment in Karnataka.

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It’s a blow also to the combined Opposition’s campaign for a JPC into the telecom scam. Gadkari’s logic — that land allotment to Yeddyurappa’s kin was “not illegal but immoral” — does not wash. Probity in public life is judged by moral standards. It brooks no conflict of interest. By recalling past allocations by CMs from other parties, the BJP chief comes across as arguing that two wrongs make a right.

But in politics, one doesn't just have to be fair; one must also come across as being fair. Gadkari’s certificate to Yeddyurappa fails him on both counts. That too at a time a beleaguered Congress high command is struggling to smother public outrage over a plethora of scams by asking its chief ministers to make governance transparent and give up discretionary powers — including those to allocate land.