After the arrest of Trinamul Congress Minister Mr. Madan Mitra the net seems to be inexorably closing in on Miss Mamata Banerjee for alleged involvement in the Saradha chit fund scam. The CPI-M leaders say she should resign. Her critics say she is guilty. Miss Banerjee says that the government is misusing the CBI to pursue a vendetta. They could all be speaking the truth. Since democracy means the rule of law and the law is being upheld these developments signify good governance, right? Wrong! What is being witnessed today is a grotesque perversion of democracy. Opposition leaders and media hacks are all baying for Miss Banerjee’s blood. That is fine. What is not fine and is horribly wrong is their deafening silence over the status of BJP President Mr. Amit Shah who is busy garnering votes for his party in all state elections.

Mr. Amit Shah seems to be on a permanent bail that allows him to pursue all activities like a free man. He was imprisoned for a while before receiving bail. He is facing court charges in three murder cases. Over half a dozen police officers also facing charges in the same cases have been languishing in jail for over seven years. Mr. Shah was the Minister of State Home Affairs overlooking the performance of these officers during the relevant period when the alleged fake encounters involving murders occurred. The police encounters were judged fake by Gujarat officials and probed by the CBI subsequently.

In the short span of a few months when the fake encounters took place Mr. Shah as Minister made 331 telephone calls to the officers who are charged with murder and in jail. The record of those phone calls was deliberately erased by a police officer in Gujarat. A court found that police officer guilty of destroying evidence and punished him. After Mr. Shah himself was released from prison he has continued to get extended bail and absence from appearance in court. One Judge insisted on his appearance in court. That Judge was promptly transferred.

The charges against Mr. Shah are not related to mere corruption, chit fund scams or involvement in deals with the Sahara accused Mr. Subrata Roy as TMC leaders allege. Mr. Shah as Minister of State Home Affairs is charged in murder cases. When he held office his boss was Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi who was also Home Minister. Both Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah are famed for efficiency. Yet they were unaware of what officers serving directly under them were doing? And if they were aware does that not make them guilty and abettors of the crimes for which the officers are in jail?

Not one opposition party, not one media outlet, raises a whimper about this issue. They are all busy lambasting only Miss Mamata Banerjee or Miss Jayalalithaa. They dare not utter a word against the President of the ruling party despite the overwhelming circumstantial evidence against him. Is this democracy?