Priced in and out of the marketplace of politics

The stand taken by the Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth at the National Assembly on Tuesday when he replied to the last supplementary question to the Private Notice Question (PNQ)  of the Leader of the Opposition Mr. Paul Bérenger clearly indicated that Mr. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo would not be arrested in the days to come.  Those who had thought that the former Minister of Finance and Economic Development and current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade Mr. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo would be arrested by the Police on Wednesday and that a ‘provisional charge” would be entered against him were utterly wrong. First, it is obvious that the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) has not completed its enquiry and that in these circumstances the Police will not proceed with the arrest of Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo. The fact that Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo will again report to ICAC most probably on Friday is yet another indication that the enquiry has not been completed. Second, when the enquiry would have been completed and submitted to the Commissioner of Police Mr. Mario Nobin for action at his end, there would still be no arrest, entering of provisional charge and release on bail. Why? For the simple reason that the Prime Minister has given some advice or instructions to the Commissioner of Police on how to proceed. . The reply given by the Prime Minister to the Leader of the Opposition is indeed revealing. “(…)I asked the Commissioner of Police not to take upon himself a decision to bring anyone of them before the Court of law and have a provisional. I asked him to have the enquiry completed, not to take decision by him, but refer it to the DPP. Let the DPP decide whether there is a case and, if there is a case, under what section of the law and what offence (…)”, stated the Prime Minister. He was referring to former Environment Minister Mr. Raj Dayal and Foreign Affairs Minister Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo. In other words, the Prime Minister has decided selectively to do away with “provisional charges”, at least in the case of Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo. He has very cleverly turned things against the Opposition. “(…)The Members of the Opposition have been campaigning outside that the Police is doing injustice by simply on an accusation, on allegation, arresting people, bringing provisional and bailout. They consider it most improper and unjust (…)”, said Sir Anerood Jugnauth. The Prime Minister incidentally forgot to mention Police brutality, although this probably concerns only the downtrodden, the have-nots and the paupers.

"Have you noticed one common factor, from Dayal’s bags of colours to Vishnu’s Euro Loan, from Rakesh Gooljaury’s changing sides to the Panama Papers, from Mr Xavier-Luc Duval’s suggestions on financing of political parties to the uproar that the PRB Report has stirred? Money! Yes !You are right. Sabse Bada Rupaiya!"

So, in clear, pending the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), there will be no arrest, no detention, no need for bail out and so on in the case of Mr. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo. In other words, he will function normally as Minister. Otherwise he would have had to step down which would have entailed a series of political implications, including the possibility of a by-election in constituency number 7 (Piton and Rivière du Rempart). For those who have doubts on why there seems to be double standards regarding Mr.Dayal and Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo, the Prime Minister has an interesting explanation. “(…) But why did I ask hon. Dayal to step down? I am sorry, I am not trying to cause any prejudice, but insofar as I am concerned, as a Barrister, having read the transcript of the registration, I have come to the conclusion that if this is admissible in Court, then there is strong evidence against the suspect. That is why, in his case, I asked him to step down (..)”. Poor. Dayal, it seems that he has already been tried and convicted, at least politically. With regards to his stand on the case of Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo, the Prime Minister had this to say: “(…) But, in the case of hon. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, there are legal implications. I did not want, at this stage, to ask him to step down. I am waiting for the inquiry. Let the matter be sent to the DPP. Let the DPP decide, if there is a case. In that case, I will certainly ask the Minister to step down. So, this is my stand. This is how I look at things (…)”. That the Prime Minister is a barrister and that he has served as magistrate in the past is a known fact. Also, this could have well influenced his decisions in both cases. But it would not be totally incorrect to say that that there must have been political considerations in the course of actions. Mr. Dayal is unfortunately a good riddance for the MSM. The former Police Commissioner has a strong and imposing personality and he communicates well. This could have given him some excessive ambitions, to the detriment of the scion of the Jugnauth family.

Nothing to trade off

More importantly, Mr. Dayal had nothing to trade off, unlike Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo, who in any case is more experienced in politics. Otherwise, how do you explain the various contradictory positions taken by the Prime Minister on the case of Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo?. First he took away the portfolio of Minister of Finance from him and sent him to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then, he publicly announced on Wednesday 30 March last in Mapou that “unfortunately after all that has happened, we can no longer rely on Vishnu. We will have to handle things by ourselves”. The Prime Minister even recalled that in the past his former Minister of Finance was nicknamed “rasoir” (razor) by opponents but that in spite of that he continued to trust him. He also went to reveal that he and his former Minister of Finance were not on the same wavelength on at least one issue: the Heritage City Project. When the affidavit sworn by Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo was made public, the Prime Minister’s Office denied part of it. The Prime Minister denied having been appraised of the Euro Loan and that he had expressed satisfaction. For some political observers, this official denial was tantamount to a distancing between the two politicians. But what could have made the Prime Minister change his mind? He has not only saved Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo from being arrested by the Police, until and unless the DPP decides otherwise but he has gone to the extent of applauding his Minister of Foreign Affairs when the latter intervened at the National Assembly on the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Bill on Tuesday. Why would the Prime Minister suddenly decide to place his trust in ICAC which he had accused of “pé fané” (doing wrong) in a not so distant past and in the DPP? Suddenly the “constitutional monster” has become a person on whose advice the Commissioner of Police must act? From now on, will the Commissioner of Police seek the advice of the DPP on all cases before proceeding with the arrest of the person? Has the Prime Minister taken the first step in doing away with the practice of “provisional charge”and make the wish of Me. Satyajit Boolell come true? “As we embark on Year 2016, I hope for the best that all stakeholders find a meaningful solution to replace the existing practice relating to the provisional charge”, had written the DPP. On Wednesday, Lutchmeenaraidoo has again blasted his colleague, the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms Mr. Roshi Bhadain of wanting to finish him off politically. How long will these two ministers cohabitate in the same government? Meanwhile, several other “cases” have propped up, namely that of the free lease of 46 hectares fish pond to the husband of Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) Mrs Sandhya Boygah, Yashodar Boygah (the Minister of Ocean Economy Mr. Prem Koonjoo hails from the same constituency as Mrs Boygah), the fatal road accident at Bois Marchand in which PPS Mr. Thierry Henry is allegedly involved and the case of alleged corruption against an adviser of Sports Minister Mr. Yogida Sawminaden revealed by an entrepreneur who happens to be an MSM agent. The fact that Me. Kailash Trilochun, who happens to be the cousin/brother-in-law of the Minister of Public Infrastructure Mr.Nando Bodha has been handsomely paid (very much legally) by the Information and Communications Technologies Authority (ICTA) has also become the talk of the town. Have you noticed one common factor, from Dayal’s bags of colours to Vishnu’s Euro Loan, from Rakesh Gooljaury’s changing sides to the Panama Papers, from Mr Xavier-Luc Duval’s suggestions on financing of political parties to the uproar that the PRB Report has stirred? Money! Yes !You are right. Sabse Bada Rupaiya!