PIL, Politics and Corporate: TMC victim, or scapegoat?

Suvendhu Adhikary, Leader of the Opposition has said that Prasant Kishor founded I-Pac is illegally being provided with a tender of 152 crores.

Indian Political Action Committee or I-PAC was aligned to strategize 2021 Bidhan Sabha Elections for Trinamool Congress and functions with set flows and procedures by their client, just like any company. But is this trend of aligning tenders to politically-aligned companies new, or does TMC get the first prize?

Political Opposition and their claims and stances often tend to change when they are in power. In the Centre, BJP-Reliance bias is not unknown to the populace. The latest Hindenberg Report and the scandal cannot be easily dismissed. "Refining giant Reliance has acquired two battery companies for about $200 million - UK-based Faradion, which makes sodium-ion batteries, and Lithium Werks, which manufactures lithium iron phosphate batteries." writes Reuters about their recent tender.

While the Competition Corporation of India and the Competiton Act looks and acts very sternly against such political monopoly, there is significant silence on their behalf, may be due to the element of "public interest". No action is yet taken, legally, against IPAC or Reliance, so to speak.

It may be due to the aim of survival, or for the intent of political reform amidst the National Herald case and CBI v. TMC corruption upheaval, that Suvendu Adhikary, an Erstwhile TMC leader wants to bring up an RTI -"I have been continuously stressing that a section of the Block Development Officers (BDO) have been acting in a biased way with malicious intent in order to help the TMC candidates win the Panchayat Elections unfairly."

https://twitter.com/SuvenduWB/status/1684903324594933761

A RTI is a Legislation on the basis of Right to information act, 2005 whereas PIL, or a Public Interest Litigation is litigation undertaken to secure public interest and demonstrates the availability of justice to socially disadvantaged parties. In an Indian Perspective, under article 226 of the constitution under a High Court and with article 32 under the Supreme Court of India PILs can be filled. It allows people who are not directly involved in a case to bring matters to court. Activists and Social Agitators, who are responsible for change and reform often use Pil as their weapon of choice to build a social impact, along with RTIs and hstorically, Law-disobedience movements.

While Subhendu's BJP WB fights on for such issues, on the same day, SC agrees to hear PIL seeking directions to states to check incidents of lynching and mob violence against Muslims.

To conclude, here is a famous bengali quote-

'রাজায় রাজায় যুদ্ধ হয়, উলুখাগড়ার প্রাণ যায়' "

"Kings fight among themselves, but innocent grasses and reeds have to die (under their feet)"

-- Shoronarthir Dinolipi: The diary of a 1971 refugee.