Meenakshi Lekhi clarifies on ACB's purported Ajit Pawar 'clean chit', media accountability

BJP MP, Meenakshi Lekhi while speaking at the ‘Republic Summit 2019’ asserted that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) did not give a clean chit to Ajit Pawar. She stressed that media needs to be accountable as Ajit Pawar was not named in a few FIRs but there are many pending cases against him. Speaking about ‘Safeguarding India’s Institution’, Meenakshi Lekhi also said that media should not engage in misreading and penalising people. 

Meenakshi Lekhi on Ajit Pawar's charges 

Talking about ACB’s clearance on a few FIRs for Ajit Pawar, Meenakshi Lekhi said, “The role of media comes in here, ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau) has not given a clean chit to Mr. Ajit Pawar, all ACB has said that he has some eight to nine FIRs being investigated in which Mr. Ajit Pawar was not named but several thousand other cases are pending. There are pending investigations so the agencies will have to take their own call, who I am I to tell what to do, when to do, and how to do?”

Furthermore, Meenakshi Lekhi said, “They have their own system and it's not for me to use the agencies one way or the other, they have to act. And we need to say that agencies need to be kept away or let's say insulated from political interference, I think that the first thing is that we give them the confidence that no matter how powerful the politician is if you have to investigate, you should continue to do so.”

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“It cannot be stature, status, or any of those things that the politician has when the investigation comes into play. They can investigate anyone, and we should welcome that, and I think media somewhere needs to. And I am sure Mr. Khurshid has also been a victim of this kind of misreading because I have been a victim at times, and I have said something, and it has been portrayed as something else. So, somewhere the media also needs to accountable. If ACB has said that investigations are pending and for time being, you are allowed to go that does not mean that a clean chit has been given,” she added. 

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SC away from political discourse 

Meenakshi Lekhi also commented on whether the Supreme Court should be kept away from political discourse and said that "As a politician involving the Supreme Court for your own demeanour, for saying what you want to say and involving other institutions is bringing the dignity of the institution down." Lekhi further added, "Any person trained at law would never do that and anyone who has the right advice would not do that." 

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