Corruption Scandals

Till July 1993, the Narasimha Rao government ran smoothly though technically it was a minority government. But in July 1993, the opposition decided to test the strength of the government and brought in a no-confidence motion. The government side on its own did not have the numbers to pass the test. When the no-confidence motion was put to vote it was found that some members belonging to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha JMM) and the Janata Dal (Ajit Singh group) had voted against the motion, thus enabling the government to win the vote and remain in power for the full five-year term. It was later alleged that the JMM members had been bribed by Narasimha Rao through a representative.

In 1996, after Rao was no longer prime minister, investigations in the case took place. A special court convicted Rao and his colleague, Buta Singh (who is alleged to have taken the MPs to the prime minister). However, on appeal to a higher court, the decision was overturned, mainly due to the doubt attached to the credibility of Mahato who said he had taken the bribe. Both Rao and Buta Singh were cleared of the charges in 2002.

Rao’s name was also dragged into the Harshad Mehta stock market scam and then in the hawala and Lakhubhai cheating cases. Rao was cleared in both cases.

Rao may not have been convicted in any of the cases, but in the public mind the whiff of corruption never faded.