One can call the present times in the country as D-day Era for the whistle blowers because instead of government initiating probes against the alleged wrongdoers, those who highlight the wrongdoings are being forced to face the wrath like the present popular case of former Governor of erstwhile State of J&K Satya Pal Malik, who took a bold and unprecedented stance by highlighting rampant corruption at the highest level.
It is pertinent to mention that whistle-blowing is the act of exposing misconduct, illegal activities, or wrongdoing within an organization or government.
Malik, who was the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 23, 2018 to October 30, 2019, had claimed that he was offered a Rs 300-crore bribe for clearing two files, including the one pertaining to the Kiru Hydroelectric Power Project. As far as allegations made by Malik over corruption, a case was registered in context with malpractices in the award of the contract worth approximately Rs 2,200 crore of civil works of the Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project (HEP) to a private company. What could be called an anti-climax in the aforesaid case was the fact that the Central Bureau of Investigations has carried out searches at 30 locations including his house and premises linked to Satya Pal Malik and some other persons in the aforesaid corruption case.
The case seems to be peculiar because the probing agency seems to be more interested in finding faults in the conduct of a former Governor of an erstwhile state of India, who had dared to expose rampant corruption in the system, a situation which can be defined by an adage, “Shooting the Messenger”. Whatever will be the outcome of the probe in the aforesaid case, one thing has been cleared undoubtedly that under present conditions in India, whistleblowers are bound to face difficulties because if the person like a former Governor is passing through tough time for exposing corruption, one can judge well about the fate of a common man in such cases.
One can say that despite the whistleblowers playing a crucial role in exposing corruption and holding public officials and organizations accountable, the challenges they face are extraordinary because retaliation, threats, and legal hurdles can come as a repercussion.
All said and done, the job of rooting out corruption from the society is not an easy one as the scourge of illegal gratification has deep roots and it is difficult to know who might retaliate or confront, when a person with straight talks tries to act as a whistle blower.
