Death and taxes are the two certitudes of life and there is no escaping them. Arvind Kejriwal, the RTI activist and anti-corruption crusader, has found out the bitter truth about the latter. Tax authorities have sent him a notice for payment of `9 lakhs. Turns out that he did not fulfil certain conditions when he left his job — he was with the Revenue service, ironically — and now they are claiming back salary. Plus interest, of course. And there is the small matter of a computer loan that he had taken which has to be repayed, with interest, naturally.
Consider poor Kejriwal’s plight. Here he was, fighting for important causes and sending shivers down the spine of the government. He had to worry about meetings, press conferences, interviews and, most of all, Anna Hazare’s health. The entire burden of the anti-corruption campaign was on him; the others were busy performing on stage. And then this notice lands, that too from a department that would be on top of the list of any anti-corruption crusade. Is this a case of the government striking back? It’s simply not fair, not to say suspicious, as far as its timing is concerned.
Kejriwal says he will fight back because he has done nothing wrong. Given what we have seen lately, we would advise the tax authorities to be very afraid.