Vengeance is mine, said the Lord. A new version of the Bible would have added India's chief ministers to the list of those whose prerogative revenge is. From J. Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu to Devi Lal and Bhajan Lal in Haryana and innumerable others, the incumbent out to destroy his successor is familiar, and messy, political theatre. None messier than the current one being played out in Punjab where Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has been gunning for his one-time mentor and predecessor Parkash Singh Badal. The irony doesn't stop there. Badal's name is synonymous with agitational politics because of which he also spent 17 years in prison. Now, his bete noire is out to ensure that Badal remains under a cloud. At the official residence of the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, the Akali veteran shakes with anger and anguish as he comes to terms with the outcome of the series of raids by Punjab's vigilance squad at his private Sector 9 residence in Chandigarh.

The seeds of Amarinder's revenge were sown when Badal denied him an assembly ticket in 1997 on the ground that his role in the Akali agitation had been nil. Now, six years later, the chief minister's campaign against high-level corruption to fix Badal and his family members has hit top gear. Amarinder had made his intention clear during the previous assembly elections when he charged Badal with amassing wealth worth Rs 3,500 crore. He had even released an affidavit signed by a little known US resident Kulbir Singh with pictures of half a dozen properties in New York, including a night club, motel and a parking lot, ostensibly owned by Badal. The former chief minister has retaliated by filing a civil suit seeking Rs 5 crore in damages, and more importantly, a criminal case of defamation and libel. Amarinder is yet to reply to the notice and the case has dragged on at a slow pace so far.

Amarinder knows that his own political survival depends on whether he can prove his charges. Which explains the flurry of raids and fresh accusations of ill-gotten wealth. What favours Amarinder at present is the general perception that the Badal government had indeed seen corruption at its peak.

The case involving disgraced Punjab Public Service Commission chairman Ravi Pal Singh Sidhu-accused of recruiting candidates for monetary gratification-was just one example. But unlike the Sidhu case, where the recovery of huge amounts of cash was enough to justify action against him, Amarinder's actions have a hint of desperation as his vigilance teams scrutinise documents and even measure alterations carried out at Badal's Chandigarh house on which Rs 2 crore was allegedly spent. It is a charge stoutly denied by Badal and his family, who even invited the media to the house to prove their point.

HOME TURF: A raid in progress at Badal's residence in Chandigarh

So far, there has been no breakthrough in proving that the properties in New York are connected to Badal or his kin. In fact, Badal has claimed, "If any of these properties are proved mine, I will quit politics." But Amarinder still insists that money has been siphoned off abroad. "There are a lot of hawala transactions, offshore companies and money laundering. Time is required to establish a foolproof case,'' he says, adding confidently that he will be able to file the challans well before the next elections.

There are other cases, however, where the Government is on a stronger footing against Badal. The arrest of Narottam Singh Dhillon, an nri and a relative of Badal last month, has been a turning point in the ongoing investigations. Dhillon has reportedly come out with some concrete information regarding the Badal family investments. According to the Vigilance Department spokesperson, Dhillon has revealed how the Badal family took unsecured loans from various relatives, all the money actually being Badal's own.

Dhillon's accounts reveal a Rs 1.5 crore transaction conducted in this manner, besides a series of transactions totalling Rs 8 crore over five years during Badal's tenure as chief minister. Dhillon himself is facing tax evasion charges in the US and had never filed any income-tax returns in India, alleges the Vigilance Department.

The department has also found from Badal's Sector 9 address records of seven companies set up by the family. In the case of two companies-Falcon Investments and Integral Deposits-shares worth Rs 50 lakh were found to be bought by close friends and transferred to Badal's son Sukhbir Singh Badal and other family members.

In what it claims as another breakthrough, the department found that K.S. Sidhu, owner of the Wimpy's Group of companies, had invested Rs 9 crore in Orbit Resorts in Gurgaon. While the acquisition of the land itself is controversial, it is a public holding with Sukhbir as its head. This money, alleges Amarinder, shows that money laundering has taken place. Though Vigilance officials refuse to speculate on the Badals' alleged investment in the Rs 300 crore Resorts, they believe it could be more than the Rs 28 crore shown.

Yet another property which Amarinder hopes will nail Badal is his farmhouse at Balasar in Haryana. Badal inherited this land from his mother but the farmhouse came up during his tenure. The chief minister says that Rs 6 crore has been spent on the boundary wall alone.

There is no doubt that Amarinder's single-minded campaign has put Badal on the defensive. Which is why the former chief minister's focus has been on the alleged victimisation rather than on proving the allegations wrong. "This is neither democracy nor politics," says Badal. "Amarinder proceeds on the basis of affidavits and has targeted our ministers and workers," he says.

Amarinder, however, denies that he is only targeting the Akalis. "Of the 241 corruption cases registered, only nine are against the Akali ministers and just one is against Badal," he asserts, citing the case of a minister in his own cabinet. Punjab minister of state for forests Harbans Lal was sacked and an IAS officer Dharamveer placed under suspension in the tree felling scandal in Ropar.

Desperate for some respite, the Akalis first approached Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, who issued a statement against the witchhunt. Subsequently, they have been trying to get Congress President Sonia Gandhi to intervene and rein in her chief minister. They also released big advertisements in newspapers to highlight corruption under Amarinder's rule. So far the strategy has failed.

The worry among the public, meanwhile, is that if taken too far the feud will divide the Sikh bureaucracy and police officers, many of whom owe allegiance to Badal. Observers feel that Amarinder's vengeance has made his ministers and bureaucracy realise that they may end up facing worse humiliation if and when the Akalis return to power. Amarinder remains unfazed: "If they ever come and find something against us, they can proceed against us."

In the ongoing heavyweight battle, the odds are stacked in favour of the chief minister and the official machinery at his command. Badal, however, is a great survivor. If Amarinder fails to deliver the knockout blow, the tide could well turn against him. Either way, it promises to be a bruising battle and neither side will remain unscathed.