It’s a small wonder that the Income Tax Department of India, Directorate of Enforcement, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and other agencies armed with draconian powers of search, arrest and confiscation have thus far left the VVIPs (Very Very Important Person) of India alone, except in cases where there was an obvious political motive, such as those involving Bihar's former chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and Uttar Pradesh's chief minister Mayawati. Still, even the Central Bureau of Investigation keeps changing its stance on the two, depending—it is said—on the signals they receive from the all-powerful Sonia Gandhi, acting through trusted officials and politicians close to her.