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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Rise India, rise against Corruption

It looks like the entire world is under winds of change. The United States, modern world’s unchallenged superpower, was first thrashed by the economic downturn of 2008 and then lost her prestigious global credit rating of AAA to AA+ triggering fresh shock waves in the world economies. The scenario is more than matched by India through rising inflation, rampant corruption, inefficient administration, terrorism and Maoist insurgency pushing people’s patience to the limit. Thanks to inroads made by the telecom technology into routine life, general awareness and aspirations of people all over the world have also expanded exponentially. People are now asserting more vigorously to make governments responsive and people friendly almost in all developing countries. The uprisings raging through the countries of North Africa and West Asia with angry masses determined to topple corrupt and callous regimes hold enough warning and lessons for us in India.

Ironically, India’s healthy growth story in the private sector is sharply contrasted by falling standards of probity and accountability in governance. In ‘Corruption Perception Index 2011’ compiled by Transparency International India scored a poor 2.7 out of 10, a grade worse than countries like Honduras, Zimbabwe and Venezuela and a continuing slide from 3.3 scored in the previous year. India not only tops the list of nations having tons of black money stashed in Swiss banks but its cache of black money there ($ 1546 bn) is far more than the combined total of next four countries in the list of black money deposits namely, Russia, UK, Ukraine and China ($ 1056 bn) as reported in Times of India (Ahmedabad), dated 8th June 2011.

Moral Decline in Politics
Mahatma Gandhi wrote in Young India in 1928,
Corruption will be out one day, however much one may try to conceal it; and the public can, as its right and duty, in every case of justifiable suspicion, call its servants to strict account, dismiss them, sue them in a law court or appoint an arbitrator or inspector to scrutinise their conduct, as it likes.
Do we have leaders who would think like this today? Of late there has been a qualitative decline in our political discourse and debate in and outside the Parliament. Whenever cornered in the face of logic and fair argument, politicians lack the capacity to absorb criticism and accept a point; and what is worse, they do not hesitate in turning abusive and raking up details from the irrelevant past in a no-holds-barred mudslinging match. The virtue of magnanimity and tolerance has disappeared from the Indian political scene. There is an increasing breed of leaders today whom people know more for abusive language and naked arrogance rather than their contribution to public good in any sector. They are like the mischievous hockey coach who taught his players, “hit the opponent if you can’t reach the ball.”
The first batch of Indian parliamentarians considered Lok Sabha subordinate to the People of India, for, it was ‘WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved ….. and do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.” The Constitution of India subordinates the Government (the Executive) to the Parliament which in turn is and will always remain subordinate to the PEOPLE of India on whose mandate it runs the affairs of the state. It is the people’s aspirations that must be respected by their representatives – the MPs– while enacting laws in the Parliament. But having tasted blood in an increasingly corrupt environment where election to the Parliament too can also be traded for cash, it is simply logical for the politicians to behave in such irresponsible and arrogant manner because they ‘paid’ for getting elected and people have no right to demand more from them! This drift in public morality has added to the malaise too.

It is insulting for every proud Indian that as many as nearly a third of our Parliament (Lok Sabha) – 162 plus latter additions like Kalamadi, A Raja, Kanimozhi and more in the pipeline – are facing criminal charges (ranging from trespassing to murder). This is more than 27% increase over the previous Lok Sabha’s record. Also, there are 9 ministers in the central cabinet facing criminal charges including one for ‘theft’. As per National Election Watch, 76 MPs are involved in serious criminal cases. We are inching forward to a situation when criminals will have the majority and form a Government of their choice too! In times of coalition governments, if Madhu Koda – a lone independent MLA then – could become Chief Minister of Jharkhand, he, now a sitting MP who regularly attends the Lok Sabha session from Tihar jail, could well become India’s Prime Minister too. Why should they vote for a strong, independent and effective Lokpal bill?

Dangerous Forebodings

The countenances our leaders put on while answering questions on TV channels betray their smug attitude and insincerity towards issues vital to the nation. There is an obvious disconnect between the people and the government, and the drift is taking them far apart. It is a dangerous trend and calls for immediate change in the way our political masters think. Today, the Home Minister, P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal are redefining ‘Democracy’ calling Anna Hazare’s peaceful protest fast ‘undemocratic’. The Constitution, on the contrary, bestows upon every citizen a fundamental right “to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association or union, movement….” The Government attitude to Anna Hazare’s peaceful protest fast-cum-rally is an ominously very similar to how Hosni Mobarak’s had chosen to deal with the Egyptian people protesting peacefully in Tehrir Square of Cairo in January this year.

Police brutalities range from uncalled for lathi charge on the sleepy crowds of women and children at Ramlila Maidan to trigger happy cops shooting and killing the unarmed and innocent kissans protesting peacefully against injustice as seen in Bhatta Pasraul in UP and Pune-Mumbai Expressway in Maharashtra. These incidents have grim resemblance to what Gaddafi’s forces did in Tripoli when people rallied there for peaceful demonstration against a highly corrupt and callous regime. Activists and journalists who gave voice to public disgust and suffering were hounded and either killed or put in jails forcing the public to take to arms and turning it into a bloody civil war.

In sharp contrast to Anna Hazare’s peaceful pleadings spurned and ridiculed by the senior Congress functionaries including cabinet ministers, there exists a plethora of evidence to show how our political parties have been holding unruly rallies, demonstrations and bundhs with scant regard to law and public convenience. In fact, almost always has the government bowed more readily to the violent mobs going on rampage burning trains, vehicles – public or private and vandalising shops with impunity. Many of India’s political leaders have risen through violent riots and have no idea about a higher, nobler form of protest – Satyagraha. The message is clear: the government yields to threats and violence more readily. Shiv Sainiks have been deftly employing such tactics in Mumbai every now and then. Even in Delhi, the Congress workers rally up to block traffic and cause public nuisance without bothering about any rules or permits which Team Anna is being taught to seek today. It is easy now to understand how insurgencies are aided by governmental apathy and stubbornness.

There were differences in drafting a joint Lokpal Bill which could not be resolved at the Joint Drafting Committee formed by the Government. Both the sides finally presented their own drafts. In all fairness, the Government should have placed both the drafts on the table of the House for an open debate. Withholding the draft Jan Lokpal Bill and deliberations of the Joint Drafting Committee from the Parliament and the people appears inappropriate and unjustified and makes a mockery of decisions taken by the Government at the highest level.

‘Be you ever so High, the Law is above you!’

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi faced serious corruption allegations in the Bofors case, until then the worst in the scale of corruption. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao also faced allegations of corruption in the JMM vote-for-cash case. Preventing the Lokpal from looking into such cases will in no way enhance the prestige of the high office of the Prime Minister. In fact offering himself to the Lokpal scrutiny will only go to serve as the highest example of our faith in the basic principle of jurisprudence, “Be you ever so high, the law is above you.”

And why not bring the higher judiciary under the jurisdiction of the Lokpal too? On 17 August 2011, the Rajya Sabha is set to take up the case of impeachment of a sitting High Court judge, Mr Justice Saumitra Sen. Another judge in the higher judiciary, Justice PD Dinakaran, Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court, has now resigned after his efforts failed to stymie the pre-impeachment enquiry by a duly constituted enquiry panel. There have been allegations of impropriety with credible evidence involving judges in lower as well as higher judiciary including chief justices of the honourable apex court. Former Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan’s name is today remembered more for wrong reasons than his for his uprightness as an honourable judge. The list of corrupt judges taking bribes, seeking undue favours like going to the extent of joining en-mass to misappropriate junior employees’ provident fund deposits is increasing by the day.

Existing Regulatory Institutions have failed

Sectoral regulatory bodies have failed to deliver due to vested interests which helped foster a fraternity between the corrupt officials and the investigators. Even after the arrest of former President of Medical Council of India (MCI), Dr. Ketan Desai, corruption at the MCI has continued unabated. As per Health Minister Gulab Nabi Azad, 80 cases of corruption against officials of MCI and medical institutions were being probed till May this year. No wonder human organs are being traded illegally and poor patients continue to suffer and die for want of medical care. Similarly, people were shocked by revelations of fake pilots, not one or two but plenty, flying unsuspecting passengers across skies although the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) monitors and controls standards of flying safety and certification. Appointment of persons of questionable integrity to head institutions like the Central Vigilance Commission (PJ Thomas’ case) has seriously marred the credibility of such institutions in whatever limited sphere they functioned. Enforcement Directorate functions under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Defence and therefore remains a hand-held tool for undertaking only specific cases assigned to it by the ministry. States also have ‘Anti Corruption Bureaux’ but corruption in states also has only frown with highly placed beneficiaries hogging shamelessly with fearless arrogance as we have recently seen in Karnataka, Delhi and Mumbai to name only a few.

Thankfully, a few institutions like the Lok Ayuktas (Karnataka and Delhi) and the Comptroller Auditor General of India (CAG) have performed laudably in their bid to instil some fear and caution against corruption. What does it prove? It only proves that India is in dire need of a strong, independent and effective Lokpal with enough powers to investigate and punish speedily in a specified time frame. The Jan Lokpal Bill proposed by Team Anna Hazare meets these requirements which, if enacted into law, will change the way our government offices function. They will be more responsive, efficient and people friendly – an environment where the corrupt will have much to fear from. No doubt, corruption may not vanish – yet let’s make it a risky business. Why is the government scared? Premonitions of losing a lucrative business?

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