I am an avid TV watcher. But the
trouble with watching TV serials is that there are far too many
commercial breaks. But whenever Parliament is in session, especially
when it is debating sensitive matters like the recent ‘no confidence
motions’, there is nothing to beat this live, unrehearsed
entertainment. Sometimes, even the State Assemblies have riveting,
nail-biting moments when their members, desperate to emphasise or hit
at a divergent point of view, flinging anything and everything that’s
handy – furniture, mikes, even slippers.
On 22 July 2008, during the confidence motion against the government,
depending on which side you are looking from, a new low/high was
established. Several wads of currency notes were flung, along with
allegations that this was hush money to abstain from voting, bribe for
helping the Government survive. ‘Cash for vote’ is a new chapter in
Indian Parliament’s history, following the ‘cash for questions’
section. Of course, in politics, as everywhere else, only winning
matters.
Money and politics are inextricably linked, and not just in India but
everywhere in the world. Despite loud protests against the use of money
to buy votes and remain in power, the truth is that this is not new to
us. In our country the quickest and surest way to become rich has
always been to join politics. A lot of noise was made in the Parliament
over the alleged inducements offered to some MPs to abstain or switch
sides during the voting. But we all know that the protesting parties
are no better than the ones in power.
The more you read and observe politics, the more you are convinced that
each party is worse than the other. It’s just that the party that is
out of power seems better. Truth is strictly optional in politics.
One by-product of this episode has been that most parties have gone on
an expulsion spree. All MPs who did not toe the official line,
including the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, have been expelled. We would
all welcome the day when these parties show the same level of concern
when allegations of corruption are made against their MPs by the common
man.
If the ‘vote for cash’ case can lead to attempts at cleaning the
system, it would all be worth it. But as matters stand, people have
very low expectations about the integrity and commitment of
politicians. And most believe that all political parties, if put in a
similar situation, would resort to the same tactics. This is truly
tragic for our country. Our Parliamentarians should remember that a
nation derives its the strength from the integrity of its leaders and
government. And integrity is not conditional. It does not change with
the changing political conditions.
Even when our Parliamentarians do take some action and frame laws, they
do so without consulting those who are affected or those charged with
the duty of enforcing the law, i.e. the judiciary and the police.
Justice Malimath, who earlier headed a Committee on Reforms, says, "The
present criminal justice system has totally collapsed and is not acting
as a deterrent for criminals... With the rate of conviction on criminal
offences being low, there is very less risk factor for a person
committing an offence. A national survey shows the conviction rate
around seven per cent. Ninety-three per cent of people get acquitted,
resulting in criminals moving in the society without any stigma."
The latest Transparency International Survey, in its report released in
June 2008, reveals that a majority of people who paid bribes in India
did so for getting their children admitted to schools or for getting
their wards promoted from one class to the next. Issuing school-leaving
certificate was another lucrative business for corrupt school
authorities. However, the amount of bribe was highest when it came to
allotment of hostel accommodation. Shockingly, these are results of a
survey that covered 22,728 randomly selected Below Poverty Line (BPL)
households across 31 states and Union Territories,
While categorising states based on the level of corruption in the
education sector, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Goa were found to
be in the "alarming" list. Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Assam and
Madhya Pradesh reported "very high corruption" while Chandigarh, Delhi,
Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Nagaland were put in
the "high corruption" category. Roughly, over Rs 880 crore was paid in
bribes by the Below Poverty Line population in one year.
Transparency International has ranked India at 72nd position among 180
countries in corruption. The report states: "Maximum corruption takes
place during government procurements. For example, when the government
buys wheat or arms, or when Public Sector Units (PSUs) procure
material."
Despite India’s claims to have become the new destination for global
investors, 38 per cent of over 5,400 companies’ representatives,
surveyed by global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, said they
were asked to pay bribe for licences.
Joginder Singh is a former director
of the Central Bureau of Investigation
http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/opinion/opinion/in-politics,-truth-is-strictly-optional-.aspx
