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Republic At 61:PRICE OF HONESTY: DEATH, by Poonam I Kaushish,29 January 2011 Print E-mail

Political Diary

New Delhi, 29 January 2011

Republic At 61

PRICE OF HONESTY: DEATH

By Poonam I Kaushish

 

Who could imagine that the national flag, a symbol of unity would be reduced to a game of one-upmanship among our netagan? A piece of tri-coloured cloth which evokes pride has been trashed and defiled by our so-called patriots who swear by the Constitution. That too as India celebrated its 61st Republic Day Wednesday last. Which once again underscored how Mera Bharat Mahan has morphed into annus horribiles, Republic of Scams!

 

Epitomizing, a severe governance deficit and a complete breakdown in public governance across the board with a hamstrung Government unable to deliver. Reducing India to a situation where death is the price of honesty!

 

Where should one begin. The storm over the unfurling of the tiranga in Srinagar, the issue of black money stashed in Swiss banks, the appointment of tainted Thomas as Chief Vigilance Commissioner, the burning of an honest Collector in Maharashtra et al.

 

The BJP-Omar Abdullah fracas over hoisting the national flag at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on Republic Day turned a happy occasion into an ugly confrontation. True, the State Government was successful in foiling the Saffron Sangh’s plans but at what cost? The arrest of the BJP leaders has only worsened the stand-off between the Congress and the BJP.

 

Abdullah may have notched a victory. But in the process he may have complicated the Kashmir imbroglio further. Arguably, how does peace get affected if the tiranga is hoisted? If the Separatists can raise the ante against India in the Union Capital Delhi and get away with it, why can’t a Party proclaim its allegiance to the Indian Constitution by unfurling the National Flag?

 

True, the Congress has a point when it asserts that the hard-earned peace following a violent summer agitation should not be frittered away in the BJP’s raucous Ekta Yatra under the cover of 'nationalism'. The Saffron nationalists read it as a symbolic proclamation that the writ of the Indian Government runs from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Both trying to score brownie points at the cost of the flag.

 

What should one say about the trillions of rupees plundered by our mighty rulers and stashed away in Swiss banks. Look at the absurdity. Despite being harangued by the Supreme Court about the list of evaders it had received from Germany, the Government hid behind the facetious plea that under the double taxation treaty it was bound under secrecy. Conveniently forgetting that the treaty pertains to dual taxation and not money secreted abroad.

 

When pushed by the judges, the Government asserted it could disclose only a few names! Perhaps, it is scared that it would fall if the name were disclosed. Sic. Most scandalous is Union Finance Minister’s disclosure of the disappearance of $8 billion from the Swiss account of Pune stud owner Hasan Ali. That too, three years after the Enforcement Directorate was seized of the matter. No, Hasan was not booked for stashing ‘blood billions’ but having three passports!  Expectedly, all are clueless on how the money vanished.

 

The case of tainted Central Vigilance Commissioner Thomas is becoming curiouser and curiouser. After digging in its heels and anointing Thomas as the CVC, the Central Government played innocent before the Supreme Court hearing a PIL.  First it said there was no case against Thomas, then no charge-sheet was filed against him, even when pushed by the Bench all the Attorney General could stutter was, Thomas’s prosecution proceeding in the 1992 palmolien oil import case were missing from his file put-up before a three-member committee to select the new CVC. A half truth.

 

Complicating matters, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has contradicted the Government’s stand. During confabulations, she not only brought this aspect to the notice of both the Prime Minister and Home Minister put also noted her dissent. Ignored by the Government on the grounds that the majority view would prevail!

 

Arguably, the Prime Minister needs to come clean. What is so special about Thomas that only he and he alone should be the next CVC? Why did the Prime Minister and Home Minister ignore Swaraj’s advice not to appoint him and instead choose any of the other two? Are we to understand that no due diligence was carried out? If so why?  Were the case papers deliberately withheld? Can a tainted person sit in judgment over others?

 

Alas, the gruesome burning of Nasik’s honest Assistant Collector exposes the depth of our national moral turpitude.  Why? Simply, because he tried to prevent the kerosene mafia from adulterating the fuel. True, the 11 perpetrators have been held and the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has promised to come down heavily on the petrol and diesel mafia in the State. But this is easier said than done given the fact that one of the culprits who set the office aflame was roaming free notwithstanding that he had seven cases of fuel theft registered against him since 2001.

 

In his death the courageous collector exposed over Rs.20,000 crore fuel black market, which thrives on the largesse of a benevolent polity, bureaucratic nexus and mafia. Four RTI activists in UP, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra who too want to expose the dirt in the system are presently recuperating after being ‘attacked’ by State goons. On the obverse, we have bureaucrats who sleep on mattresses stuffed with crores of cash!

 

The writing is on the wall. The time has come to take stock. Enough is enough. We have to reform. And not allow ourselves to be held hostage by the tantrums of a belligerent ruling polity. If we don't, then we leave behind a ram-shackled democracy which Gen X has nothing to be proud off, despite 8-9 per cent growth.

 

Undoubtedly, public outcry over the visible sordidness of politics and administration is a welcome sign of the maturing of India’s democracy. But it also involves effort, determination and imagination to take on the immoral perpetrators. One needs tenaciousness to go after the people involved. We need clarity that corruption is not just about a squeaky knee joint but an active impediment to growth and prosperity. So, instead of bemoaning our moral squalor and throwing up our hands, we need to focus on how to fight this hydra-headed monster.

 

At present, Indian democracy is funded by corruption. Bridges collapse, roads develop potholes, and pipes burst as corruption eats into quality. Sleaze enables private greed to grab land as a culpable administrative process looks the other way. Greased palms produce fake passports, eyes closed as RDX is smuggled in, so what if it endangers national security. 

 

Money is looted from the exchequer, discretionary powers are used to sell licences, permits, mining leases, and spectrum. And the power of the State is used to extort money --- for perfectly legal activities such as land and car registration, passport, setting up a small unit or just about for anything.

 

Funds of political parties must be audited and made public, open to public scrutiny and challenge. The corrupt must be punished. This calls for a complete revamp of the criminal-justice system. All cases must be disposed off in less than two years. All this can happen, provided we muster the political will.

 

The question ultimately is, will our young netas put on their running shoes to prove that nothing is impossible by stalling the corruption juggernaut ? Or will they end up running a little harder and faster along the path to corrupt fortunes? Will death continue to be the price for honesty? ---- INFA

 

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

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