Political Diary

New Delhi, 23 July 2011

Business Of Democracy

THE CORRUPT TAKE IT ALL!

By Poonam I Kaushish

It’s been a week of mea culpa, home truth and tutorials. Of ghisi-piti real politik on scams galore replete with tu-tu-mein-mein of ‘your’ versus ‘our’ corrupt deeds. Never mind the heavy cost to the nation. The tragedy of India is that it has traversed the ugly road of criminalization of politics, down politicization of criminals to becoming a ‘democracy of concessions’ or ‘concessions of State power.’ With the winner taking it all!

Bluntly, it reads sharing or amassing political power among a handful of business interests through the “politics of direct sale”. Whereby, populist policies are employed to promote the capitalist system by converting the nation’s resources into capital. Which, in turn, are controlled or dominated by a small group of big business surpassing public interest groups, local influential people, technocrats, academics and old political cliques.

Last week two cases stood testimony to this brazen ‘democracy by concessions and politics of direct sale’: Forcible land acquisitions by the UP Government and Karnataka’s illegal mining scam. Both enveloping the Chief Ministers, the ruling elite and business cronies.  

In the first, Chief Minister Mayawati modus operandi was simple: The Government acquired land from farmers for a pittance by misleading them that it was meant for public use. Instead, it was sold to private builders at prevailing market prices. Reportedly, on paper the land changed hands at a nominal price, the balance was “donated” to the BSP coffers. If the Opposition is to be believed the dalit Messiah netted a cool Rs.40,000 crores.

Clearly, this “politics of direct sale” of shared mutual benefit between the BSP supremo and the developers, is a classic example of public interest being leveraged for money. Why blame Mayawati alone? Her counter-parts in other States did the same vis-à-vis creation of special economic zones for a few favoured industrialists.

Ditto is the story in Bangalore where instances are a plenty where democracy of concessions and politics of direct sale have overtaken time-honoured established rules and norms. In a shocking indictment of the Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddiyurappa the State Lokayukta has revealed how he benefitted by over-valuing land sales to mining companies and the ‘kickbacks’ were routed through trusts owned by his sons. Also accused are four State Ministers, former Chief Minister Kumaraswamy and a Congress MP.

If this is bad news, the third is worse. Even before one could say kudos to the Supreme Court for rapping the Delhi police for its lackadaisical probe in the cash-for-vote scam hanging fire since July 2008 came the disclaimer. The police gave a clean chit to the Congress and Samajwadi. Raising a moot point: Who benefited from the cash-for-vote scam? Why the hurry to clear the Government?

Recall, during the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha following the CPM withdrawing support to the Congress-led UPA Government over the Indo-US nuclear deal, three BJP MPs waved bundles of cash in the House accusing the Government of giving it to them in order to buy their support or abstain from voting.

Predictably, all hell broke loose. The BJP disclosed it had done a ‘sting’ operation and squarely blamed the Congress for buying MPs to save its Government through erstwhile Samajwadi leader Amar Singh. A Parliamentary committee set up to look into the issue gave a clean chit to the kingpin Amar Singh even as it asked the police to investigate the matter further. The sordid story continues. 

Undeniably, these three exposes among many others before, point to the deep decay in our political system stuffed with dissolute political plots and cover-ups. Besides, putting a big question mark on the functioning of our Parliamentary democracy and the very moral basis for Governments to continue in power as if nothing has happened, it underscores the need to root out corruption from within it. Of course, easier said than done.

In this milieu, where public morality and practical politics has acquired a particularly grotesque dimension our netagan bereft of any shame continue their immoral dhanda wherein their deep levels of ghoos khoree is taken as their birthright. What’s the big deal?  Isn’t corruption a way of life? What damn difference does one more scam make? Who is the culprit in whose eyes? Confessed a seasoned politician: Is hamam me hum sab nange hain. Paisa boriyoin mein atha hai.

As Parliament readies to debate the Lokpal Bill in the upcoming monsoon session, a systemic overhaul is the need of the hour. Alas, the eagerly awaited Bill has not only kept the Prime Minister, judiciary but also the MPs out of the Lokpal’s purview. As the cash-for-vote and cash-for-questions confirm our jan sevaks often vote for ‘other’ considerations, read cash and office.

High time our Right Honourables codify their privileges whereby an MP should be entitled to only freedom of speech in the House, nothing more. Presently, open-ended Parliamentary privileges insulate MPs from the law. Simply, MPs have immunity against scrutiny on anything and everything, down to breaking the law. They rule by law wherein none can even question how and why they vote in the House.

True, the issue has been raised times out of number but the MPs have resisted it tooth and nail. Only recently, the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee after prolonged deliberation for over a year-and-a-half ruled out any need for a codification of privileges of the MPs. Thus, highlighting the hypocrisy of our polity.

Undoubtedly, the decision to retain these privileges amounts to granting unbridled powers and legal immunity for MPs. In practical terms it mean no forums, not even the courts or media can seek to scrutinise its implementations or its alleged misuses in future too. This goes against the spirit of equality and accountability in a modern Parliamentary democracy.

Tragically, our politicians who revel in quick-fix solutions have wantonly ignored the larger picture of a democracy which edifies honourable and accountable leadership. Sending the corrupt to jail is not a panacea or a magic wand which will erase corruption from the face of India.

Clearly, all eyes are on what happens next. It is time we realize that there are moments when cynical calculations of political expediency become repugnant. Indians are not sterile numbers which multiply in a morgue. Today India is at the crossroad. Questionably, are we going to allow this ‘democracy of concessions’ to play havoc with the lives of the law-abiding citizens?

Are we willing to forsake rule of law at the altar of immorality and replace it with rule by law? How long will we suffer leaders who have perfected the art of cultivating low morality and high greed thereby reducing graft to a farcical political nautanki? Can we afford to opt for the law of the jungle and say good bye to a civilized democratic State? Will we allow our unscrupulous netagan to throw the rule book to the winds and inflict a death blow to our future generations? Time to pause and ponder. The buck stops here. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)