POLITICAL DIARY

New Delhi, 14 June 2008

Crime Is Now Politics

LEADERS  OF  GEN  NEXT?

By Poonam I Kaushish

Celluloid khoon a la Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Sarkar Raj’ is naqli. For asli Raj don the khadi cap of a neta which guarantees a life-long “bullet proof jacket.” Welcome to India and its new Gen Next reality of criminals banne neta!

Believe me this is no exaggeration and I certainly don’t subscribe to the view that the polity cannot be tarnished by a few black sheep. Chilling reality and cold Government statistics are on my side that show that politics has nothing to do with morality and accountability. Crime is now politics and criminalisation of politics is the flavour of the season.

Turn to any part of the country politico-criminals are now ruling the roost. There are five ‘criminals’ who adorn India’s Treasury Benches. One, Minister had to resign when arrested for murder. Worse, the UPA Sarkar confessed in the Supreme Court that the nexus among criminals, politicians and bureaucrats has increased leading to a disturbingly high level of corruption and dismissing it as compulsions of coalition politics.  

Only last week two State Ministers, one each in UP and Assam were sacked and arrested. The UP Fisheries Minister Nishad for allegedly killing a police constable from his ‘lal battee’ car while leading a mob protesting police protection for an accused in the rape of a girl belonging the Nishad community in Maharajganj district. In Assam, Education Minister Ripun Bora for trying to bribe the police investigating a leader’s murder from his area.   

Earlier too in UP, another Minister was shown the door after his name cropped up in the murder of a law student in Faizabad, BSP’s Azamgarh MP was arrested in a land grabbing case and a Samajwadi MLA was shot by his BSP political rival. A tip of the iceberg given that 40% of the legislators have criminal records. According to the Election Commission UP along with Bihar, account for at least 40 MPs and 700 MLAs who faced criminal charges that included murder, dacoity, rape, theft and extortion. Leading the pack are MPs Pappu Yadav (convicted of murdering a popular left-wing legislator) and Shahabuddin. Both in jail.

How commonplace is the mixing of crime and politics can be gauged from Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj’s averments in the Rajya Sabha in the last session that there were over 1,300 cases pending against sitting MPs and MLAs in various courts. Of which the CBI is investigating 65. If there were 40 tainted MPs in the 13th Lok Sabha there are over a 100 MPs (23.2%) at present.

Consider also: criminals have been elected from prison. Some continue to rule their empire from jails, hold durbars, instruct their minions by cellphones and issue diktats that few dare disobey. Some take anticipatory bail to avoid arrest. Others find it easier to abscond while some “surrender", engaging clever lawyers to argue their case!

India’s downslide has been rapid. Most distressing is that it doesn’t strike any cord anywhere. With every passing election the phenomenon of criminals-turned politicos no longer creates a ripple, let alone set the Ganges on fire. It has become an accepted norm. Curse all, but when push comes to shove the majority willingly lumps it. Shrugged of as a price one has to pay for democracy. The polity washes its hands off by calling it a “systemic failure”. Are they kidding? In plain English this translates into a fig leaf to cover their shocking incompetence and scandalous failure.

Sadly, it is one of the main reasons for the deteriorating law and order situation. It is also a given that the inability of the State to arrest and prosecute politicos with criminal antecedents is primarily because the State is part of the problem and not the solution. Criminals protect the illegitimate interests of politicians and in turn obtain protection from them and their parties. This mutually beneficial relationship works against the establishment of the rule of law. As a consequence, the criminal justice system is increasingly corrupted and manipulated. Notwithstanding various Court judgments trying to cry a halt to this blatant and brazen jiski lathi uski bhains dadagiri.

Look what happened to the Vohra Committee Report of 1995 which said it all. But today the power daddies of crime, muscle, money and mafia dismiss it as kid stuff. Running a parallel government with established linkages with the bureaucrats, Government functionaries at local levels, politicians, media persons and strategically located individuals while pushing the State apparatus into irrelevance.  This decrepit state of affairs is essential to the continued criminal hold on legislatures across the country. The tragedy is that the private face of our netas is ugly. It wins hands down over their public mask.

There is no gainsaying that the growing Indian middle class is not averse to electing criminals if they can become their patrons and 'deliver the goods'? As a former Chief Minister argued when quizzed about having 22 Ministers in his Cabinet with criminal antecedents, "I don't bother about the Ministers' past. After joining the Government, they are not indulging in crimes and are ready to help suppress criminal activities. Ask the people why they have elected them.” How do you rebut this logic?

Why are political parties happy to adopt criminals as candidates? Simply, because there is no rule of law. The State has lost its Iqbal --- the authority to govern and arrest those who break the law. Thanks to a weak police and legal system which ensures that mafia-turned netagan get away with murder. They are the law and rule by law: use force with impunity, collect protection money, are as powerful as official tax-collectors, settle disputes unlike the State bogged down in legal wrangles and use loads of money to muscle out honest candidates. Remember, Mayawati who auctioned MP and MLA seats to the highest bidder. A milieu of jo jeeta woh sikander, a vicious circle of you scratch my back, I scratch yours!

Why do mafia dons invest large sums in getting a neta’s tag? It is a ticket to continue extortions using political power, gain influence and ensure that cases against them are dropped. Thanks to legal delays, often abetted by political pressures, make convictions of resourceful crooks rather rare. Besides, the returns on political investments are so high and profitable that criminals are disinclined to invest in anything else. Thus, our system has unwittingly created huge incentives for criminals to enter politics. Immortalised by renowned Mumbai mafia don-turned MLA Arun Gawli: “Ab kis ka dam hai ki mujhe encounter me maare. Now no politician can give supari (contract killing) to any police officer or gangster to kill me. Ab mere paas bullet proof jacket hai --- and MLA tag”. 

What of the future? Will we continue to put a premium on criminality? Allow criminals to become netas? Basically, is it good for our democracy to have scoundrels represent the voters? When those who are supposed to lead become saboteurs, it is time to call a spade a spade. A stop can only be put once our polity picks up courage to end this trend. More voices must be raised against criminalisation of politics and ways found to reverse this growing malaise. Above all, we need politicians who are men of conscience, integrity and credibility. Not comrades in crime. ----- INFA

(Copyright India News and Feature Alliance)