Political Diary

New Delhi, 19 March 2011

Wiki Leaks Storms UPA

MONEY HAI TOH POWER HAI!

By Poonam I Kaushish

“Which MP does not have money? All those who have enjoyed power since 1952 are now realizing after so many years that politics in our country is riddled with corruption. I know the people who have made money …..Today they are giving us sermons. I know the persons who take donations from our areas, “Paisa boriyon main ata hai, gathriyon main nahin.”

Iconic words spoken by JMM MP Suraj Mandal during the Lok Sabha debate on the hawala case in February 1996 that rocked the Congress Narasimha Rao Government. Not one MP present protested.

Sadly, 15 years down the line nothing has changed. In fact the under-belly of power politics has become more shameless, rotten, ugly and raw. Down to the gutter level. The Wiki leaks expose has once again underscored the revolting truth of the cash- for-vote scam during the high voltage Vote of Confidence in the Lok Sabha on 22 July 2008. Victory at any cost no matter what it takes.

On 17 July 2008 in a cable to the State Department U.S. Charge d'Affaires Steven White wrote about a visit the Embassy's Political Counselor paid to Satish Sharma, “a close associate of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and very close family friend of Sonia. Sharma's political aide Nachiketa Kapur showed the Embassy employee two chests containing cash and said that around Rs 50-60 crore was lying around the house for use as pay-offs.

“He mentioned that Ajit Singh's RLD had been paid Rupees 10 crore for each of their four MPs to support the Government….money was not an issue at all, but the crucial thing was to ensure that those who took the money would vote for the Government.”

Further, “Sharma mentioned that he was also exploring the possibility of trying to get former PM Vajpayee's son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya to speak to BJP MPs to try to divide the ranks….Another Congress insider told PolCouns that Minister of Commerce Kamal Nath is also helping to spread largesse. Succinctly, the Congress Government paid money to MPs to get votes with the full knowledge of US embassy.

Predictably, all hell broke lose in Parliament last week. Allegations and counter-allegations were the order of the day. While the BJP-led Opposition demanded PM Manmohan Singh’s head. The Congress led by Leader of the House and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee retaliated. Said he, “What happened in the 14th Lok Sabha cannot be decided in the 15th Lok Sabha. The Government of the day is accountable to the 15th Lok Sabha and not to the 14th Lok Sabha.”

Two, the Wiki leaks report is not admissible in a court of law. Three, the communication between the US embassy and its Government enjoys diplomatic immunity and it is not possible for the Government to either confirm it or deny it.” Following suit both Satish Sharma and Kapur too washed their hands by stating they did not know any US diplomat.

True, Mukherjee is correct that diplomatic immunity might be available to US diplomats but the same cannot be claimed for bribery committed by Indians. Also, the issue is not about accountability of the then Government to the present Lok Sabha but about the fact that the offence was committed outside the House.

More shocking was our ‘honest’ Prime Minister ‘corrupt’ defence. Whereby he resorted to the age-old argument tom-tommed by our decrepit netagan --- the people's court theory ---- to defend his Government against the bribery charge. Said he, “It is unfortunate that the Opposition continues to raise old charges that have been debated, discussed and rejected by the people of India in the 2009 polls.”

Raising a moot point: Can an electoral victory discount a criminal offence? If that be the case then it will be a boon for criminals entering politics. Think. Messers Lalu Prasad, Jayalalithaa, Shibu Soren, Madhu Koda, Raja et al have invariably invoked their political strength to undermine serious charges of legal transgressions. Singh is no different.

All conveniently forgetting that an electoral victory does not erase a legal wrong. Bribery is a very serious charge. By that token Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, has bettered his electoral performance in every election since 2002. Does it condone that over 2000 people died in the 2002 communal riots?

Further, the other point Singh made was that he did not authorise anyone to buy votes, and that he was not aware of it. Parroting his earlier defence themes, “I did not know about the annulled Isro-Devas deal, the Adarsh scam, 2G-spectrum scam was due to pressures of coalition politics, CVC Thomas was an error of judgment and ask my then Minister of State in the PMO, Prithviraj Chavan (Maharashtra Chief Minister).

What does it mean? Are we to believe that those who committed it did so without Singh’s knowledge or permission? Presuming this is correct, is it a mitigating circumstance in judging the state of our political morality? Does this mean that such things can happen under his nose without his knowledge?  And that when they come to his notice, one just shrugs it off as a part of the normal processes of democracy that one has to understand.

The tragedy of it all is that it is water off our rhino-skinned leaders. From coalition dharma to bribery dharma, today all is fair game. Arguably, is the over-flowing corruption kund worth survival in office under such conditions? Needless to say, the Prime Minister has much to answer for.

Worse, even as the Government brazens it out, the Wiki leaks debate has thrown up no new ideas for dealing with the cancerous malaise, which is tearing the moral fibre of this country asunder and eating into the vitals of the nation. Whereby, going to jail is fast becoming a badge of honour! And a ghotala of few thousand crores is not worthy of feeding the chara of morality.

What is extremely disquieting is that Ministers accused of swindling crores of public money are all living in great comfort and merrily enjoying their high positions. Effectively exposing the fact that the crusade against corruption has shamefully failed in India. Think. We Indians pay over Rs 25,068 crores a year for ‘services rendered’ to our powers-that-be, according to the Transparency International’s Indian Corruption Study.

Arguably, what is the future of society in such conditions? More frustration, chaos, unrest and even bloodshed. It needs to be remembered that corruption in the national polity can only survive by paying a very heavy price of increasing mayhem and violence in society. Even as our polity continues to merrily wallow in corrupt self deception without a thought to the future and the inevitable damage to the larger national cause.

Indeed, if the Government is seized of the urgency to purge the malaise in our body politic, this is the most propitious time to introduce probity. Time to recall Prof. Galbraith words: “There is nothing wrong with Indian laws, nothing wrong with its (socialist) economy, or with its political and judicial institutions. What ails India is its moral poverty”.

The need of the hour demands drastic surgery, slaughter of the gangrenous corruption limbs. Manmohan Sigh should remember that not only are the people watching, they are also thirsting for values. The writing is on the wall. This raj nautanki of money hai toh power hai has to end. Or will India rue a la Shahrukh Khan: Abhi toh khel baakee hai dost! ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)