Corruption & the politician-2

The total planned expenditure of the govt of India in 07-08 is 6, 80,524 crores. Mr Rajiv Gandhi said that only 1 paise from a rupee actually reaches the intended beneficiary. Congress simply by virtue of being the first to taste power took a lead in corruption in money management and every other political party which came into existence in India from national to regional, now follow the same principle. So in the process of governance there emerged a consensus among all political parties that accepting money is perfectly right. Some take the right to great levels at the cost of the nation’s security present and future.

At the grass root level it’s not an easy life for an aspiring politician. It’s a long process of endless wait for many who aspire to win party nominations. Through out the wait period he has to make an income from whatever sources. There is no guarantee of him getting a nomination as existing leaders want to bring in their own progeny to succeed them. He goes through street brawls, aggressive rowdyism including if necessary murder and over a period gets moulded into a selfish personality where what matters most is only survival. Yet when he makes it as a politician he is called upon to show vision, leadership to take the nation to progress.

That is not going to happen and when people vote out existing leaders they do so in the hope that the next set of leaders can bring in some major changes, but what is missed is that the next set of leaders have also tasted blood in similar circumstances as the ousted ones. So he cannot be any different at all from the ones which have been ousted. This is irrespective of any party affiliations. This outlook of politicians is eating away the moral fabric of the country and can cause damage in many ways including possible loss of independence again. Its has eaten away morality in government services and is threatening the foundations of the nation.

There is corruption in most countries including giants like china, and in a subtler form in western nations but the question is can an Indian politician draw a line and say he will not accept money at the cost of progress, prosperity and well being of the nation. This decision can lead the nation either to the prosperity on the lines of some western countries & Japan, or the opposite way like some failed nations of the world.

The nation has extremes. There are politicians who are perfect to a penny and who have laid and are laying great foundations for the future of the nation, and at the other extreme are those who are comfortable handling tonnes of illegal money. Sandwiched between these extremes are the vast majority of politicians with their own reasons for justifying their actions. While the youth is confused between the morality which is taught by their parents and the reality what they see in public life.

What is the solution? It will go to an extent of being an uprising by the public to fix, or the arrival of a true leader from amongst the politicians. It was the combination of two politicians PV Narasimha rao & Manmohan Singh which laid the foundations for digging the nation out of a debt trap and trigger economic revolution. Amongst officials it was one T.N Seshan who instilled the fear of election and one K.P.S Gill to restore Punjab to normalcy. So there is talent and a desire to take the nation to prosperity, but power mongers with higher decibel and muscle power are working against it.

Even film directors see this need. Film director Mani Ratnam brings out this concept wonderfully when he narrates a story of educated youth taking to politics as a profession in his movie Yuva.So is the latest Rajinikanth starrer Shivaji.There are officials, politicians, public personalities, NRI’s, the youth of the nation who have the solutions to this and given a chance they would turn this internal decay into a powerful positive movement.