So this expose of Indian politicians resulted in their being thrown out of the parliament and from their respective parties seems on the surface to be a very good move by the politicians’ body. But is it really the “turning point” in Indian politics? I don’t think so.
It all began 5 years ago with the Tehelka scandal. Then came the oil-for-food scandal, then the above mentioned scandal and the, latest, a sex scandal. (To clarify, the last mentioned scandal is a scandal not because Sanjay Joshi, a bachelor, was caught having sex but rather a scandal because Sanjay Joshi, a bachelor, had been harping about sex being immoral!!)
And what are the lessons learned? Nothing. Politicians will go on to find other ways to fuel their corrupt appetites. They will continue to lie to people and get re-elected primarily because the public is quite forgiving in these matters. The culture of corruption is too deeply embedded into the Indian psyche (that’s another post). If such a scandal had hit one of the western politicians, it would be the end of their career. Not Indian politicians. Give it a year or two, all these politicians will come back to power.
What is the solution? Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions. If someone says that politicians should be educated people, I will scream!! Sanjay Joshi was a mechanical engineer. Natwar Singh (from the Oil-for-food scandal) was a post graduate from Cambridge University. Anna Saheb M.K. Patil (one of the 11 politicians caught in the sting operation by Cobrapost) is a graduate from IIT Kanpur. The only solution I see is a stringent punishment of the caught politicians. Make them know that if they are caught, they will be hanged and left out to dry. This means that the politicians need to police themselves more stringently and be very strict on their code of conduct. After all these scandals, one would have thought that’s what the politicians will do. But no, take a look at this report. Instead of taking care of it’s house, the politicians are whipping the messenger!!
The free media in India is under attack by the corrupt politicians and oligarchs running the country from behind the scene. The same politicians that were caught red handed taking bribes have ganged up with the other politicians to shut the mouth of free media in India.
According to media reports, it’s a rare occasion when politicos across party speak in one voice against a common enemy. On Wednesday, MPs identified that enemy – media and its sting operations
UPDATE : Here is the text of the sting operation. It is an interesting display of our leaders!!
Desi In Toronto 