DC Debate: Corruption a plank
Raashid Alvi, a Congress spokesperson
When Lok Sabha polls are near, political leaders try to look for issues that might favour them. But democracy has matured in the country after 67 years and people know the importance of stability in spite of loud noises.
Different issues have surfaced before each national election, but these have not been taken seriously by the people. Corruption is certainly an important concern. It must be fought and uprooted. But it is not the only issue before the country.
If it had been, the Samajwadi Party would not have taken over the reins in Uttar Pradesh in 2012. In Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been re-elected, although many of his ministers were deemed to be corrupt. The same may apply to Gujarat where the appointment of Lokayukta did not materialise for several years.
L.K. Advani took out a rath yatra for a Ram Mandir from Gujarat to Ayodhya. But after the election, neither he as Union home minister nor then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee referred to the issue. This is often the fate of pre-election issues. Later, Advani took out a rath yatra against corruption in the context of goings-on in his own party. However, former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has been re-admitted to the BJP!
As the Lok Sabha polls are very close, everybody is once again talking about corruption. It appears that some of the leaders shouting themselves hoarse about corruption have themselves been involved in it.
It is a smart move to wage a war on corruption to hide your own misdeeds.
I think BJP’s prime mi-nisterial candidate Narendra Modi is going to be the big issue in the forthcoming election. I don’t want to mention the communal violence of 2002, but everyone knows from Ayodhya to New York that the man who was the chief minister in Gujarat in 2002 is now trying to change his colour.
Today, if you want to learn the meaning of secularism, you should turn to Modi. Similarly, if you want to learn the latest definition of socialism, you have to visit Saifai in Uttar Pradesh to learn from SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The politics of the country is changing very rapidly as the thoughts of new generation are very different from those of the older lot.
Corruption may be one of the issues in the upcoming polls, but if we have to strengthen our country, communalism needs to be taken as the greater vice. Caste and regionalism are also very important questions, which need to be given serious thought. In my view, the spread of regionalism will sow the seeds of disunity in the country. The signs are there from Kashmir to Kerala.
The entire country is divided on the basis of caste and region. I take the point that corruption is a very important matter, but communalism, the caste divide, and regionalism are also very important.
Next: Governance has suffered due to graft
Governance has suffered due to graft
Harsh Kalra, an AAP member, works for the party’s campaign in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Obviously, we completely disagree with the notion that corruption will not be an important issue for the Lok Sabha election. What we witnessed in the Delhi poll was proof that corruption is on the mind of the aam aadmi.
The Aam Aadmi Party started as an anti-corruption crusader. This was its legacy from the earlier mass movement from which it took rise.
While campaigning for the Delhi election, we connected with the voters only because they felt helpless in the face of rising corruption. AAP firmly believes that the Lok Sabha poll will be based on aam aadmi issues, and the biggest problem is corruption. In the current scenario, the party has been able to dent the existing political structure because of its stance against the corrupt.
Corruption, we find, is the starting point for most of the difficulties people face, and a vicious circle buÂilds up. In our jan sabhÂas or people’s assembÂlÂiÂes, we explain to people that they face so many obÂsÂtacles in their everydÂaÂy liÂves because of corruption.
Corruption is apparent in every sector. Denying this is dangerous for the country. Its existence not only eats into our home budgets, but the phenomenon also hurts the social fabric. Take education for example. There is no shortage of brilliant people in the country, but several layers of corruption retard this sector. Teachers, hired by contractors, do not get the money that the government has allotted. Since the contractors do not pay up, the quality of education is affected as sub-standard teachers are appointed. Another major issue is the corrupt system of admissions. The broader picture that emerges cannot but point to corruption being the prime culprit. The AAP intends to unravel this sorry picture.
Even if we choose to highlight other problems, such as inflation, these can be traced to the corrupt ways of the officialdom. In Delhi, for instÂanÂce, onion prices are emblÂemÂatic. Rising onion priÂces have overturned governments. It is important to consider in this context onion production in the country has improved in recent years, but its prices have skyrocketed, defying all logic. Such a state of affairs has obtained on account of hoarding, and of course the existence of corrupt monopolies of supplier groups.
The same is the case with the healthcare sector. There are no beds in government hospitals for patients. People have to bribe the corrupt chain of staff to avail themselves of medical services.
In our meeting and grievance cells, we get all sorts of complaints. MostÂly these relate to corruption. People say they have to pay the sarkari babus for merely doing their assigned duty. If governance has suffered overall, this is on account of corruption. Thus, underestimating corruption can be a serious mistake. This one issue tells the nation’s story.
(As told to Nishtha Grover)