Memoranda for Submission to the Chief Ministers of the Two Telugu States.

Articles

Bewildering Corruption

 

Dt:  26/7/14

 

Bewildering Corruption

 

Dr T.H.Chowdary*

 

 

1. Corruption is  a wonder:

 

1.1 Giving an exposition  on Aatma (soul) as a distinct from the  body  Lord  Krishna   observed  “Aascharvat pasyati......”  -  “some people look at it with  wonder; some speak about it  in wonder; some hear about it in wonder but  none has  understood it in reality....”   -Bhagawad Gita 2.29.

 

We can safely substitute corruption for aatma. The  corrupt as well as  its denouncers  speak about the all pervading corruption.  The extent of this  corruption fits  another  Bhagawadgita  sloka,   

 

 “sarvathah pani padam  tatsarvatho a ksisiromukham

sarvathahah  sruthimalloke  sarvamavritthya thishtathi – B.G 13.13

 

It is all pervasive, its feet and hands  and eyes are everywhere ! 

 

1.2  It maybe blasphemous or irreverent to cite the  profound and solemn  Bhagawad Gita  to write about  profane corruption but the character of corruption and its extent fit the  description of the soul  and  the immanence  of divine everywhere, as expounded in the  Bhagawadgita.

 

2. Corruption Related to Welfare:

 

2.1  Corruption  leads to black money. Black money is being   generated through a wonderful instrument  called welfare of the poor. Rajiv Gandhi  as Prime Minister   observed  while speaking at the centenary of the Indian National  Congress in 1985 in Bombay, that  85% of the money spent upon  welfare for the poor is  not reaching them. Since then this proportion must have  gone up only.  In   2004,   the amount of    welfare  spending  for the poor through different schemes   in the country amounted to   about Rs. 40,000 cr.  In the  last years of the UPA-II government,  it ballooned Rs.  2,50,000 cr per year. 85% of it is   Rs. 2,12,500 cr. This much black money   is generated   in consequence  of the   so called welfare schemes for the poor like   the NREGA, Rs. 1 Kg rice, Indira Houses pensions for the aged, pregnant and  physically disabled  etc. No one can object and still be popular, to spending  for the poor. The Congress party has found out the most popular  and least objectionable method of generating  black money by its “welfare” schemes. There must be some way of  ending  this  “welfare” which allows  the poor to survive in poverty but not enable them to quit poverty.  Measures like   welfare being admissible only to such families who  have  no more than two children   and that too for  limited   years and so on, will have to  be devised. If  these can’t be implemented with retrospective effect, they  must be   effected prospectively  after extensive education through every type of media.

 

2.2  A few days ago Sri  K.Chandra Sekhar Rao, Hon’ble  Chief Minister of  Telengana gave out   that there are 91 lakhs white ration cards and 15 lakhs pink ration cards in Telengana. At four   persons per family,  more than four crores of  the less than 4.5 cr people  in Telengana are  poor! Can this be  believed?  He further  wanted to find out  whether these ration cards are for  with  shop keepers or with whom else.  Once there was a report in the newspapers that  a political leader gifted 500 white ration cards with some bogus   names  to a newly  married couple.

 

2.3  In the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh  two crore   houses are   reported to have been  built by the  government for the  poor under various schemes  during the several Five  year plans.  Two crore   houses   mean  eight crore   of people living in government gifted houses . The population of  Andhra Pradesh   is 8.5 cr . Can we believe that  all are living in  government -built houses for the poor!

 

2.4  It is obvious  that money  is spent in  the name of welfare for the poor.  But as Rajiv Gandhi said 85% it is pocketed by  politicians in the power, business- men and  some  government officers. This is how   corruption  has been  institutionalised  and has become uneliminatable,  because it is in the  name of poor, for the poor  and therefore  none dares to question  this  expense.

 

 

3. Election-related Corruption:

 

3.1. While in the past,  bribing  government officials was to speed up the officers decisions on requests and appeals,  in the recent few decades, corruption is rooted in the   greed of  people  to amass wealth and use it   to exercise government power and through it,  amass  much more  wealth. The  degeneration in men’s morals has come to such an extent and government has become so obstreperous  that by getting  the levers of government  power, one’s  crimes can be covered up and by withholding or  granting requests and licences, one can make huge  money.  The money made can be  utilised stash in safe havens abroad for use by the progeny,   or take to politics and through politics  become a legislator and minister and amass further wealth.

 

3.2  Votes are being purchased by  candidates of  almost every party.  The amount  distributed per voter varies from party to party. When the voters   are   told or admonished that accepting  money and  voting for the  prayer is immoral and unbecoming of a citizen and that it is  subversive of democracy, voters are wisely saying that all this money is black money  acquired by these unscrupulous candidates; it is  peoples  money that has been looted by these people and part  of it is  coming  back  to us. Therefore to accept this money is not immoral but it is our right to get  back at least part  of what is was being looted .   We take money from every candidate but we are voting  according go to our judgment. There seems to be  some logic in this although corruption gets normalised and perpetuated  by this  permissiveness.

 

3.3  Elections  to  Panchayat, Mandal, Zilla Praishad,  State Assembly and the Lok Sabha  are all involving tens of thousands of  candidates. Elections are coming nearly serially and not all at one time and therefore most of the time,  there is  sale and purchase of votes.  Apart from this  direct  transfer  of money huge amounts are  spent  for holding public rallies meetings. People are   transported to these  rallies.  They  are also  paid  for their attendance .  A new business, “audience supply”.  For road shows, for precessions, for rallies and public meetings is taken up by some enterprising people. There are different rates  fixed for different types of persons for different hours of engagement  by these audience supply companies. The  same set of people may demonstrate  for one candidate in the  forenoon  and for  another,  in the afternoon and in between   be present at a road show. These exercises by parties and candidates  require  huge amount of cash, that is black money.

 

3.4 Just as use of telecom and IT is leading to economies and efficiency in every   activity including governance,  the expenditure and   by parties and candidates for election  can be  minimised by use of IT.  There are  over 800  TV channels. Almost all of them are available throughout the country, through cable operators.  As conditions of  license, these maybe  required to devote say 8 hours  free, for discourse by political parties  and candidates  recognised by the  Election Commission in the  state and the centre. Time may be allotted for  these parties & candidates  so that    they will   address   voters through TV channels (and FM radio too). These can be  reached  live by toll free telephone numbers by citizens. This way,  political discourse for elections could be shifted from public  meetings  to TV channels.  Public rallies and demonstrations  and meetings in the  open ( in   maidans, play grounds,   road sides etc.,) should be banned.  Such a ban is not impossible . When Sri T.N.Sheshan was Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) he  ordered  that  no candidate  or party shall write anything   on walls  and other public places. That  practice has been ended. Similarly, the CEC can enforce   the ban on public meetings and shift all propaganda  and canvassing  to be  on electronic  media only.

 

3.5 Then comes the movement of voters to the  polling  booths.  This is also arranged by spending money through agents.  We are going to have   in every village a Common Service Center (CSC) off  nation –wide broad band  telecom network. Everyone of them is  high speed broadband internet connection. In addition,  there are  internet kiosks and connections in schools and libraries  and so on.  Every voter is now having an identity card with his unique  identity already captured and stored in solid state memories.  Any voter can go to any  CSC  or those  specially set up internet kiosk s for  election purposes.  The  Internet Kiosk or CSC is equipped with a camera . The voter presses his voter identity number   and looks into the  camera . His digitised identity and physical appearance are  compared and if they tally, a green light   signal can be given. Then he can go ahead with the  selection of the  candidate and press the  button  for the  candidate he chooses . He  can  get a paper  trail print -out . Voting is over from anywhere . He  cannot do it  twice. The program will take care o fit. Enough security can be  built into the  programs and the software. 

 

Corruption not related to  elections  is  to be tackled in a different  way. Transparency about every transaction and  the  RTI would progressively bring about   reduction  in  corruption connected with  grant or denial of request or licences or  permits etc.

 

4. The amount of corruption  can  wax and wane depending upon the  morality of  leaders  in political  parties   and in government.  It must be  a constant  fight just like between good and evil. If  the Prime Minister  and Chief Ministers and  presidents and  other office bearers of political parties are men of integrity and wise and care for lasting prosperity and   amelioration of the poor, corruption can be kept at the  minimum. Elimination will be  impossible as  both good and evil dwell in men as they have always been from times immemorial. (1,621 words)

 

END