Dec 26, 2024
Dec 26, 2024
India seems to have gone down the drain in 2010 under the UPA II Government whose leadership is in the hands of the Congress Party, judging solely from the “corruption scams epidemic” that has engulfed India in the first one and a half years of the return to power of the Congress Government. India had everything going strongly in its favor in terms of economic growth and a growing recognition internationally. India’s good achievements in 2010 have been washed away by the “corruption scams epidemic” leaving one to mourn India’s going down the drain, unbecoming of a rising power. Sadly, India’s unending corruption scams seem to have dented the public image of the Prime Minister and the Congress President.
| One thought that the days of the Congress ‘permit raj’ and ‘quota raj’ were over but as the Niira Radia tapes disclosures show that the politicians have become more astute and savvy in terms of gathering ill-gotten gains. |
People are at a loss to understand as to how under the very noses of these two dignitaries, multiple corruption scams have taken place without fear or restraint for months, and especially when the Opposition Parties were raising these issues besides some sections of the media, Additionally letters on the subject of corruption scams were being sent to the Prime Minister by the Opposition Parties and individuals like Dr Subramanian Swami
It is an irrefutable fact that in the world’s capitals today this corrosive trend would not go unnoticed and that India’s image would be severely tarnished. Also noticeable in world capitals would be the sorry spectacle of the Indian Parliament in which a whole session has gone waste because the Congress Government refuses to agree to a Joint Parliamentary Committee(JPC) to investigate the 2G Scam. If the Congress Government has nothing to hide then why the hesitation to concede the Opposition Demand for a JPC? This is yet another question increasingly exercising the minds of the Indian public.
India has literally gone the drain in 2010 as nothing else can describe the state of affairs where the Government of the day advances lame excuses for its act of omission and commission in relation to the corruption scams, the central investigative agencies seemingly at the behest of the Government go in for selective investigations and where India’s Supreme Court aghast at the scale of corruption has to place CBI investigations under the Supreme Court’s direct supervision in terms of accountability and progress and de-linking the investigative process from under the Congress Government’s control.
Related to the 2G Scam is the sorry sight of the Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India disputing the statements of two of his colleagues that the Chief Justice was infirmed and kept in the picture of Mr. A Raja the Minister involved in the Scam, interceding with Justice Raghupathy of the Madras High Court in some case on behalf of one of his acolytes. Obviously the former Chief Justice is sparing in the truth on the subject as the Indian media seems to be daily making out the case against him. During his term in office one got the impression, rightly or wrongly, that he was a committed judge in the mould that the Congress Government desired of a ‘committed judiciary’ during the Emergency days.
As if the calls were not enough for the stepping down of India’s Chief Vigilance Commissioner due to his disputed appointment on grounds of being named in a criminal conspiracy case, the media has now started making calls that the former Chief Justice of India appointed by the Congress Government as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission should voluntarily step down from his present post.
One thought that the days of the Congress ‘permit raj’ and ‘quota raj’ were over but as the Niira Radia tapes disclosures show that the politicians have become more astute and savvy in terms of gathering ill-gotten gains. Cannot be spared either are some of the iconic names in the Indian industry who employed very highly paid lobbyists to tackle the weaknesses of Ministers and bureaucrats.
I had already touched sometime back that the moral fiber of the Indian polity was fraying but now one is sadly forced to state that the moral fiber of the Indian polity is in tatters and with no hopes of redemption in the near future. The need of the hour is a moral transformation and restructuring of the Indian political system and processes.
19-Dec-2010
More by : Dr. Subhash Kapila
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Dear Subhash Ji, further to my post earlier, perhaps you forgot to mention that there is an ongoing scrutiny of the 2-G spectrum matter by the Public Accounts Committee, a CBI review of spectrum allocation from 2001 being monitored by the Supreme Court, an investigation of any policy malfeasance by a retired Supreme Court judge and a ...parallel investigation by the Enforcement Directorate. Since the Opposition remained dissatisfied, the Prime Minister volunteered to appear before the Public Accounts Committee and the government proposed a special session of Parliament to debate whether or not a Joint Parliamentary Committee would add value to the ongoing proceedings. The Opposition, especially the BJP, will have none of this and insists that it is not for the Prime Minister to choose the forum before which he is arraigned. It wants the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee rather than a debate on the need for one as offered. This is an untenable stand and devoid of merit. The Public Accounts Committee is one of half a dozen established joint committees of Parliament under its rules of business. On the other hand, there is no standing provision for any other Joint Parliamentary Committee except by express direction of Parliament. So, for the Opposition to insist on reference of the so-called spectrum scam to the exchequer to a non-existent body that can only be constituted by a specific mandate of Parliament, is an absurdity. The Opposition insists that the government must face Parliament but will not let Parliament function or decide. This is an insult to the people of India who did not elect their MPs merely to prevent Parliament from functioning. |
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Dear Subash Ji, Namaste. If you see half full may be your thinking may chnage. To me today, there is a sense of deep satisfaction, economy is booming there are more and more cars on the roads, shares are soaring, a plane is taking off every six seconds, hotels are full, shops do roaring business. It looks India has moved from under developed nation to a fully developing nation, and has come out of its slough of depression and inertia of the last so many centuries, which was characterized by lack of self-esteem, confidence and dynamism. Today, we see a much more dynamic and self-confident India. Indian people have great talent and potential and are in great demand through out the globe. We are hardworking, believe in ourselves as dedicated and committed. In the field of medicine and health care we are also heading and India has entered among the selected countries were the liver and heart transplants are successfully performed that too at little cost as compared to other countries were the cost is too high. In the last decade, however, spectacular progress was made in IT, employment, aviation, space, national economy, medicine, business and other fields. If such a land of unpredictable diversity could be metamorphosed into its present position - global IT location, a nuclear superpower, FDI landscape, booming economy, phantom of Foreign exchange, private players’ public investment platform, manpower giant, the most geographically convenient outsourcing destination and what not - there should be something of universal relevance in this change. That is sheer hard work. The development is seen in our villages were the majority of our population is living. Although there are still certain places were the people are still backward and lacking the necessary amenities and are living below poverty line. Our national leaders are working hard to better their conditions and look into their problems. On the isue of 2 G scam, during the NDA government, there was a major controversy when telecom companies were allowed to move from a licensing regime to a revenue-sharing one. The sudden removal of Jagmohan from the post of communications minister in 1998 was reportedly a consequence of his refusal to toe the line of a section within his government. In July 1999, following the recommendation of a Group of Ministers headed by Jaswant Singh, the fixed licence fee regime was changed to a revenue share one. This was adversely commented on by the CAG. According to Ratan Tata, if a hypothetical amount was to be calculated at that point of time, the loss to the exchequer would be about Rs. 50,000 crore. Other ministers for communications during the NDA regime, including the late Pramod Mahajan, were accused of assisting Reliance Infocomm to become a nationwide operator offering “full mobility” in its cellular phone operations without paying the full licence fee. This decision of the DoTwas against TRAI recommendations and the resultant loss to the exchequer was said to be in the region of 1,100 crore. However, the sheer size of the subsequent undervaluation and misallocation of spectrum makes the earlier scandals pale into relative insignificance |