Last week saw rapid political developments in India resignation by three senior ministers of the Rao ministry as well is exposure of the involvement of leader of the BJP opposition in the Indian Parliament. According to media information, as many as 110 politicians and officers received Rs 65 crore in kickbacks from one business house owned by ‘one R.C. Jain. Actually, it was long ago that a Delhi police party chanced upon a diary at Jain’s house in Delhi which contained the recipients’ list. The matter went to the C.B.I. which is directly under the Indian prime minister. But the enquiry agency did little to hold worthwhile investigation. Being a hot material, a respected Delhi journalist, Rajinder Puri, petitioned to the Supreme Court for directions to the government to complete the investigation on a time bound basis and file cases in courts to punish the wrongdoers. The “prime minister was compelled to order registration of cases” of corruption against Balram Jakhar, Vidya Charan Shukla and Madhva Rao Scindia. Besides, the government also moved for action against leader of the opposition in Parliament, BJP’s Lal Krishan Advani, rebel Congress leader Arjun Singh and a senior Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav. The last-mentioned leader has publicly confessed that the money was indeed received by him in 198890 periods. This statement is sufficient to invest the diary with credibility. Although majorities of the leader involved in the scandal have denied having received the money, the fact is that they are doing so to evade harassment and action. The list has, indeed, shaken the entire Indian polity as thoroughly corrupt.

The diary disclosures deserve serious attention on a few counts: Firstly, the diary was discovered some six months ago but no action was taken on it until the Supreme Court intervened. In other words, in India wrongdoing does not attract automatic action from the executive because it itself is involved in all kinds of illegalities like moneymaking and violation of human rights including disappearances and murders, Even large and dominant sections of country’s media is a part and parcel of the executive who, according to the mover of the court petition, Puri, knew about the scandal but did not write a word against the wrongdoers. There is also no great hue and cry from the public either. In other words, major organs of India’s democracy are not assertive. India’s investigating agency like the C.B.I. are oriented politically and not professionally. They act only when they are prodded to do so and that, too, in a selective manner as is evident from the fact that only 10 political leaders have been proceeded against after much dillydallying. The second point worth nothing is the fact that R.C. Jain is not a big name in Indian business. He is at best a middle rung businessman. Yet he managed to distribute bribe money worth Rs 65 crore and that, too, during the two years 1988-90 only. In other words, how much more hush money passes hands in India involving thousands of other and bigger businessmen can only be imagined and not oriented, The third and more important issue worthy of note is the involvement of prime minister Rao himself in the scandal, Sooner or later, the supreme court is bound to take notice of Rao’s policy of pick and choose and order the C.B.I. not to spare anyone with the result that the prime minister too will have to resign. This possibility will open a Pandora’s box.

Communist Party (Marxist) leader Jyoti Basu, Akali leaders Parkash Singh Badal and Gurcharan Singh Tohra and a few others have reacted to demand Rao’s resignation as if they themselves are above board and do not touch the hush money. How hypocrite these leaders are! Who does not know that Basu and his colleagues collect every now and then millions of rupees from businessmen to hold their party congress¢s.as well as to run their election campaigns? As for Akali leaders, less said the better; Badal collected on the eve of every election crores of rupees and pocketed a bulk of the collection for his personal enjoyment. In fact, multiplicities of political parties of political leaders to get hush “political donations.” The Indian system itself encourages a parallel economy ‘and money power with dangerous repercussions for the vast “multitudes. No wonder there are occasional rebellions against ‘this corrupt system which are sought to be crushed with ‘force of arms. Only fools buy the Indian establishment’s argument that the armed rebels are trying to undermine India’s so-called democracy. These rebels actually try to liberate their people from the shackles of slavery imposed by India’s corrupt system handsomely backed by its armed might. The week’s developments have only served to expose the true face of India’s democracy.

Article extracted from this publication >>  January 24, 1996