Money and politics

I have often repeated the threat our governance faces from the twin issues of terrorism, internal as well as external, and the lack of transparency in fund collection for political parties and leaders.
Political funds are regularly collected by all parties. Anyone and everyone in authority, in the decision-making sphere, is a “collector” of funds of which about 85-90 per cent are in “cash”. Check the accounts of any political party, be it a national or a regional party (with the exception of the Left), and then look at the amount of money spent on contesting each seat in Lok Sabha elections. The story will become clear.
No one donating funds to a party parts with their cash to benefit the “middle or the bottom” of the power cycle. “Political donations” are always meant to go to the “top”. Every party has its own system of dealing with “contributors” and “non-contributors” — there are ministers at the Centre, chief ministers of states and others who have the power to dispense favours.
All this has resulted in several changes in the structure of most political parties. Virtually every political family has a very successful business tycoon and a battery of lawyers, tax consultants and chartered accountants who have evolved systems to deal with the law in case the need arises.
Sadly this money-malice is now impacting our day to day governance and is challenging not just political authority but the very existence of effective governance. A handful of individuals are holding the system to ransom and making a mockery of governance. Should we be surprised that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose integrity is impeccable, is unable to effectively deal with the 2G spectrum corruption issue despite raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and despite documents being leaked to the media to build pressure for early resignations?
No one is interested in finding a solution. Every time an investigation is ordered into a case of extortion or corruption, it is just to create a smokescreen. The best examples of this are in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Look at the control which political parties have over government agencies and look at the ease with which the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and the income-tax departments can change positions to accommodate the political swings that are inevitable in coalition politics. We have seen this in three cases recently — Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family, Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar and Jharkhand and Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh. In other states, too, the same thing is happening, often involving evidence in cases that are in court.
We have seen the political system being held hostage by “money power” in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, too, and we now see this happening in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. What can one say of Jharkhand where the Madhu Koda scam of Rs 4,000 crores could indict every party in the state if a free and fair probe was ever conducted? The situation will only get worse as political costs escalate. If not checked, it will consume our system of governance.
In today’s world a political leader is considered honest if s/he does not take party funds into his/her personal accounts. But a stage will come when all such “honest” individuals in authority will pay a very heavy price for their “silence” or their inability to check corruption, extortion and criminal activity associated with political collections.

The Union Carbide issue is sad. Even after 25 years, there is no justice for the people of Bhopal where 20,000 people died and two generations have suffered immense physical and mental damage. Little good will be done by passing the blame on to each other in what is clearly a collective failure of the system. While we struggle to reform the system at all levels, we should think constructively and look for immediate solutions to reduce the hardships of the people of Bhopal affected by this tragedy.
All we can do even today is pass verdict on events that took place in Bhopal in 1984. Even with the wisdom of hindsight this is never easy. The electronic media is in a frenzy and, sadly, motives are being attributed to many. Several political battles will be fought between the Congress and the Opposition, but there will be few winners as between 1995 and 2010 all the political parties have been in power at the Centre and everyone is “guilty”.
I was a Cabinet minister in the 1990 government and a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA), and I do not recall a single discussion on the subject of Union Carbide. The events of December ’84 are very much in the news but the ground reality in Bhopal is best known to Arjun Singh, the then chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. He, along with the Intelligence Bureau, would keep the Prime Minister and home minister informed of the situation. There would be many aspects to the issue but in this emergency the first priority would have been to save human lives and prevent a further disaster.
The CCPA meeting at 3 am on December 9, called by the Prime Minister, with Mr Singh present as indicated by P.C. Alexander, indicates the urgency of the situation and I have no doubt that Rajiv Gandhi would have done everything possible and more to deal with the crisis situation as it existed.
We keep talking of the rule of law but in case after case we see verdicts being passed after 20 years. Little has been done to improve the judicial situation though the media has succeeded in reviving certain cases that had been long forgotten, like Jessica Lall, Nitesh Katara, Priyadarshni Mattoo and lately the Ruchira issue. I have little doubt that the uproar on the Union Carbide case in the media, both in India and abroad, will force both the Central and the state government to act.
Law minister M. Veerappa Moily means well, as do the others, but the system is rotten and has always been rotten. What do we need to revise our laws? Twenty thousand dead people and a generation maimed for life? This case must be reopened and the compensation issue re-examined. I am sure that legal experts will find a way to do this on an urgent basis.
If the US had suffered a manmade disaster of this nature it would have probably gone to “war”. If in a case such as this extradition was not done immediately, then it’s clear that the rules of the power game are very different between the US and countries in Asia than what we often like to believe. We need to understand that India will not become an economic and political superpower by gross domestic product growth of 10 per cent alone. We need a great deal of political will and a change of attitude to get there.

Arun Nehru is a former Union minister

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