Media: Cleansing Indian Public Life
Jyotika J. Thukral

 

In the dock
Chandra Pratap Singh (BJP) Sidhi, UP	Y.G. Mahajan (BJP) Jalgaon, Maharsahtra
Raja Ram Pal (BSP) Bilhaur, UP	Lal Chandra Kol (BSP) Robertsganj, UP
Anna Saheb M.K. Patil (BJP) Erandol, Maharastra	Pradeep Gandhi (BJP) Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh
Suresh Chandel (BJP) Hamirpur, HP	Narendra Kumar Kushwaha (BSP) Mirzapur, UP
Manoj Kumar (RJD) Palamau, Jharkhand	Ramsevak Singh (Cong) Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
Chhattrapal Singh Lodha

Corruption is endemic to Indian public life. The experiences of Indians in their daily chores bring home the tormenting tales of bribery and sleaze at all levels of government and private functioning. But this latest exposure of members of India Parliament accepting a few thousand rupees to oblige by asking  questions in parliament adds another shocking tale. here is the very Parliament on sale.

The string operations expose the feet of clay of the Indian political system where some law makers from all parties except the Left prove to be  a saleable commodity.

This string operation carried out by Anirudha Bahal of Tehelka fame spanning eight months and aired by leading news channel Aaj Tak, it  showed on camera  as many as 11 members of Parliament or lawmakers, for allegedly accepting money ranging from Rs 10,000 ( $200) upto Rs 110,000 ($2300) for raising questions in the Parliament.  

This is not the first time that media’s sting operations in India have exposed corruption at the top political and bureaucratic levels. The media, empowered with latest electronic technology and a democratic society to back it up, has played a crucial role in cleansing corruption . But many a times action has been taken against junior officials and top politicians have mostly got away scot-free. the system is not responding. But the fact is, after seeing their colleagues caught red handed on camera, many will fear before accepting a wad of crisp notes. electronic gadgets too to detect hidden camera or recording could also be used as part of defence mechanism

The recent expose reflects the deep rooted corruption which has not spared even the lawmakers on the one hand and on the other reveals how easy bait these corrupt MPS were. For the MPs approached by journalists posing as representatives of a fictitious organization called North Indian Small Manufacturers Association (NISMA) did not make even a slight effort to find out about the credibility of the organization. Attraction of money was to much to resist.

They have already been issued show cause notices and asked to explain their conduct within three days. Of the 11 members caught, six belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), three from Bahujan Samaj Party and one each from the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. BJP that never stops from taking high moral positions had witnessed its president  caught on camera taking bribe and even the tallest of the leaders of this Right wing Hindu party, L.K.advani had faced charges of accepting hawala money. Now it has the largest number, six out of eleven caught accepting crisp currencies.  

In likelihood, the guilty MPs would face expulsion from their parties and lose their seats in the Parliament. Action has already been taken against some of them. In addition, under Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, a public servant accepting gratification other than his legal remuneration can be punished with imprisonment ranging from six months to five years.   

The BJP specially seems to be quite regular with its transgressions. For a few years back, Tehelka.com in its sting operation had caused a tehelka when it exposed the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance where top army officials had been caught on camera for accepting bribes in defence deals. Reporters posing as defence suppliers offered bribes to then BJP President Bangaru Laxman and to Jaya Jaitley, close associate of then defence minister George Fernandes forcing him to resign. Laxman was caught accepting Rs 100,000 as party fund. Surprisingly, no action was taken rather an enquiry against Tehelka was issued and soon after the ministers were back in his position.  In contrast, army officers at pretty senior levels have been curt martial led. These two yard sticks have invited protest from the media and the public.  

But there is no doubt that the BJP will be the worst hit with not only having six of its members caught in the scandal, its  attack on Congress over the Volcker Report which led to the exit of  Foreign Minister Natwar Singh from the government shall get weakened. Not to forget the repercussions that the expose will have on the upcoming plenary of the BJP. Its internal squabbles would far sure increase.  The party stands exposed not only for engineering communal tensions and riots to gain Hindu votes, but accepting money. 

More such operations were earlier carried out against aviation officials in Punjab who were caught on camera accepting bribes to issue commercial pilot licenses.  Imagine how dangerous that can be – a person who does not know flying or a terrorist who can cause September 11 type catastrophe – get a license to fly. The opening up of the media sector and flood of electronic technology has not only made it more daring but more accessible to the public as well.  

Whatever the reasons, politicians manage to escape through some legal escape hatch. For example, in this case it will not be easy for the two Houses to find out which among the MPs had taken bribe and asked the question for which he had accepted the money.  

On the contrary, the army officials who were accused of corruption in the same Tehelka scandal were punished thanks to the stringent Army Act.  This puts the civil authorities to shame

However, it is noteworthy that so far it is only the Left parties which have 63 MPs have never been involved in any such scandals. This in a way reflects the honesty of the communists. The sting operation, which apparently must have offered bribes to lawmakers from the Left, should have shown the courage to show them rejecting the temptation.