Sabse bada rupaiya.....The inside story of Corruption

Before we get into the issue of corruption lets invoke the praise for Rokda, the Rupaiya. The one and only one which makes the world go round and round. Sabse bada rupaiya....bole tho ekdam jakkas.

The inside story of Coke Cola Pepsi issue:
a) Government doesn’t give damn about people
b) Corporate like Coca Cola Pepsi don’t give a damn about Consumers.

If the government of India was concerned about its citizen then they should have by now created rules for standards to be followed in Food products and strictly implemented it, like they do in developed countries. It’s been more than a decade since they opened up the economy. Creating favorable environment for investment is the mantra all the Governments in the centre and state have been following, whether Congress or BJP or cricket loving Commies. They never gave thought on safety of its citizen, on measures to safeguard people from harm. It’s only after a scam or a scandal that they think on prevention. Thousands of people lost their money in Stock Exchange Scam a decade back before they thought on how to plug, to quote an example. Other issues like exploitation of natural resources of the nation particularly the scarce groundwater don’t have proper guidelines. Why is that an NGO (admittedly ill-equipped) has to tell us about Coca Cola Pepsi’s pesticide content. The Government should have conducted these in its own labs. It seems they don’t even have a policy framework on such issues. They don’t give a damn about health and safety of billion people. The move by many state governments to ban Coca Cola Pepsi is a charade to hide their incompetence. These governments owe an explanation to people. They should be ashamed of themselves.

So why is that the subsequent government failed to raise the concerns of its people and strictly insure safeguards?.

The answer is simple: it’s about money. It’s about corruption. The leaders whether in power or opposition are nincompoops. They will wag their tail in front of money bag. And Coca Cola- Pepsi has the capacity to buy them many times over. Just think if they give 3 to 4 crores (yes crores!!!) to actors to say a line like thande ka thadka or Piyo sar uthake imagine the amount they can give to our salivating politicians. So a Union Minster will parrot that even the mother’s milk is contaminated, on Master’s command. Actually it is nothing really unexpected in this country; the system leaves them no option. Political parties and politicians need money. How will you expect them to fight elections otherwise??

This seems a very valid reason for corruption. These serious charges against the Political parties are nothing new, the question which should interest us is : how will the Political Party fund money to fight elections??. There is no provision in the constitution for state sponsoring the election expenses of political parties. They have to make money, this to my knowledge needs to be identified as the main reason for widespread corruption and kickback scams. There seems to be desperation among the political parties to find resources for funding their election expense. Also a politician who has more money can easily influence the party decisions. There are many “leaders” who have become prominent and influential because of the money power- many have not even won a single election. Money power has got many into Rajya Sabha. The reason why money bags like ex zamindars (that is land holding class), lawyers and so on in politics in more numbers is not a mystery. One example comes to mind is Arun Jaitly fellow who is now a main “leader”. He is a new breed of “suave”- meaning ‘good in front of camera’; politician who has earned enough money by representing Coke-Pepsi in court. It is quite obvious he will serve his Masters interest in the cabinet. How much damage he did as Commerce Minister we will never know since nobody in any government would want the golden goose to vanish. He also has his hands in cricket pie, so more money. How can Sharad Pawar an Agriculture Minister also be BCCI president???. Most importantly what is the interest of politicians and small time businessmen like Dalmiya in cricket, obviously it’s not about cricket.

Why and how are more corporate people getting into Rajya Sabha?. It is very likely that economic policies are dictated by the interest of Corporate. Taking a very small example: Somebody enlighten my on what basis or criteria the prices of Coca Cola –Pepsi was reduced in the last budget. What is the rationale of such decisions??. Since we are discussing Coke –Pepsi, the reason why I am taking this example. I suspect that any Government in the Centre or State would be looking for earning some money or influence through their policies and other actions by helping Money bags. And it is very likely that they will go to any extend. So the people’s protests and their basic livelihood needs are minor irritant. The same government which is elected by these very people by standing in long queues are ignored as any Government of the day, Congress, BJP or Commies will be into the business of making as much money, as long as they are in power. Off course there are exceptions but they too have to work under the compulsions of collecting money for Party Fund. In this understanding of the way the system functions it is difficult to blame a Bangaru Laxman or others accepting money as corrupt. They are just doing what most politicians are supposed to do for their Party but were unfortunate or shall we say clumsy to be caught on camera. Everyone may not be as talented as Jaitly boy in the art of legally licking. What should they do??. As long as election expenses are to be met by the political parties and politicians will have no options but use devious methods to meet the demand.

This system has already damaged Indian democracy significantly. I as a common man and a concerned citizen feel that it is high time something is done. Otherwise these politicians will even sell this country, if they haven’t done it yet. And there will be enough scoundrels who will have no qualm comparing mother’s milk with Coca Cola or Pepsi and wag his tail to his grateful Masters. The shame or irony of a Union Minister of huge country will not even register. Can we trust these people??.

It is quite clear that Elections expenses are quite high there is a need for some mechanism of funding. This will make corrupt politicians more accountable and less incentive for shady deals unless for greed, which is where the laws need to be stricter. How many politicians have been punished in independent India??. Also it will give honest politicians some badly needed sense of security and instead of hobnobbing with money bags and other means of earning, he/she can focus on the needs of the people. They will not have to worry about election funding and so be more transparent and responsible. There is an immediate need for solving this problem. And people in this country have nobody but the Judiciary to help them. Anyone listening…….