The great German sociologist Max Weber once remarked, “There are two ways of making politics one’s vocation; either one lives ‘for’ politics or one lives ‘off’ it.”
The first generation of Indian leaders lived mostly ‘for’ politics. They were attracted by the authority they wielded, but were also often motivated by a spirit of service and sacrifice. The Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) legacy was fresh in their memory. But the current generation of Indian politicians, however, is more likely to enter politics to live ‘off’ it. They are attracted by power and prestige the politics offers and also by the opportunities for financial rewards. Control over the State machinery, they know, can give glittering prizes to those who are in charge of governance.
According to Weber’s categorisation of politicians, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and supremo of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) J Jayalaithaa belongs to the second generation of politicians. She made politics a good business, but she never knew that this would be a dirty business in the end.
A Bangalore court has found Jayalaithaa guilty of having accumulated wealth beyond her known sources of income and has slapped a four-year jail term on her along with a hefty fine of one billion rupees. As a report says, she emotionally appealed to the judge to lessen the quantum of punishment considering her age, but her pleading was of no avail. She is 66 now.
With this judgment, Jayalalithaa will be debarred from service in legislature for ten years. All the sighs and sobs with chest beating by her supporters on the street are now meaningless. She has already resigned from the post of Chief Minister. Apparently, the Indian society is now not prepared to show any sense of honour to the corrupt.
In the 1990s, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) laid charges against a number of prominent regional politicians for having assets disproportionate to their positions. The leaders so charged included lalu Prasad Yadav and Jayalalithaa. Each was accused of amassing hundreds of millions of rupees from irregular land deals, money laundering and illegal allocation of contracts. The charges levelled against them have been proved true. They have been convicted and their political future is in doldrums.
Thanks to Rahul Gandhi who tore the controversial Ordinance to negate the Supreme Court verdict on convicted lawmakers as “complete nonsense”. The Supreme Court in its judgment had struck down a provision in the electoral law which allowed a convicted MP or MlA to continue in their posts if they made an appeal to a higher court. If this Ordinance was alive today, both Jaya and lalu would not have been worried about court judgments along with their supporters.
After the Jayalalithaa episode, it is now believed that more shameful truths will be spilling out of the political circles discrediting more regional leaders. In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) are allegedly involved in the Saradha chit fund scandal. Fears loom large that Mamata Banerjee herself will be caught in the CBI net soon. She looks pale, gloomy and gasping in the Saradha tangle. A fresh petition against Uttar Pradesh’s Mayabati on her disproportionate assts case is pending in the apex court.
In Odisha too, the CBI is chasing the political managers of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) very awfully in chit fund scam. A new story has unfolded about the Seashore Group, another ponzi firm in Odisha, after the atrocious story of Artha Tatwa Group. The CBI is examining the documents to find out how the Odisha Government allowed the Seashore Group to expand its domain despite the Central Government’s warning about its illegal money circulation activities. Reportedly, the State Government has made some memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with this chit fund firm to develop water sports in the Mahanadi; to develop the Atri hot spring near Khordha and to set up a power plant in the State and a maize processing unit at Nabarangpur.
Therefore, it is apprehended that the political patronage of the ruling dispensation in Odisha must have helped Seashore widen its unholy “cheat” empire within a short span of time. Will this Seashore python suffocate its patrons to death slowly nowIJ
As it seems, the so-called clean governance in Odisha is rotten inside. It is almost in a decomposed stat, and corruption here is an astounding fact. Generally, a big fish begins to be rotten from its head.
The regional parties in India with their single monolithic leaders are more corrupt at present. These parties exclusively strive on identity politics of caste, region and emotion and a hyped sloganeering of “Central negligence” without having any national agenda and pan- Indian outlook of their own.
They distribute doles from the public exchequer and win elections with absolute mandate. Absolute power emanating from a huge electoral mandate is, thus, corrupting these provincial parties along with their leaders absolutely. Enough has been amassed by these leaders. It is now time for them to pay these back.
It will be easier if voters’ love for them is lost.
(The writer is an advocate, an author, a columnist, a former national president and secretary general, National Audit Federation (under CAG). E-mail Id: gcparida@gmail.com)