0.15 Moral code and passion  (Page 2/2)

Passion is not confined to cricket alone. People are equally passionate about politics. Political leaders, in particular, show a different kind of passion. They are so passionate about their work that there is no concept of retirement in politics. A study revealed that Indian cabinet was one of the oldest governing body in the world despite India being the youngest (average age) nation. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, previous Prime Minister, could not freely walk due to age and illness during his tenure. Current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is 79 years old. Karunanidhi, working from wheel chair, is in his eighties.

In the current state poll campaign in Kerala, there is, in fact, a public spat on the issue. Rahul Gandhi (40 years old), General Secretary of Congress, while campaigning cautioned people if Left Democratic Front (LDF) was re-elected, Kerala would have a 93-year-old as Chief Minister in five years time. Responding to the jibe, LDF veteran Achuthanandan said that Rahul Gandhi is an Amul (Baby milk powder popular brand name) baby. He has come to Kerala to campaign for Amul babies.

One could only imagine the reaction of politicians if people demanded to fix retirement age or limit number of tenures for political positions. It will certainly be the most desirable legislation besides Lok-Pal (Ombudsman) bill which will cleanse political system a great deal. Indian democracy had records of shorts in re-appointing Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers and Cabinet Ministers.

April 13, 2011 (Monday) : For the sake of argument

There is unease in the political circle following defeat at the hands of civil activists on the issue of Lok-Pal (Ombudsman) bill. There are many leaders who felt that people had not heard their side. It is difficult for them to accept that there will be oversight over and above public mandate that they have to manage. For them, the very idea of subjecting political authority to semi-judicial authority appears to be flawed in a democratic setup. Digvijay Singh, a prominent leader of Congress, echoed this sentiment by pointing out that all politicians are not corrupt and there are good and bad people in all segments of society. Kapil Sibal, Telecom Minister and member of the Joint Committee for Lok-Pal (Ombudsman) Bill, also displayed his reservations on recent development.

However, the spontaneous support of people for Lok-Pal (Ombudsman) bill in the face of never ending series of corruption charges has forced political class across parties on the back foot. If democratic establishment had its checks and controls, then this urge for Lok-Pal bill would not have arisen in the first place. Since there are explicit and inherent aberrations in Indian democracy, there is indeed a genuine requirement that some method is devised to address the menace of corruption. The fact that the bill was conceived about 42 years ago supports this line of thinking.

Though the current attention of public is focused on corruption, but Indian administration suffers from equally dangerous ills of mismanagement. Sooner or later, this issue is about to be highlighted with the awakening and increased participation of people in the matter of governance. A news item highlighted this aspect of political management. It was reported that Delhi and Chandigarh which do not have agricultural land had a greater share of soft loans (about 8 billion dollars @4 percent annual interest) than the combined off take of populous states like UP, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. There are numerous such glaring examples which are simply inexplicable and needed external checks as democratic apparatus had clearly failed.

The elected wisdom is surely at stake. Political parties are not hesitant in buying voters. Parties fulfill electoral promises such as giving free color television sets, rice at one rupee a kilogram etc. Some others counter the offer with freebies such as mixers, grinders, and fans with an eye on women voters. Many politicians have been blatantly using public money in grandiose and wasteful expenditure when millions have been struggling to fight for their survival. In the run up to state assembly poll of Tamil Nadu, leading newspapers carried headlines like, “2G vs freebies : Jayalalita battles to oust Karunanidhi”. The moot question is whether this political class can be trusted to be the managers of national exchequer without an oversight?