Tuesday, 10 December 2013 00:00
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India’s dynastic-rule is under threat after polls over the weekend landed a 4-0 blow to Indian National Congress and set the path to an almost unpredictable election year in 2014. It also acts as an international warning to governments that soft peddle corruption and provide immunity to dishonest politicians.
Tired of spectacular corruption scandals over the last two years, the people decided to literally sweep politicians out of power with the new Aam Aadmi, or Common Man, Party rising to the top seat in New Delhi as its jubilant supporters waved their party emblem – brooms – and promised more to come.
The emergence of AAP, which was largely dismissed as a “rural” party hardly on the radar of Congress ahead of the polls, has shown the deep disgust corruption has sown among the Indian people. This is hardly surprising as India has a long history of staggering corruption scandals spanning decades.
Voters would well remember the Agusta Westland chopper deal, or “choppergate” as it was dubbed by Indian media, in which the company is accused of bribing Indian defence officials for a US$ 550 million deal to provide a dozen helicopters. It was only one of a series of corruption scandals in defence deal-making in India.
The past year also saw the world’s largest phone company, Vodafone, engaged in a tax battle, which ended with Congress caving into a conciliatory deal. Worldwide reports indicate that Vodafone may have sidled out of paying as much as US$ 1 billion in taxes.
Then came the Saradha Group financial scandal. This is a financial scam that was caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Saradha Group, a consortium of Indian companies. It is estimated that 1.7 million depositors lost anywhere between US$ 4-6 billion.
Cracking under pressure in October an Indian court sentenced a powerful ally of the ruling Congress party to five years in jail for siphoning off State funds, underlining that a wave of public disgust with rampant corruption is finally catching up with the nation’s politicians.
The sentence means that Lalu Prasad Yadav will lose his seat in the Lower House of Parliament, making him the first to be hit by a Supreme Court ruling in July – reflecting the popular mood – that convicts may not sit in Legislatures even during an appeal.
India’s Judiciary also passed landmark legislation allowing public servants to follow only written orders to stem corruption in October. Given the elections results, this was simply too little too late and parties such as the AAP have surprised members of both Congress and BJP for their ability to get voters with just a year of existence under their belt. It would seem that when the common man gets fed up, he is prone to taking decisive action.
AAP is headed by a former tax inspector named Arvind Kejriwal who came into the limelight for demanding greater transparency in India’s bogged bureaucracy. He is backed mostly by younger voters who see no allure in the Gandhi family, which has ruled India for most of its 66-year post-independence history, and are not afraid of dethroning them.
Elsewhere in South Asia, corruption remains the main accusation against governments and Sri Lanka is no exception. If India’s election results prove anything, it is that failing to deal with corruption will send politicians home.
