Corruption

Ensuring that lack of sanction does not stop corruption cases against Government officials – Judgement by the Supreme Court

The Government has a number of laws against corruption on the books; if implemented in a proper way, they should be enough to ensure that corruption levels go down. However, when the investigating arms of the Government (such as the CBI, ED, etc) are forced by the Government to behave in a certain way, then there is the need for having an independent investigator such as the Lokpal, or to remove the control of the Government from the current investigating agencies. So, the Government suffers a credibility gap in terms of the reputation of its commitment to fighting corruption.
What causes more problems is the state of corruption cases against Government officers, where a sanction is needed from the Government. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, a sanction is needed from the Government for the investigation / prosecuting agencies to go ahead with a case against a Government official. One would think that the Government should ensure that those indulging in corruption are proceeded against, and not deny this sanction; this is more so especially when the Government is in such a bind over corruption with its public image battered. And yet, one third of such cases are in a position where the agencies are waiting for Government sanction of the cases.
The suspicion is that in many cases, some elements of the political classes are complicit along with the accused Government official, or that the Government does not really want that official to face prosecution because they want that particular case to die down (as has happened in the past). These cases would get highlighted from time to time in the media, but the situation remained that the Government would not buckle down; what would typically happen is that when the agencies asked for permission, they were not denied nor were the given approval. Instead, there would be a deafening silence to the repeated request for sanction for prosecution, until the agency would give up.
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The whole drama about reservations for Muslims and its politics – primarily in Uttar Pradesh

For the past few days, in addition to the many caste calculations going on in the UP electoral scene, there is another twist that has been added to the whole discourse. This is related to political parties trying to attract the Muslim vote and what they can do for it. Now, getting support from a community is not a problem, but doing it only for electoral purposes and at the time of elections continues to be a problem, especially when it is so blatant.
A series of reports over the years have concluded that Indian muslims over the years have a level of development which is lower than that of the general population, and nobody can really doubt these conclusions. Further, over the years, a number of trades that had traditionally a higher proportion of Muslims (such as weavers) were affected by economic movements, further reducing the economic growth of the community. These were items that the Governments of the day should have handled, with targeted economic and development measures that laid a lot of emphasis on economic development that would increase the empowerment level of Muslims in the country.
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BJP going against it’s anti-corruption campaign – inducting accused politicians for the UP polls

The BJP keeps on trying to portray itself as a party that is totally against corruption, very different from the corrupt practices of the Congress and other parties. As a part of this, the party has sought to put itself as the main supporter of the Lokpal campaign, and had sought a strong Lokpal so that an institution to stop the endemic corruption in Government can be put in place. But, from time to time, the BJP also takes steps that immediately portrays the party as being opportunistic and forces those looking for an alternative to the Congress to re-think.
We saw this in the whole drama in Karnataka. It was quite clear for some time that the Yeddyurappa Government in the state was corrupt, indulging in many corrupt practices. And the state of Karnataka was critical for the aims of the BJP in South India, a part of the country where the BJP does not really have much of a presence in terms of electoral seats (either in the state assembly or Parliament). And yet, what the BJP accomplished in Karnataka was drastically opposite to all this, with the party getting a name for having a high degree or corruption; and even when this was recognized, the party was unable to change the Chief Minister who was the embodiment of this corruption.
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