Politics And Corruption 3

Politics And Corruption 3

After getting independence and after the rule of the kings was abolished, democratic governance has started in India with multiple party system.  Political parties have emerged in the country.  There are two types of political parties- national and regional.  Regional parties registered with Election Commission are restricted to the respective States they are registered.  National parties should register in at least four states to get recognition from the Election Commission as a national party.  

Why political parties are required?

Indian Constitution does not insist on political parties to contest for elections.  But because of some of the advantages a political party enjoys, political parties have emerged.  Only individuals file nominations.  Contestants without a political backup are called Independent candidates.  Unlike an individual person, a political party forms with a specific purpose and policies which may be amended from time to time but will be made clear to the public about their goals.  It will be easier to the political parties to form Government as the support from the elected members of the party is assured.  For voters also it will be easier for them to go by the policy of the political party instead of by the merits of an individual unless the individual is very prominent and musters goodwill of the people. 

There are also disadvantages from the political party system.  All the members of the party should support each other so that the party’s strength is ensured in spite of the difference in the personal opinion on some of the issues.  Joining a party makes them to follow the party blindly as their strength lies in it.  As per the anti defection law passed in 1985.  

The 52nd amendment to the Constitution added the Tenth Schedule in the Anti defection law that laid down the process by which the legislators may be disqualified on the grounds of defection.  A Member of Parliament or State Legislature is deemed to have defected if he either voluntarily resigns from his party or disobeys the directives of the party leadership on a vote. That is, they may not vote on any issue in contravention to the party’s whip. 

Independent members would be disqualified if they join a political party.  Nominated members who are not members of a party can choose to join a party within six months; after that period, they will be treated as a party member or as an independent member.

That means an elected member of a party cannot voice his own opinion?

Yes a member can do it.  But he cannot hold the position of an elected people’s representative as the member is voted by the voters in the elections treating the contestant as a representative of that particular party and will abide by the objects of that political party.  Logically it is right.  But it becomes a threat to the party’s elected member that he will lose the position of a legislator if he goes against the party.  It makes the legislator to abide by the rule of the party’s high command in order to hold the position.  That means an elected representative of the people loses his freedom to express his independent views.  All the decisions will be taken by the Party chief and the core members in the interests of the party’s sustenance and its development but not on the welfare of the people of a constituency of an elected representative.  A problem in the constituency of a legislator will be seen by the party from the view point of the party’s over all development. If justice cannot be done to the people of that particular region, the recommendations of the representative of that constituency will not be paid any attention by the party.  

Party first is the policy of the political parties where as an independent candidate’s view point will be the welfare of the people he represents.  The independent contestants have to bear all the expenses and risks in the elections but a candidate representing a political party can save on the publicity as it will be a common affair for all the constituencies.  More over the party cadre will be of assistance for promotional activities.   

Most of the political parties in India are led by a single person

Political parties mostly work on individual charisma of the party leader and sometimes some party leaders.  Congress, BJP, TDP, YSRCP, TRS, Loksatta, Shivasena, DMK, Anna DMK and parties of that sort are run by a single leader or by the association of a few leaders.  

Political parties increase in number due to individual pursuit of political gains

As the political parties are run by one person or a small group some members may feel it as an anarchy or oligarchy.  A member who is confident of his capabilities and feels deprived of the right position in the party may like to defect the party to join other party where the recognition is promised or may float his own party to have a total control on it. 

This is one of the main reasons for the number of political parties on the increase year by year in addition to the regional interests to be represented.  Every time a new party is formed the people of India look forward to the new party to deliver unlike old ones.  It needs a strong and prominent person to take the lead.

That is the reason why some of the political parties floated by the film actors could gather public support.  They are also used by the existing political parties to gain attention of the public and to cash in on the support of the fans of those film artistes.  NTR, MGR, Chiranjeevi started their own parties.  Balakrishna, Roja, Jr.NTR, Pawan Kalyan and others supported the existing parties they wished to support.  Actors like Vyjayanthi Mala, Jamuna, Krishna, Krishnam Raju, Rajesh Khanna, Jaya Sudha, Jaya Prada, Vijaya Shanti supported parties by joining them and participating in the elections by getting party tickets. 

Political parties will have agreements either before elections or after

Political parties who do not get absolute majority may join together to form Government.  This is allowed and not considered as defection.  A party can also merge with other party if 2/3rd majority agrees for it like in the case of Praja Rajyam Party founded by Chiranjeevi was merged with Congress party.  Sometimes political parties join together to get absolute majority.  They will have seat adjustments to avoid splitting of votes in a particular constituency.  The arrangement will also be announced by them so that the voters will understand it and vote accordingly.  Otherwise some of the voters may think that favorite party is missing in the election contest and it may result in voting some other political party than the allied one. 

All this party system is convenient to hold the elections and to form Government and also to eliminate the chances of frequent fall of Governments due to defections as defectors will be minimum due to the party’s whip armed with the Anti Defection Act.  

The party system that way became associations of the likeminded politicians with a common goal of getting power.

To be continued………..

-SriJa

Politics And Corruption 2

Politics And Corruption 2

The word Politics is singular though the letter-'s' at the end of the word suggests usage in plural number. A politician also usually thinks in the interests of self and questions 'what is in it for me?'

Possession of power becomes an addiction.  A person cannot shake it off so easily. We can see in the history that many of the leaders wanted to get power in spite of the threats to their lives were faced by them. A warrior’s returning home from the war filed in the olden days was not assured but still they went to fight with the enemy forces. 

What anybody can achieve when the very life is in danger in the process of the pursuit for leadership or power?  But still they did it. Life is at stake and their private life loses privacy leaving real personal life to the minimum most but still a fight for the leadership is always taken up.  That is why it is called addiction. The addiction is so deep that it passes on to their offspring through DNA and also due to the environment in which they are brought up. It can be seen in Indian politicians’ families. A son or wife takes over if the active politician is indisposed.

When getting power becomes their aim of life and an unshakable addiction, the purpose cannot be more than personal interest. Their endeavor will always be to hold the seat and pass on orders.  A word spoken or an action taken or a promise made or praising someone or ridiculing someone will only be in view of the political gain out of it. 

Power without money to support is cheap and money without power is weak and vulnerable.

Power should be backed up by money so that supporters can be satisfied if buying them is a rude way of putting it.  In order have sufficient funds to rule the people; it is a simple mathematic calculation that amount spent should be less than amount collected. Taxes were collected to the maximum and spent minimum on the welfare of the people. That leaves a surplus always which in the era of kings’ rule made rich treasury of the kingdom on which the king used to have total rights.  They used get all the luxuries money could buy.

As the politicians do not have direct right on the treasuries at the present times they are inclined to get some cuts from the expenses made through them which are bribes or unearned commissions that are called kick backs in the modern usage.

Many of the leaders or politicians are not bothered about their life or small personal life they have but they want to have more and more money without knowing what can be done with that. In the process of it a politician forgets the calculation of a man’s need in terms of money. He wants to gather so much of money that many generations can live without having any activity to earn for living. That is where a corruption takes place.

Like kings did in olden times, a politician cannot take bribes directly in the present times because of which he needs some layers to go into the corruptive practices. The persons who pay bribes try to get it back from the work they do. That way the corruption is going into the society at different level at different scales.

A wrong thing makes it go into multiple wrong deeds to cover the foot prints leading to the corruption they resorted to.

The saying has come that a person gets caught in the crime of bribery can get away paying bribe!

Getting into the roots of bribery, corruption and wrong things to get and maintain power is not to justify their acts but to look for the remedy with which the society can be made clean and healthy as the corruption of a politician is not limited to the one who resorts to it but also creeps into the society to make many others in the society to turn corrupt.

We will continue the discussion….

-SriJa

Politics And Corruption

Politics And Corruption
 

What is politics and why corruptive practices are linked with it?

Greek Polis means a city.  Polity is the form or process of Civil Government. Politics is derived from it with one of its meanings as 'activities concerned with seeking power and status' which suits in the present day situation in the country. There are also other meanings like ‘public life’ and ‘art and science of Government’ but the one first mentioned is more suitable to the practice of the political leaders in India.

If it is to seek power, why should one seek it?

Two reasons- one, to serve people and two to fulfill one’s own desires. Even if somebody wants to do some good to the society still he needs power to implement his policy with authority.  A person may desire to have power so that he can fulfill his desires at the cost of the public fund. Both the leaders with good and also with bad intentions may want power to achieve what they want. After attaining power it also becomes one of their objectives to retain the power so that their long term plans can be implemented- again for good or bad for the people i.e., in the best interests of the general public or in the self interest.

Do people need a politician? 



People always needed a leader.  The people in a village or a town or a city need protection, civic amenities and orderly life.  Protection is needed from outside and from the disputes from within.  People have diversified activities and their own small circle of family members depending on them to lead because of which they cannot look after the other problems they face as society as a whole.  They need someone to devote their time and wits to lead the society.

A leader needs a vision to develop the society in terms of the amenities, services, maintenance of law and order and economic stability of the society as a whole which cannot be attended by the individuals. In olden days strong men used safeguard the public from wild animals, thieves, dacoits and enemy countries. After proving their strength the people of the particular society used to treat him as their savior and used to contribute for the sustenance of the leader.

After some time the strong men saving the people started demanding more money than he needs with a pretext that a treasury is to be maintained for unforeseen expenses, wars and sundry things. Later, because of the authority to use the funds in the treasury they started using them for their luxuries. They became kings gradually gaining absolute rights on the treasury.

Kings became dictators whose words were the final decisions in all the issues pertaining to the kingdom they ruled.  Kings also became addicted to power.  They made rules to suit them and in the welfare of their own family members.  They started acquiring gold, horses, elephants, fire arms, slaves and women.  They used to get stronger every time they warred with other kings and defeated them as they could get all the above said assets including women of the enemy kings. Over a period kings gained unquestioning surrenders from the people.

But time changed with the mental development of the people after they started studying and debating. They became wiser to question the King.  Some of the unsatisfied people became revolutionary and some became reformers.  The revolutionaries went to hideouts to plan against the kings and the reformers stayed in the civic society and educated people.

In the system of Monarchy the rule was passed on to the heirs of the Monarch.  In Oligarchy, the rule vested in a small group of people.  After that democracy has been developed by the scholars and the people who wanted equal rights. The word ‘Demos’ means people in Greek. The word democracy was derived from the Greek word Demokratia which means ‘Rule of the People’.  That way democracy first appeared in Greek political and philosophical thought in the 5th Century BC.

As democracy took charge in place of a king’s rule, leaders came up to represent people of their area who made it their life’s goal or a profession that caused them to become political leaders or politicians.

What happens in Democracy?

In democracy there is no place for monarchy or oligarchy.  People’s representatives will form a Government and ensure proper governance.  They collect in the form of different taxes but the treasury is not owned by the elected members.  They are only trustees of the treasury and servants of the nation.  The amount in the treasury that way, cannot be used for the luxuries of the elected members who are political leaders duly elected by the people by secret ballot to run the government in the best interests of the public.  In order to ensure equality of the rights, the elections are conducted from each every center that is called a constituency.  A constitution is made by the first elected members to provide the guidelines for the government that is formed for the governance of the country.  As the elected members represent the people in their area, the general understanding is that their interests are safeguarded by those people’s representatives by participating in the decision makings of the Government.

This is what is supposed to happen!

We will continue the discussion and find out where it went wrong to give way for the corruption at all levels with special focus on Indian politics.  And also we will come to some conclusions as to how the corruption can be checked. 

We also invite readers’ participation in the discussion.

-SriJa