Criminal? No problem, you can still rule India
Indian politicians blatantly defend their criminal behavior
In a rare display of blatant disapproval of the politicians criminal records the Supreme Court of India issued a judgement mandating the immediate disqualification of lawmakers (parliamentarians as well as state assembly men and women) who are convicted for a criminal offence and punished with a jail term of more than two years.
Now how difficult is that to accept? I guess in India where 30% of MPs (Members of Parliament) and MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) have criminal records, it may cripple the government.
So the parliament — in a remarkable show of unity amongst all political parties — passed an ordinance overruling the Supreme Court so that the judgement is reversed/diluted.
What else will you expect from country where politicians are so rich (from bribes and corrupt practices) that they have forgotten that they were elected to govern the country and pass laws which will
- Improve lives of the people and raise their standards of living
- Create jobs
- Improve infrastructure
- Better educational/sports facilities, etc.
Instead they have brought the country to a stand still by their inaction.
I feel these guys have their hands so full — with money and other opulent goodies — that smaller bribes (relative to their ill gotten wealth) don’t interest them to pass laws (yes, it is well know in India that even to pass sensible laws bribes are given). Their demands are so high that businessmen can’t afford them. The demanded bribes don't make economic sense as after paying them these businessmen can’t justify the returns on these investments (it is ironical that I am calling the bribes as investments).
Don’t we all wonder why, in the last few years, has India fallen from the pedestal of a fast growing emerging economy to a sad story of what not to do with an country’s economy?
Events like this make the international community pity Indians (may be pity is a harsh word). Also, events like barbaric rapes of innocent women, horror stories of tourists getting mugged and conned make the world see that there is still a long way to go for India and its citizens.
However, I feel there is still some hope as India is still a vibrant democracy as governments change peacefully and some day someone like a Lincoln or a Reagan or a Roosevelt will come by and cleanse the system.
For some who are interested in the criminal statistics of the politicians in India, please note that all political parties are guilty of having elected officials with this dubious distinction, the numbers are as follows:
a) As many as 313 or 31% of 1,017 MPs/MLAs elected on BJP (leading right wing opposition party) tickets have declared criminal cases.
b) Corresponding figure of Congress MPs/MLAs is lower at 305 or 21% of a total of 1,433. (these are representatives of the grand old party which fought for India’s independence).
c) Much worse off are parties like JMM — with 82% of its MPs and MLAs having declared criminal cases, RJD — with 64% and Samajwadi Party — with 48%.
