ethics in politics final sim

8/2/2019 Ethics in Politics Final Sim

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1. INTRODUCTION

It is a very sad reflection on the reputation of politicians in the Western world

that the title of this session "Ethics and Politics," is perceived as an oxymoron, ethics

and politics don't seem to go together. Politicians are generally considered to be the

least trustworthy professionals. This is a long - and widely - held view expressed in

numerous aphorisms.

1.1 POLITICS WITHOUT ETHICS

On 15th August 1947 when India after centuries of foreign domination started breathing

fresh air of wisdom, none would have thought that this very fresh air would turn foul

and with the passage of time, get so much contaminated that it would poison the whole

of the countrys democratic set up and the persons to whom the responsibility of

governing the country is given would be the fountain head of such contaminated air.

The present day politicians, the leaders governing the country, are obsessed with the

monomania to loot the country and fill their own coffers, could be seen fighting for the

bone like the snarling stray dogs on the street. Power by any means is their aim and this

leads to the birth of conspiracy, murder, forging a network of like-minded politicians

and bureaucrats and mafia. Now-a-days politics has become a lucrative profession,

wherein prior investment of money and muscle power to grab the chair once is

sufficient to feed the several generations and gives one the status and respectful position

in society. Politicians are very much willing to liaise with any political party so long as

it serves their interest. Trading and defection among the political parties have become a

common practice. A number of scam cases are pending before the courts, relating to

misappropriation, frauds, corruptions in which the present day politicians are


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shamelessly involved. The definition of politicians has since modified by these

politicians tearing every fabric of morality and ethics.

Talking of ethics in terms of politicians is the most traumatic joke of the day. In every

big scandal, whether, Telgi Stamp Case, Jain Dairy Case, bank security scam, Tehelka

Case, Hawala case, Fodder scam, we find wires connected to some powerful politicians.

Many politicians have reached the nadir of immortality when as a last ditch effort to

grab power, they resort to both capturing and rigging with the help of criminals and

dreaded gangsters. A leader in the office has the authority to direct the course of

nations socio-economical development. He enjoys the powers to make policies for

developmental activities to be initiated at a macro level. But if he himself becomes

corrupt, spells unethical and immoral acts it can wreck havoc on the country. The ills of

communalism, casteism, nepotism have gradually become the necessity of political

arena. Rightly observed by our late Prime Minister Sh. Rajiv Gandhi, that out of 100

only 17% is actually spent on the developmental work and rest goes into the pockets of

officials and politicians. today our country has acquired many ills such as corruption,

casteism, communalism, etc all because the leaders have forgotten their moral and

ethical duties towards their Motherland and have the motto to grab the power and earn

money by any means.

People have lost faith in their leaders. The youth are disillusioned, are moving to the

west for higher education, and then settle there permanently. Voters have become

increasingly indifferent towards the process of election. The situation is undoubtedly

grave. It is not appropriate to blame the politicians alone. It is even the public that is

responsible in making the politicians corrupt, unethical, and goons. Even the most

rational approach to ethics is defenceless if there isnt the will to do what is right

It is not to conclude that all the politicians are corrupt and unethical. The hope lies with

such honest, dedicated and devoted politicians who have sacrificed a lot for the welfare

of this nation. It is high time that we enforce a code of conduct to stem the root and


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begin this exercise. A transparency in the working is very urgently needed. Responsible

opposition and the media can play a vital role in exposing the immoral and unethical

corrupt politicians. Let us generate a ray of hope that the people of country use their

rights and duties in favour of dedicated, sincere and honest leaders for the good of

themselves and for the welfare of this great nation. We need timeless principles to steer

by in running our organizations and building our personal careers. We need high

standards the ethics of excellence.

1.2 ETHICS AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

Einstein once famously said that the twentieth century was characterized by perfection

of means and confusion of ends. Over the past six decades, our politicians have

certainly mastered the art of acquiring power without purpose. Power has become an

end in itself. In India, this quest for power has been largely disconnected from public

purpose. The notion of ethical leadership is limited to a few symbolic leaders to be

paraded before the public to enhance saleability of a party. And morality is at best

limited to private conduct, and rarely extended to public duty.

In a democracy, there is always a conflict between the slow rate of social pay off that

results from sound policies and the short-term political price you have to pay in pursuit

of them. True leadership is the ability to reconcile the two and promote long-term

public good.

A far more dangerous threat is the loss of purpose for leadership. In the corridors of

power, most often all that matters is who is in and who is out; and notions of morality,

constitutionalism and public good are inconvenient abstractions. Serious imbalance in

exercise of power has accelerated this decline of political morality. If power is defined

as the ability to influence events, resources and behaviour for the larger public good,

such positive power is severely curtailed in our public sphere. We have created a

messy, unaccountable, non-performing system in which there are a million legitimate


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alibis for political failure. But if power is defined as pelf, privilege, patronage, petty

tyranny and plain nuisance value, then every state functionaryfrom the mighty to the

humble exercises such negative power in ample measure; and there are very few

safeguards against abuse of office.

Three factors led to a crisis of leadership in India. First, unlike during freedom

struggle, the best minds and hearts have shunned politics and the vacuum is filled

mostly by those who converted politics into commerce. Ethical leadership is

increasingly marginalized.

Second, our first-past-the-post electoral system gives exaggerated importance to the

marginal vote. In our system, one more vote means victory, and one less vote leads todefeat. On top of it, the middle classes habitually stay away from the polling booths,

and the poor vote in large numbers as the vote gives them some dignity and bargaining

power. The politicians and traditional parties have cynically used the vulnerability of

the poor to convert vote into a commodity. In most parts of India, vote is bought with

money and liquor. Large expenditure to buy vote does not guarantee victory, but non-

expenditure almost certainly guarantees defeat! Even when the vote is not bought,

absurd and counter-productive freebies are offered as a party platform. Free rice, free

power, free TV, easy money without workall are the staple of our electoral battles in

politics of competitive populism. If vote buying and freebies do not work, there is

always cynical exploitation of primordial loyalties in society caste, region, religion,

language. It is easy to rouse passions and fashion a group as a vote bank, by portraying

the other as the enemy.

Third, in an emerging democracy where constitutional values have not yet been

internalized in our political conduct or social mores, power is essentially meant for

private gain. Culturally, control of levers of power is seen as a way of promoting

private fortunes.


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Given these circumstances the rot is not limited to politics, and most institutions of

state are perverted and compromised. Bureaucracy and judiciary are increasingly prone

to corruption, unethical behaviour and arbitrary exercise of power. Even the Fourth

Estate, the media, has not escaped this decline. As all self-correcting mechanisms are

blunted, we entered a vicious cycle, with each institution blaming the others. No matter

how guilty other players are, the primary responsibility to set things right rests with the

political leadership.

Can something be done to restore and promote ethical leadership?

Once political recruitment improves, ethical leaders are attracted to politics, and

honesty becomes an asset and not a liability, we have to address the issues ofaccountability. Two broad approaches promote accountability and sustain ethical and

effective leadership. First, power should be decentralized, and there must be clear links

between vote and public good, and taxes and services. Local government

empowerment and institutionalizing and strengthening the third tier of federalism will

bring back people into the governance process. When power is localized, and at the

community level people are allowed to participate in decision making (in a village

Panchayat or a municipal ward), authority fuses with accountability and alibis for non-

performance disappear. Second, corruption and abuse of power should be swiftly and

surely punished. Independent crime investigation, strong, independent and well-

coordinated anti-corruption agency, independent and effective prosecution, swift

confiscation of assets of corrupt public servants, and special courts for quick disposal of

corruption cases will achieve this objective.

None of these is a pipe-dream. We deserve better politics and ethical leadership.

Democracy needs to be reformed and strengthened in every generation, and decency

and honesty need to be nurtured and promoted with great care. The middle class, media

and the moral elites of society should shed mutual mistrust and work together to


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improve the substance of our democracy. Ignoring politics and reviling politicians is not

an option.

1.3 POLITICS, ETHICS AND DEMOCRACY

The Indian Independence Act, 1947, provided for the setting up of two dominions of

India and Pakistan with effect from August 15, 1947. It was, according to Lord Samuel,

an event unique in history a treaty of peace without war.

The Founding Fathers of the Constitution chose the system of representative

parliamentary democracy with universal adult franchise. Freedom brings responsibility.

Building on the traditions of the national movement, Indian leaders strengthened the

foundations of democracy in the country by the manner of their functioning. They gave

due importance to the institutional aspects of the democratic system and adhered not

only to the forms of democratic institutions and procedures but also the spirit.

From an electorate of around 173 million in 1951 when India went to the polls for the

first time under the Constitution, the number of electors swelled to nearly 672 million in

2004. The fair and peaceful conduct of elections periodically with a large turn-out of

voters, especially of the rural folk and women, and the participation of all groups with

differing ideology and religious faith, is an indication of the acceptance of the

framework of the Constitution and the growing political awareness among the people.

India is the largest democracy in the world. These elections have demonstrated that the

democratic urge is very deep-rooted among the people of India and their faith in a

constitutional system of government very strong.

If we are to live in peace and happiness, every nation, community, and the individual

must envision universal and humanitarian ideals and must strive to practise them in

thought, speech and action. Religion and even politics must be founded on moral and


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spiritual fundamentals. In ancient India, politics was regarded as a branch of ethics.

Peace, justice and liberty for all were the prime purposes of politics.

Mahatma Gandhi recommended that politics should be a branch of ethics. While there

has been considerable progress on the economic front, there has been regression of the

values in the society and devaluation of the institutions.

The expectation at the time of Independence that public men would sacrifice their

personal interest for public welfare has not been fulfilled. Mahatma Gandhi did not

want the constructive workers, the men and women who had directed the several

organisations over the years to remove untouchability, extend basic education, improve

food cultivation, develop village industries and encourage hand spinning, to go intopower politics. That would, he felt, spell ruin.

Democracy is at stake if the loudest voice counts as the voice of wisdom or when

coercive pressures take the place of reason and persuasion. Referring to his tours,

especially concerned with the general elections that were approaching at that time,

Nehru wrote: Elections were an inseparable part of the democratic process and there

was no way of doing away with them. Yet, often enough, elections bring out the evil

side of man and they do not always lead to the success of the better man.


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2. POLITICS WITHOUT ETHICS IS A DISASTER

In modern states absolute power rests with the politicians. This is so in India too. The

huge expenses involved in electioneering and the desire for a grand life style tempt the

political leaders to amass money, often unethically.

The result is a political culture without ethics that naturally degenerates into wilder

corrupt practices. As power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely every

aspect of Indian life becomes corrupt.

2.1 INTELLECTUAL EFFECT

One has to admit that the status of a nation is to be measured by its intellectual

achievements, its achievements, in science, technology, art, music, literature and the

such. The intellectuals make culture grow. However, the intellectuals in India at the

moment are disillusioned a lot.

They are aware of the unethical domination of the un intellectual politicians in their

domain. Often the men at the top in intellectual organizations are political appointees

and the incumbents have to please their political masters in various ways.

Further, when political leverage works, it does in such a way that, individual initiative is

not encouraged and real achievements are not appreciated. This results in glorification

of mediocrity in the field of arts, science and technology.

Many brilliant, honest and hard working men of ability, in order to free themselves

from such choking atmosphere go away to foreign countries.


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This exodus of the meritorious is often referred to as brain-drain. Some say they go in

search of greener pastures. But it is not the truth that they go away for money. They go

tempted by the more conducive working conditions, unfettered by the disgusting

influence of politicians.

This may perhaps explain why no Indian scientist working in India has reached the

Nobel- status though a few of them have risen to that level after leaving the motherland.

In the field of art and literature too, the suffocating political hold prevents excellence

from coming to lime-light.

As long as the corrupt tendencies of politics remain in the intellectual field, India is

unlikely to contribute substantially in science or art, technology or industry, literature,drama or music.

One may talk of a Tagore or a Ray or a Chandrasekhar. But they are of an earlier

generation not subjected to the utterly immoral political wheeling and dealings of the

present.

2.2 MORAL DAMAGE

Unethical politics has a very unwholesome effect on the morality of a nation. One of the

things over which Indians can be rightly proud of is the humanitarian traditions of

ancient India. But that glorious tradition of the Indian way of living started to fade into

thin air, during the second half of the present century.

Political parties, in order to gain popular appeal, play the communal card indiscrimi-

nately. This is true not only with the BJP and the Sangh pariwar, but also with all other

major parties, that glibly proclaim secularism.


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Appealing to the communal and caste feelings may bring in temporary gains by winning

a few more seats in Parliament or even by gaining power at the centre. But during the

process they are immorally fomenting hatred in the minds of people.

This has a cascading effect and the result surely is a society devoid of moral sense, a

nation without humanitarian feelings. When the materialistic world, disillusioned with

the meaningless life it leads, is looking to the east with a longing for a better model of

life, this moral degradation found in India will only add to its disillusionment.

The loss is not only to India, it is to the whole human race. Further, Indian religion, one

of the most tolerant in the world is losing that nobility and is becoming fundamentalist

like aggressive religions.

There is another side to the moral issue. The corruption that starts from the political

field is disseminating fast. Corrupt practice, now, is the rule than the exception which it

was in the past. This leads to distortion of values leading to the justification of evil on

the ground that evil is found practiced everywhere.

If people in high places are noticeably corrupt, the average man may justice himself inindulging in it, rather without any pricking of conscience. Corruption has become the

norm and there is a human tendency to justify their is a human tendency to justify the

norm.

But it is a fallacious view. Just because about 95% Americans have diseased teeth, as it

is reported, none can think that disease in teeth is something we should aim at. Further

the widespread existence of corruption in society will lead the coming generation to

grow up into unscrupulous people.

In the absence of any societal morality, to guide them, they turn to evil without any

pricking of conscience. We have already begun to see the consequences. Some of the

heinous crimes committed in recent day India are committed by greedy teenagers.


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It is absolutely clear that the consequences of the immorality the political leaders

practice in public life, has its repercussions in society at large. The numerous bride

burnings that frequently one hears of, the Naina Sahni case and incidents like those

amply illustrate this.

The violent demonstration Delhi University law students held defending a colleague, a

notorious murderer that too in a court of law, is another shocking example. Are the

politicians who are the root-cause of this phenomenon aware of their role in corrupting

the society of not only today, but that of tomorrow also?

If yes, they are callous people not suitable to be leaders of society. If the answer is no

they are ignorant ones unfit to belong to the ruling class. A palpable effect of this moraldecay is the break down of law and order in the country. Now, might is right. It is not

only so in the big cities.

For a few thousand rupees you can lure a gangster to eliminate an adversary, almost

anywhere in India. Extortions and kidnappings have become the order of the day.

Law enforcement officers themselves are involved in crimes. Recently there was astrike call by customs officers in defense of their colleagues who were arrested red

handed for extorting bribes from exporters.

There is definite connection; social scientists say, between corruptions in high places a

euphemism for corruption among the politicians-and the break down of law and order

countrywide.


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2.3 SOCIOLOGICAL EFFECT

The social, or rather sociological effect of the spread of immoral politics is shockingly

felt on the Indian society, from the family to big organizations like religion and political

parties. The harm done to the family is perhaps the most west have started appreciating

the very salutary family bond found in Indian society.

Securities of all the members are assured in the traditional Indian family life. However,

under the shattering influenced of the murky corrupting situation, that exists now, the

Indian family bond is wearing thin and in the urban set up it has already disappeared.

Religion is another social organization which has ceased to be of positive contribution,

under the cloud of prevailing corruption. First politicians started to patronize religious

organizations for electoral advantages, despite the fact they didn't have any religious

convictions whatsoever.

Slowly, even honest religious leaders, started to swing away from their idealistic

convictions and became pragmatists. The tragic consequence is that religion has lost its

positive influence on Indian society. Religion no longer can help Indian society in

keeping its traditional humaneness, its intellectual honesty and its social awareness.

Sanyasins, Maulahs, Sants and Bishops who used to be the conscience keepers of Indian

society now have no conscience to keep, neither that of the society nor their own. In

such a situation society decays quickly. The existing poverty of India makes the decay

quicker.

It is an approved fact that a poverty stricken nation is kept in the upright path by

religion even by religious superstition. The ultimate damage done to Indian society

through the vanishing influence on religion will be realized only later. All sane minds

think that the damage will be considerable.


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The influences on political organizations are reciprocator, creating a vicious circle:

Corruption starts with the individual politician and it has a cascading effect, ultimately

corrupting the whole organization.

Thus the fully corrupt organization, goes on to corrupt the new entrants coming into its

fold. Thus it forms a vicious circle perpetuating corruption. The same corrupting

influence works on industrial and financial firms, social and sports of organizations.

The various scams that acquired notoriety, recently and the hawala connection of

political heavy-weights are glaring examples of the evil effect of corruption at political

level on society.

2.4 ECONOMIC DAMAGE

The economic damage that political corruption causes is perhaps the most palpable. The

liberalization of the Indian economy has brought in hitherto unseen prosperity and

growth to Indian industrial firms and financial institutions.

However, the economic benefits that pundits predicted for the common people are yet

to be realized. An independent firm indulging in economic analysis says that India has

lost at least four billion dollars worth of foreign exchange during the two financial years1991-92 and 1992-93, through hawala deals and similar irregularities.

These anti-national deals continue to exist, just because the politicians at the very top

enjoy a share of it. The nexus between the politicians with hawala dealers like the Jams


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and underworld dons like Dawood Ibrahim has come to the open recently. But it has

been in existence for a long time and one finds that no party is innocent of it.

The economic damage done to the country by extending political patronage to anti-

national dealers is devastating. The apparent prosperity the country enjoys now is

dependent on heavy borrowings, both foreign and internal.

Unless the gains coming out of the new liberalization reach the country's coffers, very

soon, India will be caught up in a debt trap. The irresponsibility shown by the corrupt

politicians, by aligning themselves with anti-national elements, is hastening the

approach of a catastrophe in Indian economy.


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3. ETHICS COMMITTEEAN INTRODUCTION

3.1 MORALITY IN POLITICS

Ethics and morality have been the hallmark of public life in India since ancient times.

Rulers were expected to observe stricter ethical values and an unethical king was shown

no mercy. Ethics and politics, in other words, were inseparable. This ethical and moral

legacy was inherited by its national leaders, who demonstrated a high degree of probity

and honesty in public life during the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi, who

himself was an embodiment of this tradition. He not only preached morality in public

life but also practiced it. He believed that politics without morality is a thing to be

avoided.However, in recent years there is a general feeling that all is not well with the Indian

political system which is functioning under great strain. Concerns are being expressed

over the general decline of values in public life. Recent trends in politics, however,

appear to have created an impression as if, the capacity of our democratic system to

ensure probity in public life is increasingly going down. Such a situation does not augur

well for the future of democracy and needs to be arrested immediately.

3.2 ROLE OF PEOPLES REPRESENTATIVES

That there has been general erosion of moral values in all walks of life cannot be

denied. Role of peoples representatives, who are largely responsible for guiding the

system in such a situation, therefore, becomes very critical. Members of Parliament as

peoples representatives are looked at by the people as their role models and the ones

who are guiding their destiny, have, therefore, to be beyond the realm of any kind of

suspicion. By and large, the ideological base and the spirit of service which should

activate most of them is getting eroded and the kind of elements who are trying to


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influence the political parties and the political system at large, make everybody think as

to how probity in the entire system could be ensured. There may be many ways for

ensuring probity in public life, but a self-disciplining mechanism, appears to be the best

in an institution like Parliament.

3.3 THE VOHRA COMMITTEE :

It was in this backdrop and amidst alleged charges of corruption involving politicians

and general perception of criminalisation of politics, that the government of the dayappointed on 9 July, 1993, a Committee headed by Shri N.N. Vohra, the then Home

Secretary, Government of India, to take stock of all available information about the

activities of crime syndicates/mafia organizations who allegedly had developed links

with and were being protected by some Government functionaries and political

personalities. The Committee after considering the matter presented its report to the

Government of India which laid it before both Houses of Parliament on 1 August 1995.

The report was discussed in the Houses of Parliament on 8 , 23 and 24 August, 1995.

The Committee in its report, inter alia, pointed out that the nexus between the criminal

gangs, police, bureaucracy and politicians had come out clearly in various parts of the

country. The existing criminal justice system, which was essentially designed to deal

with the individual offences/crimes, was unable to deal with the activities of the mafia;

the provisions of law in regard to economic offences were found to be weak and there

were insurmountable legal difficulties in attaching/confiscating the properties acquired

through mafia activities.

The report suggested setting up of a nodal agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs,

Government of India, to be handled directly by the Union Home Secretary, who would

be assisted by one or more selected officers of the Ministry for the collation and


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compilation of all information received from different intelligence agencies.

Subsequently, an All-Party Meeting was held on 15 September 1995, under the

Chairmanship of the then Union Home Minister, Shri S.B. Chavan, to look into the

whole gamut of criminal-politician nexus and the related issue of declaration of assets

and liabilities by the Members of Parliament and Ministers. The points, which inter

alia, constituted the agenda were :

1. Setting up of a Parliamentary Committee on Ethics as distinct from the Committee of

Privileges which would act as a guardian on the activities of members of Parliament.

2. Adoption of a Code of Conduct at the level of political parties to ensure a cleaner

public life, e.g., not to give party tickets to persons having criminal record.

3. All political parties should have open audited accounts which must be publishedannually.

4. Changes in the legal system, simplification of the procedure and dispensation of

quick justice.

3.4 BIRTH OF ETHICS COMMITTEE

Rajya Sabha, the Second Chamber of Indian Parliament also was seized of the matter

for quite some time. The Business Advisory Committee of Rajya Sabha had decided in

1996, that this matter should be considered by Leaders of parties and groups in the

House. At the initiative of the former Prime Minister of India, Shri I.K. Gujral, who

then was the External Affairs Minister, a meeting was held in 1996, with the leaders of

parties and groups in Rajya Sabha to discuss the issue. Thereafter, the matter was

placed before the General Purposes Committee of Rajya Sabha in 1997. The Committee

after considering the matter carefully, decided to have an internal mechanism of the

House itself which would work as a self-regulatory body for the members of Rajya


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Sabha. The Committee authorized the Chairman, Rajya Sabha to constitute an Ethics

Committee with a mandate to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of its members.

Thus, the Ethics Committee, Rajya Sabha, the first such Committee by any legislature

in India was constituted by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha on 4 March 1997, to oversee the

moral and ethical conduct of the Members and to examine the cases referred to it with

reference to ethical and other misconduct of Members. It was provided that in all

respects of procedure and other matters, the rules applicable to the Committee of

Privileges shall apply to the Ethics Committee with such variations and modifications

as the Chairman, Rajya Sabha may, from time to time, make. The committee was

inaugurated by the then Vice-President of India and the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Shri

K.R. Narayanan, on 30 May 1997.Setting up of an institution like Ethics Committee was, in fact, a significant event in the

history of Indian parliamentary democracy. Such Committees are functioning only in a

few countries of the world and with the setting up of this Committee here, India also has

joined the group of these select countries.

Ethics Committee, Rajya Sabha consists of ten members, including its Chairman, who

are nominated by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha. Chairman of the Committee is from the

largest party in the House. Other members normally are the Leaders, Deputy

Leaders/Chief Whips of their parties/groups in Rajya Sabha. Commenting on the fact

that leaders of parties/group are made members of the Ethics Committee, Shri K.R.

Narayanan while inaugurating the Committee on the 30 May, 1997 said :

By choosing the leaders of parties as Members we have tried to invest the Committee

with prestige and influence. In this way we have also sought to forge a link, though

indirectly and informally, with the political parties all of whom are intensely interested

in maintaining the highest ethical standards in our parliamentary life. This, indeed, is a

common platform on which all of us can meet together to sustain the high standards of

the august institution of Parliament.


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3.5 WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

The Committee apart from consulting expert opinion has been meeting simultaneously

to hold its own deliberations. It has, so far, held 50 meetings and presented three

Reports to Rajya Sabha. Its first Report was presented on 8 December, 1998, the second

Report on 13 December, 1999 and the third Report on 12 August 2002.

Rajya Sabha discussed and adopted the first and the second Reports on 15 December,

1999 and the third Report is yet to be discussed and adopted by the House.

3.6 RECOMMENDATIONS/OBSERVATIONS

The Members of the Ethics Committee express general appreciation for the work done

and recommendations made by the previous Committee in its first and the second

reports.The Committee is aware that issues falling within the mandate of the Committee

are complex and varied. The Committee is of the view that a holistic view has to be

taken while dealing with the issues relating to decline in standards of behaviour of the

members. There can be no single remedy for it. The ethical questions cannot be dealt

with entirely by legislation. These are mainly matters of one's conscience. The

Committee is also aware that merely by prescribing a Code of Conduct the problem

cannot be solved. However, the Code of Conduct, like many of them in different

countries, could help in evolving certain standard norms of behaviour which everyone

intending to enter a legislature is expected to follow.

Apart from prescribing a Code of Conduct for members, people should also be educated

not to elect persons with "dubious distinction". Political parties and their leaders also

can play a crucial role in ensuring probity in public life by denying tickets to persons

who are criminals, corrupt or have anti-social proclivities.


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4.A REFLECTION ON CORRUPTION IN INDIA:

UNETHICAL POLITICS

Corruption in India has permeated every level of society; from senior bureaucrats and

politicians, to high ranking public servants to professionals to criminals to lowly clerks

and street vendors. Interested groups have documented numerous cases of corruption

throughout the country, ranging from corrupt police officers, to government officers in

charge of welfare schemes to local thugs in cohort with local officials. In fact, the two

biggest challenges to tackling corruption in the country are corrupt police officers and

corrupt civil servants. These are the two legs upon which the realization of the rule of

law and protecting citizens rights are based; when these cannot be relied upon, what

are the chances of fighting against corruption? Corruption is a crime, and crimes are to

be contested by law and its enforcement. Ultimately, all societies must be based on the

supremacy of the law, and this law is to be articulated and protected by various

mechanisms. Without government officers to transparently and in good faith run the

government machinery in accordance with peoples needs and wishes, and without

police officers to protect peoples rights and maintain law, society cannot function

effectively. Furthermore, corruption if unchecked will simply eat away at rule of law, as

well as public institutions, democratic principles and mechanisms of good governance,

leaving society in anarchy.


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4.1 RECENT CORRUPTION SCAMS

Recent scandals in India have revealed the extent of political involvement in corruption,

as well as the incestuous relationship between business and politics. They have also

revealed the enormous amounts of money involved, which is particularly worrying for a

country where a significant number live below the poverty line, and where the gap

between the rich and poor is ever increasing. According to a report by US based groupGlobal Financial Integrity, India lost USD 462 billion between 1948-2008, due to

corruption, tax evasion and other illicit financial practices. 1

Most recently, the appointment of PJ Thomas as head of Indias anti-corruption

watchdog, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), has been deemed illegal by the

Supreme Court, on the grounds that Thomas himself faces corruption charges:

PJ Thomas was appointed by the government in 2010; in fact, prime minister

Manmohan Singh headed the committee that oversaw his appointment. As head of the

anti corruption body, Thomas was to investigate allegations that millions of dollars

were stolen by officials running the Delhi Commonwealth games in October 2010.

According to an article published in Al Jazeera, the Commonwealth Games budget

ballooned three times to an estimated USD 6 billion, with the CVC receivin

gcomplaints alleging that up to USD 1.8 billion was misappropriated. An initial report

by the CVC into the Games confirmed the use of sub-standard construction materials in

a host of building contracts and deliberate cost overruns.3

Thomas was also looking into claims that former telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja

was responsible for India's largest ever scandal, costing the country almost USD 40


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billion: "Mr Raja stands accused of abusing his position and manipulating government

policies to award licences for mobile networks at throwaway prices to companies that

rewarded him privately with huge kickbacks." 4

As Thomas was Telecom Secretary till he was made Central Vigilance Commissioner,

the Supreme Court, monitoring the CBIs investigation into the telecom scam,

suggested that it would be inappropriate for Mr Thomas to preside over an inquiry that

could subject his own actions in the Telecom Ministry to scrutiny.

Another scam involving huge amounts of money and directly affecting the countrys

poorest citizens is the food scandal in Uttar Pradesh. According to BBCs Geeta

Pandey, enormous amounts of food grains and fuel, meant to be distributed through the

public distribution system or given to the poor under welfare schemes like food-for-work and school meals for poor children, have been stolen over the years and sold on

the open market.

The scale is immense. It involves thousands of officials from top-level bureaucrats to

middle-level officers to ground-level workers. It also involves thousands of

transporters, village council leaders and fair-price shop owners.

It stretches across 54 of the states 71 districts, and investigators say the food is carried

out of the state and sometimes even beyond Indian borders to Bangladesh and Nepal.

Indias top investigating agency - the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - once tried

to withdraw from the case saying it did not have the manpower to deal with it. It said it

would require the registration of 50,000 police cases.

Not only do these corruption scams indicate political involvement, but they also

indicate a breakdown in the countrys rule of law institutions; how else could such

incidents occur, not once, but multiple times, and at the levels they did? The slow


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response to these incidents, including holding people accountable, further shames the

countrys governance mechanisms and political will. When compared to the recent

convictions of parliament members (MPs) in the UK for false expenses, the situation in

India can truly be said to be dire. As reported by Sandra Laville and Polly Curtis in The

Guardian, the MPs under investigation were immediately barred from their political

parties while many others were required to pay back the fraudulently claimed money. 6

Speedy investigations were followed by effective trials, with those found guilty of false

accounting sentenced to between 12-18 months imprisonment.7 Furthermore, an

agency was constituted to oversee MPs expenses, salaries and so forth.8

Why does this not happen in India? The countrys ongoing corruption scandals have

recently sparked considerable public angst, culminating in quite a few proteststhroughout the country, as well as the launching of numerous anti-corruption websites:

One, Ipaidabribe.com, is run by Raghunandan Thoniparambil, a retired official from the

elite Indian administrative service. The site was launched four months ago and more

than 3,000 people have posted their own stories of graft.

On one day alone 30 December those posting on the site included a restaurateur

forced to pay 25,000 rupees (350) to clerks to have his dossier forwarded to seniorofficials at a Delhi licensing department, a traveller who had to give 100 rupees (1.30)

to get a berth on the otherwise full express train, a dozen or so drivers who had to pay

traffic police after being accused of fictitious offences, and travellers intimidated into

paying customs officials large sums to allow electrical and other goods into the country.

"The aim is not to identify people but to identify the problem," Thoniparambil told the

Guardian.

"Crowdsourcing is a way of finding out what is happening but wont alone alter

anything. We need change from within government that is properly monitored."9


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Indeed, change from within the government is exactly what is needed. Protest and

publicity are but one step on the ladder to change and the elimination of corruption.

Without an institutional environment conducive to reform and accountability, public

protest cannot do more than creating awareness. For concrete change to occur and legal

action to take place, there must be functioning mechanisms to receive and act on

complaints, whether of corruption, inefficiency or malpractice.

Another civil society response has been to urge the government to pass an anti

corruption law. A weak law has been pending in parliament for several decades now,

with no strong action being taken by any government to modify and enact it. A civil

society version of the law, the Jan Lokpal bill also exists. Veteran activist AnnaHazare began an indefinite fast on April 5, demanding that the government rewrite the

bill and pass it without further delay. As of April 9, the government agreed to set up a

committee to draft the bill and to bring it to the monsoonsession of the parliament.10

4.2 INSTITUTIONAL REFORM

At present, Indias entire justice system is geared to serve political rather than public

interests, as well as being mired in corruption. In such a system, there is no chance of

individual complaints being heard and processed. When politicians and government

officers themselves are corrupt, they will do little to clean up such scams and hold

persons responsible. In a statement of December 2010, the Asian Human Rights

Commission (AHRC), a regional rights body, noted that

In the lower house of the Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha, out of the 152 sitting

members accused of criminal charges of varying nature, 72 are suspected to be involved

in criminal cases of a very serious nature. These are offenses which, if investigated and

proved, would fetch imprisonment for the accused for a period of not less than seven

years the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] has 17, and


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the INC [Indian National Congress] has 12 of their representatives against whom crimes

of a very serious nature are alleged. 11

Aside from corrupt (and criminal) politicians, India suffers a corrupt police force. It is

an open secret that police officers, irrespective of their ranks, pay bribes to ministers

and other politically influential persons for securing promotions, transfers and for

preventing disciplinary action. The selection and appointment to the state police service

has been referred to as resembling a public auction. According to the AHRC, in the

state of Manipur, as of October 2010, appointment to the rank of Sub-Inspector of

Police required bribes paid to the state Chief Minister, Mr Okram Ibobi Singh, or his

representative, ranging from Rupees 1,400,000 to 1,800,000.13 Transparency

Internationals report on India for the past several years has ranked the Indian police asone of most corrupt government agencies in the country and in the world, while the UN

Rapporteur on Torture has reported that police officers in India routinely use torture as

a tool for extortion of money from the poor.

Despite this, according to a press release issued by the Indian government on 24

February 2010, only 75 police officers were tried for corruption in the past three years.

This lack of prosecution spotlights the lack of complaints made against police officers,

as well as the absence of investigations. Indias police force is ill equipped to deal with

criminal investigations in a professional, efficient manner. Without effective police

reform (including amending the decades old, colonial Police Act), it is not possible to

improve the countrys rule of law and human rights situation.

Linked to police reform is the reform of all justice institutions, which at present are

clearly malfunctioning. This is indicated not only by the way these institutions have

dealt with recent corruption cases, but also by members of these institutions themselves

being implicated in such cases. The most recent suspect is the former Chief Justice of

India who is presently serving as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights

Commission, Justice K G Balakrishnan. The government, despite the substantial and

incriminating circumstances against Balakrishnan, has failed to undertake a thorough

investigation in the case. A Public Interest Litigation filed in the Supreme Court is


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pending against the government, in which the Court has already expressed its

displeasure about the slow pace of the investigation on the allegations against the

former judge. In addition to the former judge, a former Union Minister is also facing

investigation for corruption.14

The ongoing case of black money stashed abroad is a good study of poor criminal

investigation and procedure. Amongst other aspects, Indias Supreme Court has to date

voiced displeasure regarding the following: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials not

subjecting Hasan Ali Khan to custodial interrogation; Mumbai Principal Sessions Judge

M L Tahaliyanis order of granting bail to Khan and rejecting the EDs contention

against it; and, the governments lack of investigation into other individuals stashing

money abroad.15

Indias judiciary faces its own problems, with court delays being the biggest obstacle to

those seeking justice. This is largely due to insufficient staffing, with the population-

judge ratio at 10.5 judges for every million Indians; the lowest ratio in the world. The

huge number of cases pending in Indias courts gives further rise to corruption:

A bail petition that requires a mere Rupees 2 court fee stamp to be affixed, to be called

in the bench on the same day or on the subsequent day will require the payment of

bribes ranging from Rupees 300 to 1000 to an array of court officers, which in most

cases also include the Public Prosecutor and even the adjudicating judge. A visit to the

Magistrate Courts at the national capital will prove this true, in addition to the fact that

the entire place resembles a festival ground in chaos. Trial court lawyers everywhere in

India know that unless they pay bribes to the court staff, the court would never take up

their applications and petitions. It is a sad irony that it is this same court system that will

have to deal with corruption cases. 16

Such failings of justice institutions as well as the practice of corruption that drives them

provides the wealthy and connected with an environment of privilege and concession

when they are charged and investigated of corruption. They also benefit from court


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delays and the misinterpreted provision of the Criminal Procedure Code for prior

sanction to prosecute.

4.3 MAKING USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT

CORRUPTION

The widespread use of information technology in todays world has done much for

increasing public awareness and supporting movements for democracy and liberty.

From the Saffron Revolution in Burma in 2007, to the recent wave of protests in the

Middle East, blogs and social networking sites have played a significant role in

generating public participation and solidarity. Apart from information and awareness

sharing however, information technology can be used in various ways to protect and

safeguard human rights, from increasing the use of computers and fax machines to

minimize court delays, to using proper forensic equipment to streamline criminal

investigations.

In the same way, information technology can also be used to eliminate corruption. Uttar

Pradeshs state food commissioner for instance, in response to the food scandal there,

noted that, As a first step, we have digitised the entire list of BPL card-holders and

weeded out 400,000 fake cards. To stop pilferage, we have decided to fit in GPS

devices in trucks and fuel tankers to track their movements.17 These are both

important steps in reducing opportunities for corruption, as well as increasing

efficiency, particularly as much corruption takes place in the country due to a prevailing

atmosphere of complacency and inevitability.


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CONCLUSION

It is clear that politicians remaining at the helm of affairs in the country are important

decision makers, and as such they wield vast amount of power. They utilize their power

for their own private gains neglecting that of the country and its people.

It has very devastating effect on the country's economy, its moral consciousness, its

social and intellectual life. The corrupt politicians are the ultimate cause of keeping

India, one of the poorest countries of the world despite almost half a century of self-

rule.

Indian society is caught in a vicious circle where the politicians through their corrupt

practices make the country miserable and the resulting misery making the individuals

more corrupt. What is the cure? It seems as if there is no man-made cure for the malady

India faces.

Perhaps the cure has to come from outside; for all the inside is already rotten, still

getting more rotten and is unable to reform itself. Bhagawad Geeta says that when evil

becomes all pervasive, a new incarnation of God takes place, to destroy the evil doers

and to protect the good. But as it was .understood earlier, may not happen in this age.

Perhaps incarnation may happen in the form of self destruction of evil, by fighting in

itself. And after the destruction of the evil society a good tomorrow may dawn upon us.

But then, it may take a little time for such an eventuality to take place and in that

process even the few good people that exist may face extreme misery.

What ever that may be, the consequences of corruption in politics has immediate and

long time results that are devastating not only for India, but to the whole humankind of

which one-third are Indians.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1 India lost $462bn in illegal capital flows, says report, BBC News, 18 November

2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11782795.

2 Thomas no longer CVC: Supreme Court, NDTV, 3 March 2011,

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/thomas-quits-as-cvc-supreme-court-says-

appointment-was-illegal-89084.

3 India sack Delhi Games chief, Al Jazeera, 24 January 2011,

http://english.aljazeera.net/sport/2011/01/2011124205821776668.html.

4 Thomas no longer CVC: Supreme Court, NDTV.

5 Geeta Pandey, Indias immense food theft scandal, BBC News, 22 February2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12502431

6 Sandra Laville and Polly Curtis, MPs charged over expenses could face up to seven

years in jail, 5 February 2010, Guardian,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/05/mps-expenses-criminal-charges-

jail?intcmp=239.

7 See Criminal charges in United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal,

Wikipedia,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Parliamentary_expenses_scandal#Crim

inal_charges.

8 Editorial, MPs' expenses: Not a special case, 6 January 2011, Guardian,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/06/mps-expenses-not-special-case.

9 Jason Burke, Indian corruption backlash builds after year of the treasure hunters,

2 January 2011, Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/02/india-

corruption-backlash-treasure-hunters.

10 See India wins again, Anna Hazare calls off fast, 9 April 2011, Times of India,

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-wins-again-Anna-Hazare-calls-off-

fast/articleshow/7921304.cms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Parliamentary_expenses_scandal#Criminal_chargeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Parliamentary_expenses_scandal#Criminal_chargeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Parliamentary_expenses_scandal#Criminal_chargeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Parliamentary_expenses_scandal#Criminal_chargeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Parliamentary_expenses_scandal#Criminal_charges


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