Less speechifying, please

The very day I.K. Gujral came to power, he made a public commitment to clean governance. The inconclusive chief ministers' conference that ...

The very day I.K. Gujral came to power, he made a public commitment to clean governance. The inconclusive chief ministers8217; conference that came a few weeks later, again, will be remembered only for a statement on transparency the Prime Minister made there. Last weekend in Shimla, again, Gujral identified tackling corruption as the first task before his Government. Excellent sentiments, articulated at rather important venues 8212; even little Shimla was once the summer capital of India. But somehow, the Prime Minister8217;s words do not carry conviction. If he is so committed to purging the system, is it unreasonable to expect him to sack Chandradeo Prasad Verma, a member of his own Ministry, who is embroiled in the fodder scam? Not likely, not when he has not even had the courage to move politically against Laloo Yadav, the kingpin of the scandal. The nearest he came to asking the Chief Minister to quit was when he said that if he were in his position, he would have quit by now. He threatens to spare none, but his corrupt minister is in clover. Until Gujral can match his words with fit deeds, perhaps, he should stop speechifying about corruption.

This is not to encourage fatalism. Corruption, hopefully, is not here to stay. If it lingers on, India can say goodbye to its plans of becoming a wheeler and dealer in international affairs. A country with a black hand government is unlikely to be taken seriously as a world power. Corruption8217;s vitiating influence can already be felt. Liberalisation would have proceeded much faster if foreign investors did not have to grease palms every step of the way, and then grease them all over again every time a government fell and a new set of power-brokers came into office. Recently, the US Government legislated against companies that bribe officials overseas. To many American corporates trying to get a toehold in the Indian market, this law probably looks like an unfair trade practice, making it impossible for them to operate. The political system has been corrupt since the Nehru Government, largely due to unreasonable restrictions on political spending and fund-raising. Today, corruption has also eaten through the steel frame of the administration, and there lies the problem. Many countries with very adequate governance, like Japan, have learnt to live with political corruption without suffering serious damage. Countries with a rotten bureaucracy, however, find growth a very elusive quantity. If one were to make a list of the least progressive democracies, the chances are that they would also be the least transparent.

The problem is certainly serious and it is time the government started acting. Periodic expressions of the will of the State will no longer suffice. When a district magistrate buys a posting, he should be investigated. When a fraudster buys a reprieve, as Bhansali appears to be doing, he should be proceeded against. And, most important of all, when a minister is implicated in a scam, he should be dropped like a hot brick. Otherwise, few will trust Gujral8217;s concern about corruption.