This was published in Readers Quotient site: http://readersquotient.com/2010/12/15/2010year-of-scams/
The year 2010 is about to end and the new year is round the corner with lots of hopes, promises and cheers for everyone. 2010 seems to have been one of the most eventful year in the history of Indian politics since our independence. The year 2010 has been aptly coined as “The year of scams” by the media. This article is just to have a quick roundup of all the major scams exposed. With media and Common Man questioning the government, it looks like a big blow under the belt for our Prime Minister. While our PM Mr. Manmohan Singh is clean and praised for his smartness and intelligence across the world, back home most consider him to be a puppet guarding the throne for the next Gandhi Kin. The rate at which the information about fraudulent business practices involving lakhs and crores of money are getting exposed, India is bound to grab gold in the corruption race.
Corruptions like 2G, CWG, LIC Housing loans, Adarsh land scam and IPL to name a few are the top 5 in the pick list. Many are saying India has come of age and soon it will be a powerful country in the world, but with the rate at which we are unraveling the corruptions every day, I only see India moving towards an economic black hole. From Raja to Kalmadi and Yeddyurappa to Ashok Chavan every possible person has looted, robbed and cheated making the common man difficult to trust anyone. Now with some well educated leaders in the power we hoped something’s would change and the country would get a new direction towards growth, prosperity and better living standards for all. But it turned out to be bigger calamity in itself. All the skeletons that have been brought out of the closets are going on for past few years and it took us so long to acknowledge that there is a problem.
India as a country has come a long way since our independence and we rest of the world foresees India as a major economic superpower in coming times. Lot has been said, debated and argued about the corruptions. Every channel had their field day with new exposures at regular intervals, sky-rocketing the TRPs, but how many channels have come up with a solution? Isn’t it the responsibility of the journos also to suggest some solutions? Corruption is not new and we all have been experiencing it since decades. From the meter tampering in the auto fare to 2G, from metrics tampering in reports in office to Bofors, from pulses to land, we are omnipresent. Is it that difficult for the government to set a process with full spirit and see to that it is followed with integrity?
It’s high time that we come up with some concrete solutions to curb such events. There should be new laws enforced. I personally think that India is not made for a democracy. I believe a bi-party system should be implemented. Presently every tom dick and harry has their own party. A bi-party system will ensure some level of control and also lead to accountability for the ruling party. Apart from that government should mandate a certain level of eligibility criteria for MPs and MLAs; may be a Post Graduation in Political Sciences or for that matter any degree as such. Any candidate with an FIR/criminal record should not be allowed to contest the elections until their name gets cleared in the case. There should be mandatory audit/inspection for every MP/MLAs on their accountability for their portfolio. This will definitely help us take necessary steps before the trillions of money is gulped. Government officials should also look out for eligible candidates from colleges via campus selections for government/municipal jobs based on fair selection process. These steps might sound small and petite but even a mile long journey has to be started with one step. I hope that by implementing some of such stringent solutions and several others which come into the minds of you all which you may like to put them across in the comments and feedback we can probably get some discipline in the way we are functioning and help the country progress in real terms. Hope India ushers into a new era of development in coming years.
