Avoid making India another Pakistan !

R.D. Bhardwaj
“Noorpuri”
Whether it is a question of bringing back huge stock-piles of black money stashed in Swiss Banks or punishing the accused / guilty in a number of scams / frauds or financial irregularities etc. which have engulfed thousands of crores of tax-payers’ money, Central or State Govts. seem to be least interested in properly investigating these cases and bringing the corrupt to justice and punishment. Starting with IPL, CWG, 2G Spectrum and Adarsh Society etc., and revealing the names of those who took away huge money out of India, no worthwhile progress seems to have been made by the government agencies so far in any of these matters; as behind every scam or fraud, slowly the name of some big politician or a bureaucrat surfaces and the matter is then, initially put on a “go slow” mode and ultimately put in a cold storage. Only common man is worried about these big matters of plundering the tax-payers’ wealth, and surprisingly no minister even utters a word of action on these financial bunglings and matters of national shame. Criminal-politician-bureaucrat-police nexus has become so active and dominant that Govt. seems to be unconcerned / helpless despite all the powers having at its disposal, as former Prime Minister, Late, Mrs. Indira Gandhi like huge guts and herculean efforts are required to uproot this malaise and pushing the guilty behind the bars, which no modern day politician has ever displayed. Moreover, principle guiding factor i.e. service to society, which was enshrined in politics earlier till Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s era, has long lost its relevance to the current class of politicians, who have reduced it to a mere profit earning business venture, where power also comes to them as a bonus and they enjoy the same unrestricted by the rule of the law.

The incidence of burning alive of the Additional Collector, Yeshwant Sonawane at Nasik, Maharashtra, by the oil pilferators and subsequently striking work and resorting to protest march by more than 24 lakh government employees in Maharashtra, is itself a proof that common man is more concerned about punishing the guilty and streamlining the system; but govt. agencies are simply lethargic in swinging into action and bringing the case to the logical conclusion. Oil Ministry experts have put the loss to the national exchequer to the tune of Rs. 20,000 crores per year by this illegal oil mafia. If all this oil pilferages and properly checked / stopped, and if this benefit is honestly passed on to the consumers, the prices of petrol and diesel etc. could be easily reduced by 5 to 6%, thereby, providing a good amount of relief to the consumers. Apart from this, you can well imagine its wide ranging cascading impact on the national scale. Secondly, the electronic media has exposed that army lands at so many places in cantonment areas, have been grabbed by the land mafia, but again surprisingly, concerned government authorities preferring to keep a studied silence over the matter, speaks volumes of its intention and will power to set the things right.

Prices of many essential commodities, particularly food items have trebled during the last one year, making the life of common people quite miserable and vulnerable, but the Union Agriculture Minister simply shrugs off his responsibility by saying that – “I am not a Jyotishi” who could tell you as to when the inflation shall come down and provide some relief to the people. Similarly, when the Union Finance Minister was quizzed on the same subject, unconcerned about the plight of the poorer sections of society, he also immediately retorted back, “I don’t have an Aladin’s Chiraag or a Magic Wand that I can prophesize as to when the prices shall come down.” Dragging its feet to cancel the controversial appointment of Mr. P.J. Thomas, CVC, by the Central Govt. even after the Supreme Court having given sufficiently clear indications to do so, is another matter where the Govt. has been found lacking in its will to take the desired corrective / punitive action.

Some people often may argue that our Prime Minister is a very honest person and a man of high integrity, but then common people fails to understand – as to what extent India has benefited from his clean image? Rather, so many scams and frauds have surfaced during the last few years, particularly during his second term, but we hardly see any word of action from his Govt. – as to make the people aware of their scheme of things to tackle the situation by making sincere efforts to retrieve the huge money lost in the quagmire of corruption. It should also be borne in mind that such types of scams and scam tainted people tarnish his clean image and he should make sincere efforts to bring them all to justice and punishment.

However, common man still feels and hopes that one day better sense shall prevail upon those saddled in power and they shall pursue these cases (and many other such cases of huge corruption like an IAS couple in MP, who has amassed around Rs. 360 crores by their corrupt / illegal practices) of wide ranging corruption which has spread its fangs in almost all spheres of life, so that India could be saved from slipping into the path of making another Pakistan (where most of the democratic institutions are fast losing their grip and hold over society / administration and anti-social elements and terrorist outfits are fast gaining upper hand in most of the cases); otherwise, coming generations shall not forgive you for your lapses and acts of blunder, done wittingly or unwittingly.

Please remember – society does not reach the situation of a sickening position or malaise just because of the criminals / scamsters and fraudsters only, it also becomes like that because of the inactions of those in powerful positions, who are supposed to come out of their deep slumber and pounce upon all such type of wrong doers and tear them to smithereens, so that thousands of such other perverted minds also a get a lesson or two, NOT to tread over the similar paths again. The common perception prevailing in the such perverted minds and criminals that you commit any crime and the law enforcing & justice imparting agencies shall not take any action on you, desires to be shattered completely.

Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, constitutional sanctity of the various democratic institutions should always be allowed to remain supreme and intact and no rule or law should be allowed to be bent / circumvent or molded to make some escape route for any anti-social elements / criminals or wrong doers of any kind, howsoever big or powerful he or she may be. Swindlers of the national wealth must be awarded their due share of justice and punishment and money retrieved from their acts of swindles etc. should be utilised for the national development and upliftment of the poorer sections of society. But, it can be made possible only if the rule of the law prevails over everything else. And sincere and effective implementation of the rule of the law will prevail only when we have a nationalistic mindset, generation and sustenance of which requires practising nationalism in our day today life. Law enforcing agencies like police etc. and the investigation agencies like CVC and CBI etc. are made independent of ministerial control and are made answerable only to the President of India and their cases are not dragged on for years by the justice imparting agencies (Courts).