The Congress has already paved the way for bringing it to the forefront in its Burari AICC session last month. It has chosen corruption and communalism as the two evils. Congress President Sonia Gandhi came up with a five-point programme while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh surprised his own party by offering to go before the PAC on the 2G-spectrum scam. Mrs. Gandhi has followed it while Singh is contemplating to bring the Lok Pal bill in the budget session. The government has also begun its cleaning up operations.

However, there is no respite for the Congress facing a hostile media, proactive court and more scams tumbling out of its cupboard. The appointment of chief vigilance commissioner P.J. Thomas has become a millstone around its neck. On the price front too the government is on the mat as there is no visible relief to the common man. Vegetables continue to sell beyond the reach of poor with onion selling at Rs. 70 per kg and garlic at Rs 300 per kg.

Interestingly, the BJP too had taken up the corruption issue in its working committee meeting at Guwahati this week by adopting a resolution on corruption. Targeting the Congress, the BJP has evolved a two-pronged strategy. On the Bofors the Gandhi family is targeted while on the 2G-spectrum and other scams, Prime Minister is made responsible for his helplessness. The NDA constituents and the left parties too have joined the chorus against corruption. In short, the opposition strategy is to keep the heat on the UPA during 2011 when stakes are high as five states are going for polls.

Are they serious? Some believe that the fact that corruption has become an issue and political parties are talking about it itself is a welcome sign. This vigil may keep each other in check. But mere lip service is not the answer. Had the BJP tackled Karnataka chief minister Yediyurappa facing corruption charges, it may have a better case. Is it not like saying “I will talk about your corruption but not my corruption.”

Similarly the Congress, facing one scam after the other, is accusing BJP of corruption while trying to brush the issues under the carpet on the 2G scam or Commonwealth Games scam. It is also trying to hide behind the clean image of the PM but even Singh’s image is not enough, as people have now begun to question his ability to check corruption.

Can corruption really become an issue in the next polls? It all depends on the ability of the opposition to take it to the streets and that of the UPA to counter it. No doubt people are vexed with the political corruption amazed at the volume running into lakhs of crores of rupees. A recent survey revealed that for the common man the corruption tops the list of concerns while even security becomes the second

Secondly, the overall atmosphere is becoming like the late eighties when the Bofors scam was talked about in every street. Rajiv Gandhi got defeated on account of this perception in the 1989 polls. The Bofors ghost is haunting the Congress party once again now. If anyone looks at the Congress horoscope, the year 2011 has not begun well with troubles mounting from all sides.

Thirdly, the left and the right are cooperating in forging an opposition unity. Insiders say that it was the left, which alerted the BJP about the PAC chairman Joshi not toeing the party line. The left and the right are having understanding on several issues inside and outside Parliament. The left has not attacked the BJP on the “saffron terror” while the BJP indulges in muted criticism against the left in West Bengal

Fourthly, the Congress is on the defensive and has fielded articulate telecom minister Kapil Sibal to argue its case. The opposition has tasted blood on the 2G scam when the DMK minister A. Raja had to resign. Next came the turn of Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan who had to resign on Adarsh society scandal. The third was Suresh Kalmadi, who was forced to quit his post as secretary of the Congress parliamentary party. The Congress would like to counter it by breaking the opposition unity but its efforts to divide the BJP on the PAC issue have backfired. Secondly, the Swiss banks have offered to divulge the details of the massive black and illegal money deposited in their banks but the government is still reluctant to ask for them. It badly needs an image correction.

How can any one believe in BJP when it has not sacked the Karnataka chief minister Yediyurappa, who is facing corruption charges? It is unable to do so for various reasons including finding a replacement and caste calculations. As long as Yediyurappa continues, the BJP case remains weak.

Do the political parties believe that the public will be fooled by these resolutions in their working committee meetings? The common voter is not going to believe the rhetoric and would like to see how they treat their party men on corruption charges. The image of a politician today is so poor that the common man is willing to believe anything said about them. Corruption affects everybody but hurts the poor the most.

Assembly polls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Assam in 2011 may give an indication of the public mood but the political parties will have to be sincere in what they are talking about. (IPA Service)