Scams have no political colour! If under the Congress-led UPA-II rule, mega scandals like 2G and Commonwealth Games scams involving Congress and DMK leaders have hit the headlines, in Punjab it is the conviction of Akali Dal’s Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sohan Singh Thandal in a corruption case and the arrest of BJP’s Chief Parliamentary Secretary Raj Khurana by the CBI in a bribery case are making news. The names of Punjab’s two ministers, the BJP’s senior most minister and number three in the cabinet Manoranjan Kalia and Swarna Ran also figure in the Raj Khurana corruption case.

Punjab has earned the dubious distinction of a state one of whose minister is convicted on corruption charge and cases registered against its Chief Ministers. Registration of corruption cases against the state’s high-profile politicians would surprise only those who are not aware of the innovative ways, official influence and government machinery these politicians use to thwart attempts to nab them in scams.

First the police do its best to avoid registering corruption cases against ruling party’s politicians. If under public pressure or court orders cases are registered, prosecution witnesses are made to turn hostile. Then methods are adopted to ensure that the cases drag on for years. During the period, the government changes and those facing corruption charges come to power. Playing of a passive or protective role by the official prosecuting agencies then prove to be the last nail in the coffin of corruption cases. Instances are galore.

During the 2002-2007 Capt. Amarinder Singh-led Congress government, disproportionate assets cases were registered against Parkash Singh Badal, his wife Surinder Kaur and their son Sukhbir Singh Badal by the state Vigilance Bureau. After the present Badal-led Akali-BJP government assumed power, it retaliated by instituting disproportionate assets cases against Capt. Amarinder Singh, his family members and some of his former ministerial colleagues.

The cases against the Badals dragged on for years. After their coming back to power, the Badals were acquitted as almost all prosecution witnesses, mostly government officials, turned hostile. The prosecutors played a questionable role which raised many an eyebrow. Consequently, the Badals were acquitted.

In the present Akali-BJP regime, it is again the same Vigilance Bureau which has registered disproportionate assets cases against Capt. Amarinder Singh and other Congress leaders. It is to be seen what role the Bureau plays if the Congress government comes back to power after the 2012 Assembly elections

With the party having ruled the country for the longest period, the Congress has no shortage of leaders who are more experienced than their opponents in innovating methods to make money. But in Punjab, the Akali Dal and the BJP have beaten Congress leaders in avoiding taking action against their leaders facing civil and criminal cases. Recent examples are the Badal government’s refusal to accord sanction to the CBI to pursue a job bribery case against the Assembly Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon and the government’s ignoring the BJP’s former Parliamentary Secretary Jagdish Sahni’s charges of corruption against the BJP’s Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla. There are other Akali ministers and prominent party leaders who are facing criminal or civil cases. It will be keenly watched if the Akali leadership would expel those facing these cases.

Speaking on the need to curb corruption as highlighted by Anna Hazare’s fast demanding Lok Pal, Badal recently said that the corrupt should be hanged. Apparently .taking shelter behind Hazare’s view that corruption can be contained but can not be eradicated, Punjab’s Akali-BJP rulers are devising arguments to protect their leaders who are facing corruption charges. But when a corrupt minister has been convicted by the court why hesitate from expelling him from the ruling party? The Akali leadership should take a cue from the Congress leadership’s action of expelling Kalmadi, the hero of the Commonwealth Games scam, from the party after his arrest though not convicted yet. Badal’s demand that the corrupt should be hanged is a far cry!

The main reasons for high level corruption include the immense influence the corporate houses wield over the government and in formulating the economic policies, increasing cost of elections and the large scale entry of criminal and corrupt elements in our Legislatures despite the Election Commission’s efforts to check these menaces. Unless remedial measures are taken, it will be impossible even to contain corruption.

Macro level corruption apart, what about the corruption at the Administration’s cutting-edges where the common man has to pay bribe to government officials and even the government officials have themselves to grease the palms of the Assistants and Superintendents for getting their routine work done? An example. A dealing hand of a Haryana government department last year demanded Rs.3,000 from an official of his own department for just handling him over his transfer orders! On the complaint of the concerned official the concerned dealing hand was nabbed by the Anti-Corruption officials

Corruption has become a religion of the ruling class. It requires major surgery. Will rulers of whichever party in power dare to do such an operation which is bound to affect their own sources of funds? (IPA Service)