In his latest comments made in Kullu on October 19, he launched a frontal attack on those involved in corruption and asked the BJP-ruled states including Himachal Pradesh to do some self-introspection and never compromise on corruption. “Had my party heeded my advice made when I was in-charge of Karnataka to remove Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, it could have avoided the embarrassment caused by Yeddyurappa’s arrest.”

Shanta Kumar’s anti-corruption campaign needs to be seen in the backdrop of the campaigns of Yoga guru Ram Dev, social activist Anna Hazare and now L.K. Advani. Ram Dev’s drive suffered setbacks because of his abortive attempt to launch a political party and making his yoga ‘shivars’ and the anti-corruption drive as planks for building his business empire. The credibility of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign which evoked huge public support was dented by latest media revelations about some of his team members financial irregularities and their campaigning against the Congress in Hisar Lok Sabha byelection. Advani’s on-going anti-corruption Jan Chetna Yatra is under the shadow of dark clouds first because of the arrests of Yeddyurappa and some of his Ministers under corruption charges and now registration of corruption cases against the party’s former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and the state’s some other party leaders. Besides, Advani’s rath yatra, apparently also aimed at scoring over the other two’s anti-corruption campaigns, is seen as an attempt to emerge as the prime ministerial candidate of his party.

The main reason for Anna Hazare’s Jan Lok Pal demand evoking massive response was the common man’s wish for taking strong measures to minimize, if not curb, rampant corruption at all levels. Whether the Bill is passed by Parliament in its winter session as promised by the UPA government is yet to be seen. The question of setting up Lok Pal has been before the Lok Sabha for years now.

What fate the Lokayuktas set up in some of the states has met presents a depressing picture. In Punjab, the Lokpal appears to exist only on paper. It is bereft of staff, investigating officers and funds. It has not submitted any report to the Punjab governor in the past two years. Its office has warned the government that if the present trends continued, work in the office would come to a complete stop soon.

What is shocking is the sudden transfer of Inspector General of Police (Lok Pal) Sham Lal Ghakar. He was the Inquiry Officer in two probes initiated against the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Deputy Chief Minister son Sukhbir Singh Badal for “illegal plying” of private air-conditioned buses. The second case was the controversy over land worth Rs.100 crore belonging to Nagar Panchayat, Begopal involving former SGPC president Jagir Kaur, a Badal loyalist.

Removal of Gakhar as IG (Lok Pal) has an intriguing angle. Some days back a government team had tried to get Ghakar’s Patiala residence, which he is still occupying, vacated. They failed to get it vacated, Ghakar has now been appointed as the new IGP (Patiala), considered a plum posting. It makes him eligible to retain the government house at Patiala. No Lok Pal IG has so far been appointed in his place. Ghakar was to submit his inquiry reports in November which will now be delayed.

The state of Himachal Pradesh Lokayukta is no better. With no power to take suo motu cognizance of cases, no independent machinery to investigate complaints and prosecute errant officials, the Himachal Lokayukta has been a toothless institution. Headed by an eminent judge, it has proved to be a blunt weapon in preventing corruption in the hill state which is being targeted on corruption issue. Himachal was the second state in the country after West Bengal to set up the institution of Lokayukta on June 1, 1983.

Now about Shanta Kumar’s bemoaning the spreading dynasty politics in the BJP, including in the BJP-ruled Himachal Pradesh. One has only to look at the speed the dynastic politics has been gathering, particularly in the states, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Powerful rulers of their regional parties generally remain busy in running the competitive money-spinning race.

The extreme case is of Punjab where the Parkash Singh Badal’s ministry is now labeled as the “Family Ministry”. At one stage, the Badal ministry had five family or extended family’s members –son, nephew, son-in-law and son’s brother-in-law. Besides, the son’s wife is also an MP. All the five ministers were allotted key lucrative portfolios. Later, Bikramjit Singh Majithia, brother-in-law of Badal’s son Sukhbir vacated his Assembly seat to enable Sukhbir to get elected and elevated as Deputy Chief Minister. Badal’s nephew Manpreet Singh Badal was expelled from the ministry and the party. Apparently, he was seen as a potential rival of Sukhbir for Chief Minister’s post after Parkash Singh Badal.

Besides earning the title of a “Family Ministry”, the Badals also control Akali Dal’s organizational and other wings with Sukhbir as the party President, Majithia as Youth akali Dal chief and a Chief Minister’s protégé as SGPC President.

The level and form of corruption in the country show that it has become the religion of politicians with dynastic politics its main driving force. One has only to look at the speed with which the two, pioneered by the Congress, have assumed contagious form.

One need not be a cynic to ask whether India was ever ruled by sages and persons imbibing high moral and political values? (IPA Service)