Of course the big fish escaping the CBI net is no news
The cunning” single directive” for CBI had made CBI no more such a respected or feared body.
There was this report. Transparency International India and the Centre for Media Studies. Delhi, the capital is ranked the 10th most corrupt State! Bihar tops, Karnataka comes fourth! Second place is for Jammu& Kashmir, followed by MP. Kerala is the least corrupt. Why Kerala least corrupt? It is the most politically conscious state where asking for bribe is as sensitive and also giving bribe.
The study, ”Indian Corruption Study 2005 to Improve Government” lists 11 services. Police, crime and traffic, lower judiciary, land administration, electricity, ration shops, income tax, education (up to class 12th!) and farm micro credit. Education sector has become the most corrupt should make no news! Even in small towns education had become an education-mafia driven business activity!In Karnataka? Says Lokayukta Justice Venkatachala : All government depts. are corrupt and no ministers or senior officials show ”will to end it”. The Lokayukta, a former Supreme Court judge says his reports have been with the ministers and his meeting with Chief Minister had not produced any action! Corrupt officials are getting stays from the High Court and once a stay is got the government doesnt bother to vacate the stay.
The most corrupt govt. depts are revenue and the least corrupt statistics! Veerappa Moily, former Chief Minister says:” Corruption is not only in politics but rampant in the revenue, lower judiciary and public health dept. E-governance is the only way forward. S.C.Burman, a former Police Commissioner says Karnataka is much more corrupt than what is now made out. We should have been No.1! ”This is so in most of the states even in the South, in TN and AP. In the North, corruption is so widespread. In UP and MP and also in other large states law and order itself is so weak and corruption is so deep.
Corruption is no news in India! As the coalition governments are more open to corrupt influence. Everybody wants to make sure as and when the elections come they need funds. So, there is an in-built incentive to earn by the wrong and all possible ways.
Also comes the report that the CBI ,once considered as the most upright organisation is also now left with no power! Writes Mr.N.Vittal who acted as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) : ”The judgement of the Delhi High Court in the Bofors case exposed the credibility of the CBI as a reliable police force.” Once, even now, the CBI Director is appointed by a transparent procedure and yet the CBI is not making any headway in punishing the corrupt and the guilty. The Bofors, the Hawala cases show that even after this elaborate procedure, the CBI’s freedom to prosecute the high officials or politicians are held back by vested interests. Who the vested interests are? Politicians. Of course. More so are the very high officials who had cleverly manipulated the process to issue a ‘single directive” .This says N.Vittal:” The CVC Act also doesnt enable the CBI to investigate allegations of corruption against officers of the level of Joint Secretaries and above without the permission of the government”. So, politicians in concert (or conspiracy?) with the senior officials have kept the CBI under their thumb!
In India we have a tradition of fearing the policemen! From fear we have started glamourising the khaki uniform! In some states over -allocation of funds for promoting police force in place of even other civil society organisations. In fact ,politicians use the policement for their partisan purposes. We saw how the Kanchi Shankaracharya was subjected to so much TV publicity and harsh treatment. So, the CBI too is used and abused by the highest power wielders, there are so many instances cutting across the party lines. One more pernicious practice is to promote policemen as politicians! Another is to promote the policemen as Governors and even Rajya Sabha members!
So, the CBI, as Vittal says CBI has become a football! The CBI is kicked around by the party in power and opposition is no less guilty. Can CBI become once more an independent organisation? No, not likely. It’ to quote Vittal again, ”remains a lap dog of the power that be and not the watch dog for bringing the guilty to the book”!