Audacity reflects the social sanction to corruption

How else to describe it but as the audacity of the corrupt when a racket promising a Rajya Sabha seat or a governorship for up to Rs 100 crore is busted by the Central Bureau of Investigation? The four accused were arrested over phone intercepts offering appointments as chairpersons of government organizations, ministries and departments. One of the accused posed as a CBI officer and flaunted his connections with senior officials. While it is for the investigative agencies to unravel the intricacies of the scam and prove whether any one did end up falling for the con job, the worrying part of the episode is what it says about the political culture, and the social sanction to corruption. Moneybags who really do believe that positions of high office are available for a price, find nothing unusual about it and are willing to fork out any amount. The revelation about the racket came just two days after West Bengal’s Industry Minister was taken into custody following the recovery of over Rs 21 crore in cash from his aide’s house. The Enforcement Directorate has not exactly covered itself with glory in the recent past, but the allegations of targeting the Opposition fly in the face of a seizure of such magnitude. In Punjab, the anti-graft helpline has logged nearly three lakh complaints since its launch by the AAP government in March-end. As many as 3,750 of them are buttressed with video or audio recordings. A minister was sacked and he figured among the over 50 persons, including government and police officials, arrested on charges of corruption. Corruption has deep roots, but the undeniable takeaway over the past four months in Punjab has been the rise in the risk involved and the chances of being caught. Time will tell whether it is a temporary lull before new facets of cheating emerge, or, at last, corruption is being denied the social acceptability that allows its sustenance.

(Tribune, India)