Falling morals of Indian politics

With the battle for Bihar heating up, decibel levels are rising and allegations of kinds are flying thick and fast in the state known for high drama and colour during elections. And this time the stakes are high, especially for chief minister Nitish Kumar, for this is an important state of the National Democratic Alliance. It is similarly also crucial for former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. Despite all attempts, the Congress remains a fringe player. It was Congress general sectary Rahul Gandhi who fired the first salvo and accused the Bihar government of massive irregularities in using the central aid for the benefit of the people of Bihar and since then there is no looking back in throwing filth at one another by the politicians. The Congress and Rahul Gandhi made this allegation even during run up to assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. It was prime minister Manmohan Singh who hit out at Nitish Kumar at a rally in the state's Araria district on Saturday saying central funds were being misused. Nitish hit back by saying that no money had been squandered or misused and has been used for the purpose it was meant to be. He added for good measure that the finance commission decides on how much percentage of this money remains with the centre and how much goes to the states. By doing so no government had done a favour to Bihar and in fact this was the job of central government. This is sad part of the politics that allegations and counter allegations are thrown to garner public support. But if the central government’s fund was misused by the Bihar government then what have they done to stop this. Do they have any relevant figures of amount of funds misused? The Congress party has all these years just complained and made allegations at states, which it does not rule, but has seldom acted on any such irregularity where it is in power. Whether it is corruption in Commonwealth Games or fund allotment to any states, the pro-establishment forces always sneak through and rule the roost. At best, ministers like Shashi Tharoor just tender their resignation – and even such cases are not few and far between – and get a safe cover. Contrast this with Lalit Modi, who is paying the price of going anti-establishment. It remains to be seen how the government handles the Suresh Kalmadi issue now that the Games are over. Or it may well think that since the Games went by so well that the people will forget it. Wait and watch. May be this is the character of politics or the UPA government!