Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
ment because they led to extensive media exposure and a series of official inquiries. The
RTI opened the doors to revelations of hitherto secret information at all levels. Kejriw-
al used it to make dramatic headlines early in 2013 when he revealed a series of corrup-
tion scandals that embarrassed companies and top politicians. One of them challenged the
Gandhi dynasty's closely guarded privacy with an attack on Sonia Gandhi's businessman
son-in-law, Robert Vadra, who was a soft target. 24 Since she entered politics at the end of
the 1990s, Gandhi had drawn a much tighter cloak of secrecy and silence around herself
and her family than earlier members of the dynasty ever managed, and Kejriwal's publicity
broke through that screen.
Gradually the government realized that the extensive corruption during its time in office
would become a major issue in the 2014 general election and it began to take more decisive
action. There was a flood of CBI inquiries into coal and telecom cases involving some of
India's best-known businessmen, and Rahul Gandhi used his authority as Congress party
vice-president to ensure that Lalu Yadav, a convicted former chief minister of Bihar, lost
his parliamentary seat 25 when he was jailed for fraud in a case dating from the mid-1990s.
No one, however, was doing much about actually punishing those most responsible for
the endemic corruption. No significant politicians or prominent businessmen, nor anyone
the government wanted to protect, was jailed. A few figureheads were arrested when it
suited the government to do so - usually to embarrass another political party, or bring a
partner into line, or create a diversion from public demands for action. These were people
whom the government was prepared to sacrifice such as Suresh Kalmadi, who presided
over the CWG and was charged, with his henchmen, for allegedly cheating and conspir-
ing on a games contract as well as for using forged documents and other offences. 26 A.
Raja, the former telecommunications minister who belongs to Tamil Nadu's DMK and was
dispensable, was charged, along with officials and company executives, with offences that
ranged from criminal conspiracy to forgery and cheating. 27 Three of the executives be-
longed to a company controlled by Anil Ambani, the less important and influential of the
two Reliance brothers. But little was done to speed up the handling of these and other cases.
On a broader front, the government passed the Lok Pal Bill through parliament and
Rahul Gandhi took steps to show he realized action was needed. The government removed
MPs' patronage powers to issue land, telephone lines and petrol station licences to favoured
friends and supporters, though that too was only tinkering at the lowest and least important
end of corruption. It also announced that prosecution of corrupt bureaucrats would be
speeded up with stiffer penalties, but officials at all levels of government were so scared of
facing corruption accusations that they became reluctant to take decisions. 28 This seriously
delayed policy implementation at a time when the economy was beginning to slow down.
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