Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
He was referring to defence industry agents and armed service officers and said that the
agents would have 'twenty-five generals still in service on call at any time'. This happens
far more widely than armament deals and is another example of how tolerant India is of
potentially corrupt relationships. The boardrooms and top echelons of many fast-growing
companies are littered with retired bureaucrats and officers, often people who spent much
of their career in industries such as power and telecommunications where the companies
operate. 'Some of the large business groups also fund politicians in the Opposition as a
hedge to ensure that any decision that may be given in their favour is not opposed by them.
They also treat such funding as a long-term investment,' says B.V. Kumar, a former head of
the government's economic intelligence bureau. Most business houses, he says, 'maintain'
MPs to influence government policies or decision-making.
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Corrupt Democracy
The roots of corruption are to be found in elections, starting with would-be candidates pay-
ing parties to be allocated a constituency. Candidates then bribe voters with liquor, cash and
other inducements ranging from saris to laptop computers (though people frequently ac-
cept the gifts from opposing parties and then make their own decisions). Payouts continue
during the formation of governments when massive amounts of money are paid in 'horse
trading'. This happens in local and state assembly elections and, in various forms, in both
houses of parliament. A Congress MP has claimed that he was once told that a candidate
for the Rajya Sabha had budgeted Rs 100 crore to secure a seat, but only had to spend Rs
a reliable source) the name of a businessman who paid Rs 35 crore to a national political
party and Rs 40 crore to a regional party to ensure election in the Rajya Sabha's preferen-
tial vote system.
Leaders of potential coalitions use an array of political and other contacts to cajole small
parties and individual members to join them with a mixture of money, ministerial posts and
other favours. Lakhs of rupees change hands, as they do sometimes when a government
faces a confidence or other threatening vote in parliament. In what is famously known as
the JMM case, a small party in the state of Jharkhand was bribed in 1993 with Rs 2.8 crore
to vote in parliament against a motion of no-confidence in Narasimha Rao's Congress gov-
ernment.
Politics have become criminalized and elections have become the 'biggest source of cor-
ruption in the country', says former chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, explaining
that candidates spend vast amounts of money they cannot afford and need to recover after
they are elected. 'Political power is strong and competition bitter and involvement of crim-
inals is a challenge,' he says.
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As many as 162 of the 543 members of the 2009-14 Lok
