Vaidehi’s incisive write-up ‘What is wrong with Indian politics?’ in Afternoon Voice (Nov 15), very succinctly describes the bankruptcy of the political class as a whole. Come what may, they have their own axes to grind, with national priorities being accorded the customary short shrift. The writer has very aptly brought to the fore the disinterested and apathetic attitude of the common masses in picking up the cudgels against the errant politicians and their lackeys. This bodes ill for an otherwise vibrant democracy like ours. It has been rightly stated that ‘people often get the government which they deserve’. The quality of our body politic has obviously taken a nosedive with the plummeting of ethical values and the promotion of kith-clan politics across the entire political spectrum.
In order to save our country from being marauded over by the greedy and self-seeking politicians, it is of the utmost importance that necessary steps are initiated in right earnest to cleanse the political system once and for all. This can be done by barring history sheeters, criminals, smugglers, wilful defaulters, tax evaders etc from the political arena. Furthermore, the funding of political parties needs to be made totally transparent so that the entire system remains unsullied by ‘dirty money’. Otherwise, the day is not far off when our hard-earned democratic rights are trampled upon by authoritarian leaders. History is replete with numerous such examples of tottering democracies paving the way for totalitarian rule. We owe it to our constitution builders to safeguard the basic tenets of democratic set-up.
Amit Banerjee
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
