|
|
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
|
With Indian Politics, the Bad Gets Worse
|
|---|
| Parent(s) |
Container
|
| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Jul 24, 2008 09:09am |
| Logged |
0
|
| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Thursday, July 24, 2008 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | 'Shameful' Vote in Parliament Highlights Extent of Government Corruption
By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, July 24, 2008; Page A14
NEW DELHI, July 23 -- There were backroom deals. There were wads of cash waved about as alleged evidence of bribery. There were six lawmakers on hand who had just been sprung from jail so they could cast their ballots.
So it went on the floor of India's Parliament this week during a historic vote on whether to back the government and its controversial nuclear deal with the United States.
Even by Indian standards, it was bad. Members of Parliament were throwing money on the floor, asserting they had been paid off by the ruling Congress party to support a measure of confidence in the government.
"It's stupefying. And as an Indian, it's shameful," said Jagdeep Chhokar, a founding member of the Association for Democratic Reforms, a New Delhi watchdog group that tracks criminality in India's Parliament. "We have been fighting criminals ruling the roost for a long time. This just happened to be a stark display for the world to see."
It was also a reminder to the rest of the world that Indian politics -- seen here as the fast track to wealth -- is a no-holds-barred affair.
The problems are many. India's public campaign-finance laws are not enforced, and candidates are regularly backed by donors and corporations that expect favors in return. It's a self-perpetuating cycle of corruption that has carried over since the days of the British Raj, when politicians and bureaucrats expected under-the-table payments. |
| Share |
|
|
2¢
|
|
| Article | Read Full Article |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
|
