DOLE OUT MONEY, ENSURE YOUR VICTORY!

Speeches inflaming communal passions, muscle power and money power are vitiating the electoral arena inspite of the close vigil of Election Commission, Media and Judiciary. Black money flows lavishly without any curbs across the nation, quite unprecedented in scale, compared to the sums flowed in the previous elections. Money power to influence the poor voters of one of the “fast developing economies” has become the bane of the nation and it seems it is here to stay in the years to come.

Is an Indian citizen worth Rs. 100/- 500/- or 1000/- notes only, as seen by the “leaders of principles and integrity” at the electoral scene? If they are not thinking on these lines why are they displaying the impunity and audacity of doling out sarees, monies and other petty comforts to a hapless voter. It is nothing but a sort of exploitation of the poverty- stricken and these leaders don’t have any qualms or moral prick to leave them in the lurch after their dreams are materialised.

Except the leftists, all other parties are involved in such banalities in one way or other. I don’t know whether the leftists will also try to keep pace with the tainted leaders slowly but gradually in the desperate hurry to occupy the throne in Indraprastha. Because the thin line (the dividing line evolved into a thin one over the years) dividing the bourgeois parties and the working class parties are slowly fading out from the political scenario, when we observe some recent tendencies which are not to be encouraged. In a world of mad consumerism, even a party pursuing a revolutionary and humanitarian ideology is prone to fall a prey to the bewitching, sizzling, scintillating and inviting world of free market economic policies or capitalist ideology. Let good sense prevail over them in the years ahead.

The alleged instance of doling out money to the poor in front of the glaring TV cameras, started from Samajwadi Party leader, Mulayam Singh. It was seen some of his Party supporters distributing currency notes to poor men and women in his presence. The EC took notice of this and sought his explanation. Mulayam must have had a ready-made reply which might have been pre-meditated. He explained to the Commission that it was customary for him every year to donate currencies to the poor on the auspicious occasion of celebrating Holi at Etah and it had nothing to do with elections.

Election Commission had to be content with his reply and by issuing a curt warning to him ended the chapter then and there.

Actor-Politician, Chiranjeevi’s hotel room- he is the founder leader of Praja Rajyam Party- at Tirupathi was raided as he was alleged to be distributing money to the electorate from the hotel room. The 88 crore worth actor desperately wants to upift the ‘prajas’ (subjects) from the clutches of poverty and other hardships. We must certainly appreciate his broad-mindedness for his love of the poor and down-trodden. To serve them he has taken long holiday from the tinsel world. Worthy to be emulated.

In Rajasthan the constituency from which Maanavendra Singh, son of BJP leader Jaswant Singh came to national attention when the media men captured the scene of Jaswant Singh giving out currency notes to the electorate and it was flashed across the TV screens. A father’s love and affection towards his son is understandable, but the question staring in our face is whether it should be at the cost of integrity and principles of the former External Affairs Minister. Is this also a Call to Honour? Mr. Jaswant Singh is contesting this time from Darjeeling constituency where the Gorkhas are predominant.

SivaGanga from where our Home Minister, P.Chidambaram is contesting on Congress ticket has also taken by an eye of the storm. It is alleged that an approximate sum of Rs.3.26 lakh was unearthed from the temple premises. It was found inside a car parked inside the premises. On coming to know of the money hidden in the car AIADMK men who are in the opposite camp immediately locked the premises and informed the police and the police immediately passed the message to EC. The amount was supposed to have been for distributing among the electorate of SivaGanga.
Deve Gowda, the humble farmer from Karnataka, former Prime Minister and one of the architects of Third Front was reported to have launched a scathing attack on some political leaders doling out currencies to the electorate. “Instead of the ‘red note’ (Rs.1000 note), now political parties are giving gift coupons”- he was quoted as saying. (The Hindu dated 24-04-2009). On going through the news item all must have felt proud of him.

But I was quite embarrassed to see him distributing currencies to those who crowded around him. I had the opportunity of reading the two news items, one about his scathing attack on the political leaders distributing money to the poor people and the other Gowda himself doling out currencies to those who approached him with outstretched hands. It might be for charity.

Anyhow, I am yet to be free from this confusion.

The aforesaid instances are nothing compared to the goings on behind the curtains where huge amounts are traded which do not surface before the media and other watch-dogs and also the crores which are about to flow after May 16 in the mad race for arriving at the magic figure of 272, because a hung parliament is a foregone conclusion.