The President of India, Sh Pranab Mukherjee during his address to the nation on the eve of 65th Republic day greeted the nation and talked about the the murky state of affairs engulfing the Indian nation as a result of fractured mandates in elections and the economic crisis India along with the rest of the world is facing these years. His observations on corruption and hypocrisy finding place in his address to the nation only show how deep these maladies are in the Indian system of politics and governance.
"Corruption is a cancer that erodes democracy, and weakens the foundations of our state. If Indians are enraged, it is because they are witnessing corruption and waste of national resources. If governments do not remove these flaws, voters will remove governments."
Corruption mitigation and good governance can be the biggest growth engines for Indian economy and cannot be allowed to be ignored by any government.Strange is the coincidence that he too like all members of the ruling combine thinks in terms of voters removing these governments whereas the only logical answer to corruption mitigation is to punish all such offenders legally in a quickest possible time.
"Equally dangerous is the rise of hypocrisy in public life. Elections do not give any person the licence to flirt with illusions. Those who seek the trust of voters must promise only what is possible. Government is not a charity shop. Populist anarchy cannot be a substitute for governance. False promises lead to disillusionment, which gives birth to rage, and that rage has one legitimate target: those in power."
Government is certainly not a charity shop but for all these years, our leaders have been deriving their prowess to win elections and rule this country through doles, freebies and subsidies.Mr. President you were also wedded to such practices when you were in active politics.Or is it that such practices are in the best interests of the citizenry when the established parties dabble in them and if a new player steals the thunder from under the feet of the established players, government becomes a charity shop. And lastly are we to understand that corruption cannot be routed and hence no one should make this promise.
