Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury
The exposure by the Wikileaks that the present Indian government of prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had bribed opposition members of parliament (MPs) to buy crucial votes for survival of the government in 2008, has triggered off a big furore in the political and other circles in that country. The opposition is questioning the denial of the prime minister of any such dealing and is paralysing the normal business of the two houses of parliament while the matter is also raising dust aplenty in different circles as the government is facing another series of corruption-related allegations.
The matter seems to be troubling the Manmohan Singh government to the extent that it is finding itself in a tight-rope situation, particularly after the chief of the Wikileaks has said that there is no reason whatsoever to doubt the disclosure of his agency about bribing the Indian MPs during a vote of confidence in parliament.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has said that the Indian prime minister is wrong to have doubted the authenticity of the document that has caused an uproar in his country.
The diplomatic cable, released by the Wikileaks, suggested that the ruling Congress party of India bribed the members of parliament to survive a critical vote of confidence in 2008.The Indian prime minister denied the allegation soon after it was released. But it seems that few in India would believe this denial since the issue has sparked off a debate on the morality of the Indian politicians in the context of the fact that government narrowly survived the crucial vote in parliament in 2008.
The government of prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is currently in office for the second consecutive term, after having won the last elections in 2009.The ruling coalition of United Progressive alliance (UPA), led by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, retained power through the last polls with increased majority. During the earlier term, it had less than majority seats in the house and it relied on the support of the leftists when the government was formed, following the 2004 national elections. But the leftists, led by the communist party of India (Marxists) -- known, in short, as the CPM, withdrew the crucial support, centering the issue of Indo-American nuclear cooperation under the deal, The United States is to provide necessary assistance and materials to India for development of the latter's civilian nuclear facilities.
Energy-starved India considered the development - somewhat rare from the US side - as a major achievement. But the leftists - ideologically opposed the United States - severely criticised the Manmohan government, saying the deal has taken non-aligned India too close to the USA. The communists had asked the government it supported not to go ahead with the agreement with Washington. But their plea fell flat on deaf ears. As the government went ahead to finalise the accord, the leftists called off the support, throwing the Manmohan Singh government into uncertainty. For, the government would not have apparently survived without the 62 votes of the leftists in the 542-member Lokshaba, the lower house of parliament.
It was a critically important time for the Manmohan Singh government and also for the ruling UPA alliance, which moved swiftly and cleverly to master the necessary support to survive, in the aftermath of the withdrawal of the communist support. They succeeded in winning over the MPs of some small and regional parties like the Samajwadi party in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, but this was not enough to obviate the loss, created by the leftists. Finally, the ruling circles were able to garner support of the much-needed four MPs of an opposition group and speculations had circulated that time that it was made possible by paying a huge sum of money to them. One of those MPs has reportedly admitted of accepting the money. Then again, it was denied by the government side.
This issue has now once again come to the fore following the disclosures made by the Wikileaks, causing a storm in the political circles. The government is already on a slippery ground on a variety of corruption-related scandals, involving the Commonwealth Games, granting valuable licences to new mobile telephones at throw-away prices and giving government flats meant for "Kargil" war widows to the close 'persons' violating the rules. The Manmohan Singh government has so far withstood the onslaughts but, of course, paying a price - the loss of US popular support. Now, the issue of bribing the MPs in 2008 for winning their votes is severely bothering it.
The Indian prime minister are known for his integrity. But all such scandals are tainting this image, although none has yet accused him personally of any financial wrongdoings. Even the supreme court had reprimanded him for dereliction of duty on the telecommunications scandal that saw the minister A. Raja being dismissed and finally landing in jail. The court had observed that the prime minister should have acted earlier, before the corruption snowballed.
The latest allegation of bribing the MPs is again heating up the Indian political circles and it remains to be seen how far the situation unfolds further there and in what way the ruling UPA deals with this serious issue.
E-mail: zaglulbss@yahoo.com
The issue of bribing MPs causes furore in India
FE Team | Published: March 24, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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