Inextricably intertwined

A large section of the media, both electronic and print, has apparently become obsessed with the wealth statements submitted by a few high profile candidates of the ruling 14-party alliance to the Election Commission in connection with the 10th parliamentary elections scheduled for January 05 next.
In fact, the media men did not have to take the trouble of investigating as to how much these individuals have amassed during last five years. They have got ready information about the politicians in question and produced the same in their respective medium using journalistic skill.
However, the speed at which the wealth of the polls candidates has multiplied, in some cases 300 times, over a period of five years has become a topic of public discussion.
But most people are certain that the majority of election candidates in Bangladesh while fulfilling the EC requirement about making declaration on movable and immovable assets in affidavits do never expose what they actually own. It is widely believed that what has been furnished in the affidavits is only tip of the iceberg. If the media could really reveal the extent of their actual wealth, the electorates would have got a far bigger surprise.
The concealment of information by the politicians, particularly about their wealth is nothing unique in the case of Awami League and its allies. The BNP and its allies did the same thing in the past. It is more of a political culture in this part of the world.
Given the state of affairs with most institutions that are entrusted with the responsibility of taking measures against accumulation of unearned money, it is most likely that the individuals, political or otherwise, would continue to hide information on their wealth with total impunity.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith's response to reporters' query about abnormal increase of assets of ruling party men has caused many to raise their eyebrows. Mr. Muhith said it has been rather usual on the part of people in power to accumulate personal wealth. His reply in fact is holistic in nature. He did not support such accumulation. Rather he found it to be a natural human instinct for time immemorial.  
Wealth accumulation by the persons moving in the corridors of power does also happen in other countries, including the developed ones. But in developed countries, powerful people, usually, become wealthier by not flouting laws or indulging in corruption. The situation is altogether different in a poor developing country like Bangladesh.
Lots have been said and volumes written against graft and abuse of power on acquiring personal wealth illegally in this country. The issue of graft came into sharp focus during the BNP-led alliance government that ruled the country between 2001 and 2006. One particular political office was blamed for amassing wealth through irregularities of all sorts at that time. And the beneficiaries of such accusation were the Awami League and its allies. They got overwhelming mandate of the people in the 2008 elections and formed government. The electorates expected that the situation would be different under the AL which had been the bitterest of all critics of BNP for its alleged indulgence in corruption.
But the people's hope was largely dashed when graft allegations, including a few of massive scale, surfaced during the five-year rule of the immediate past government. The affidavits of the ruling party candidates in the upcoming elections have only strengthened the basis of such graft allegations despite the fact that the assets, both movable and immovable, shown in the affidavits, many tend to believe, would largely dwarf the real ones.   
Why would not the politicians and their lackeys get themselves involved in financial irregularities if the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which is constitutionally mandated to punish the corrupt elements, behaves like a subservient body?
One particular commissioner of ACC, following the media reports on affidavits of the January 05 polls contestants, found the smooth holding of the next parliamentary elections a priority over the ACC's job of looking into allegations of amassing wealth by politicians. Following strong criticism the ACC chairman said they would look into the affidavits.
In fact, the people across the political divide while in power make serious attempt to curb power of the ACC or any other regulatory body that have the legal mandate to stop them from indulging in illegal and unfair activities. What they do in the first step is that they select men, who would be subservient to their wishes, for the regulatory bodies to avoid both harassment and embarrassment while in power.
Graft and accumulation of wealth through abuse of power are two major causes behind the fractious and, at times, turbulent politics in this country. Why are our politicians so adamant either to cling to power or grab the same by any means, fair and foul?
There is no denying that the main objective of any political party or politician is to come to power. The mission to serve people, ideology and the lure of large public image attract people to indulge in politics.
But, if not all, at least a good number of people join politics with the objective of becoming rich overnight. They enter politics in search of a magic wand that would double or triple or multiply even in bigger margin their wealth within the shortest possible time. And while accomplishing that objective they tend to cling to power by any means to avoid reprisal by the political opponents who are equally desperate to grab the seat of power.
So, troubled politics, to a great extent, has its root in almost unhindered opportunities to indulge in graft and abuse of power in this country. Unless and until institutions such as ACC and judiciary make a concerted move to ensure effective cure for these particular social maladies, the situation is likely to continue like this.
.........................................................
The writer is deputy editor of The Financial Express. He can be reached at: [email protected]