Politics & crime: The nexus grows

Are we fast evolving into a nation of rich and powerful politicians of whom a large proportion have criminal cases pending against them?

There are no doubts about this considering that about 40 per cent of sitting MPs have criminal cases registered against them of whom 25 per cent have declared serious criminal cases under charges of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and crimes against women.

The interesting findings were provided by poll rights body The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Even more revealing is the fact that the average worth of assets per MP from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is Rs 38.33 crores and 53 (seven per cent) are billionaires.

The ADR and National Election Watch (NEW) analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 763 sitting MPs out of 776 parliament seats to come up with the findings.

As many as 23 of the 29 MPs from Kerala, 41 of 56 MPs from Bihar and 37 of 65 MPs from Maharashtra have declared criminal cases against themselves, Our parliamentarians and politicians may be rich but we are no rich nation by any stretch of imagination.

According to a UN study, 80 million Indians live below the poverty line while as many as 1.8 million survive on the streets with no home of their own. Not to mention the rest of the millions who live in thatched huts eking out a living and fearing the day when a strong gale will sweep away the only home they have.

There is nothing wrong in growing wealthy in a democracy and our MPs no doubt are a wealthy lot considering that their average wealth runs into several crores. The troubling question is whether rich politicians make good elected representatives.

Are they able to empathise with the poor and the hungry; do they really sense the pathos of those who live from day to day not knowing where their next meal will come from?

Each MP represents lakhs of voters and the majority are those who eke out a living with their meagre salaries, earnings from little businesses, agriculture or by working in the service sector.

Empathy with the poor, needy and vulnerable is something every politician needs to inculcate in the depths of his heart for they are his constituency and the people who need his assistance the most.

Probity in public life is another essential for our politicians and considering that 40 per cent of them have criminal cases against them, this is a subject which really needs to be studied in depth.

Is this the only way an aspiring politician can rise up the ladder with a clash with the law an inevitable part of the process?

Beating your rival in the political arena does not necessarily mean you have to violate the provisions of the law to achieve your objective. Commitment to the service of the people, a burning desire to sacrifice for the common good and the vision to come up with innovative solutions to issues are all that a public representative needs to win the hearts of voters and not necessarily a huge bank balance.

There are politicos who have lost electoral battles despite having all the wealth in the world; and there are those who have sailed through with impressive margins with nothing much in their accounts to boast of.

So as ordinary citizens waiting for redemption from all the problems we face, hasn’t the time come, to choose those who are really worthy of our vote? Money power will no doubt come into play in every election with freebies and cash sure to bombard voters.

But we need to be discerning and distinguish between someone who is kind enough to share our pain and those who are hardly seen after voting day. We have nothing against the rich politician but we surely cannot allow the edifice of democracy to be shaken by those who have umpteen criminal cases against them and while swearing to uphold our welfare, prefer to fill their coffers instead without batting an eyelid.