The fight is not over

Sir Robert Walpole, former Prime Minister of UK said in 1734, 'I know the price of all those men here (house of commons) except three' he is often misquoted as having said, every man has a price.

India recently voted against this very culture of elected representatives turning themselves into tradable commodities. At a time when blatant misuse of power for amassing wealth by people in position of power has become a norm rather than an exception, indian voters have repeatedly risen against corrupt regimes both in the central government and in the States. However while voting corrupt politicians out mass psychology is also undergoing change. I find it disturbing when I hear complaints about people in power taking bribes and not delivering results. I get disturbed when people find giving bribes acceptable if the quid pro quo is honored and results delivered.

I fear we are moving away from a movement to eradicate corruption and punishing the corrupt to an era of social acceptance of institutionalizing corruption. I fear political parties are building their value chain by establishing efficient and productive transaction mechanisms that ensure results. We are beginning to resign to the idea that there is a price to pay for a service elected representatives and government officials are obligated to deliver. We are beginning to become practical. I fear ethics and moralities in public service are being dismissed as unreal and people are beginning to reward even criminals for their capacity to deliver results.

The Aam Aadmi rose in anger when we found congress party government's corruption reached monumental proportions. We rallied behind Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal when they promised uncompromising attack on the corrupt system. These were healthy signs of upsurge of conscience. However it appears that our call of the conscience was only limited to punishing the corrupt government. When it came to replacing a corrupt government we chose a practical option. We elected an alternative that promises to deliver results by working the system rather than one who promised to replace the system.

The craving for true reforms and establishment of a modern society based on justice and transparency will not be fulfilled until we are willing to take risks and elect representatives who are uncompromising in their fight against corruption and imaginative in building systems that work without favoritism. We need greater initiatives by citizens in watching for deal makers, through RTI activism. We need to aggressively pursue our right to being served by our representatives without having to pay a bribe. We need to set up open source interfaces with public institutions where interactions and decisions within the government as well as funding of political parties is made transparent. We need to public audit of every financial transaction, government contract and expose any illegitimate cushions provided in public spending.

In coming days the offices of Lok Pal, RTI and CAG as well as our judiciary will play a big role in our efforts to reform the system and bring prosperity to all. I have been closely watching the pressure tactics applied and tantrums thrown around in getting plum cabinet posts in Maharashtra. It is obvious that the negotiations for plum cabinet posts are not motivated by which department offers opportunities to server people. It is clear that the desire for a certain department is driven by opportunities to make money. It is becoming clear that having punished the Congress government the Aam Aadmi cannot rest. Eternal vigilance is the price of democracy.