Why is probity so elusive?

In his latest interview to a national daily, the BJP veteran, Lal Krishna Advani, reflected on the mood of a bewildered nation when he said "I do not say the political leadership is not mature, but kamiyon ke karan, vishwas nahin hota.” It was in the context of the 40th anniversary of the imposition of Emergency in this country by the late Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, that Advani spoke thus.

The country is confused today. It is more because of the fallacies of men at the helm that this feeling of arrival of not so "achche din" has become all pervasive. The economic indicators might be rosy. Industrial development could be on the right path. Businesses may be booming. Inflation might be under control. Yet, the political class is disappointing us.

The 'Kamiya" (shortcomings) that Advani mentioned in the said interview, are infusing not a sense of confidence in the government, but a sense of desperation and dejection. That we should take everything with a grain of salt, is being justified by the improprieties of those in exalted positions. Watching these people fall from the high pedestals leads to all the more exasperation among the people.

The "improprieties" that have become public are just a tip of the ice berg. Whispers in the corridors are too many to ignore. There is time yet, for more breaking news. This news of scams and scandals has its beginnings in rumour, its nascent form. Rumours are making rounds now in several corridors of power.

A common inference being... this may not be a that much different sarkar. Shocking ? Not yet ?

Take the case of the CWG (Commonwealth Games), the 2G, the coal scam, the Adarsh scam that led to the collapse of the UPA or even the present Lalit Modi scandal. None of these have struck us like lightening. From the time they had been shaping up, into the present scale and force, wagging tongues and hushed conversations always led us to sniff them from a distance.

It takes time for a rumour to transform into a scam. Because of this time lag, the perpetrators of the crimes take people for granted. They take the law for granted. They take the nation for granted. Because of the delay, the co-conspirators live a cocooned life under the impression that they are immune to the Justice system and well-shielded from exposures because of their positions.

The sense of desperation among us, the people, continues to grow all along because these culprits are good borrowers, from the past masters. Whatever, weaknesses we have seen in others, the present lot seems to be converting into its strength. It does not even have the patience of the expired batch of the UPA, it seems. It is hardly one year and we already have heard enough from this gaggle of geese.

If pent up feelings over private plunder of public wealth for over ten years angered us an year ago, to impact the results of the General Elections, it is the improprieties of the ruling elite within an year, that is making us restless too soon. This could be the best example of expectations leading to disappointments.

The canons of propriety are the canons of good taste, good manners and correctness. These were acceptable more than any in the 18th century and incorporated even in then literature of the day. It was seen as the most prized virtue. All these constituted decorum then. Of course, too much water has flown down in all the rivers of this country since then and too much of it has been polluted by now.

What are these Sushma Swarajs and Vasundhara Rajes vis-a-vis Lalit Modi's issue conveying to us?

The BJP’s definition of good governance is giving "an administration where even the weakest and the most vulnerable sections of society have an equal stake in charting the country’s growth. Everything starts and progresses from this single idea. Today, the BJP is the only true merit-based democratic political party in India. In governance, the BJP is committed to the ideals of transparency, efficiency and responsiveness. Time and again, the party has demonstrated its commitment towards these principles, wherever it has been voted to power.”

We can find this etched in the official website of the BJP. It also goes ahead to state baring its 'chappan inch ki chaati" that "with the BJP at the helm, the Indian voters can look forward to a clean government, free of corruption and scandal; a leadership that hasn’t reached on top on the basis of connections and cronyism, but on the basis of years of unrelenting work for the masses and a youthful leadership that is in sync with contemporary India.”

In sync with Lalit Modis of India? Or shall we presume that they do not know the line between a politician's personal and public life? Or, has so often been questioned can a politician be ethical in public life if he or she is unethical in private? Why are they so dumb to think that their personal choices would not raise any ethical dilemmas?

As long as they are out of public offices, these leaders could run errands for their near and dear ones. But, soon after they become public servants, it should be the nation's interest upper most in their minds. Virtues of honesty and trustworthiness must be practised in public, personal and private life.

They cannot prefer to be ethical in public life and unethical in private life and vice-versa. The ruling party's claim of being answerable to every ordinary citizen lacks credibility now. The language of its Sadhvis and sadhus apart, the unwarranted acts of its senior leaders surfacing now are throwing up more questions than answers for the public.

The beauty is that they are not ashamed of it. Just like their predecessors who were caught in the muck. "Family ties....knowing him from childhood…professional ethics (as in case of defending lawyers)...humanitarian grounds..etc.," the list seems endless. Those who believed in good governance are aghast at the decay of morality. What a call of a fate is this that these rulers are succumbing gleefully to the temptations of high office!

But then morals were a requirement of the political offices of the past perhaps and were needed in shaping the societies on certain moralistic lines. Today's expertise in public policy and economic affairs etc., may not require the same morality. Morality as an expertise itself has become questionable now-a-days.

So why bemoan the lack of ethics among our politicians. As Johnson put it in 'The Vanity of Human Wishes' referring to the warrior king, Charles XII of Sweden:

“But, did not Chance at length her Error mend?

Did no subverted Empire mark his End?

Did rival Monarchs give the fatal Wound?

Or hostile Millions press him to the Ground?

His Fall was destin'd to a barren Strand,

A pretty Fortress, and a dubious Hand;

He left the Name, at which the World grew pale,

To point a Moral, or adorn a Tale.” Wish our practitioners of filth read the poem? You are right Advaniji, Vishwas hi nahi hota !