"Rotten from the top"
The aam aadmi is now convinced that corruption is a part and parcel of life and nothing can be done about itCorruption is not a dirty word in India anymore. It is a way of life for us. We pay ` 50 extra to the postman to make sure he delivers the post on time, and the same to the MCD worker who comes to clean the roads every day so that there’s a clean street to live on. But this is not baksheesh, they feel it is their right. If you tell them that you are not entitled to it and it is their duty to clean the streets, they will give a huge lecture on how the system works from top to bottom. “How do we live on our pay due to the price rise of essential commodities?” they ask.I have nothing against these poor Government servants. But I am surprised how they have taken making money on the side for granted as well as legal. One cheeky guy turned to me and said, “Ma’am, don’t you see or read the news every day? This is what’s being done from the top to bottom.”. He’s not concerned about how hard the PM is trying to stop corruption and make the system transparent. He has taken it for granted that it is only a drama. The PM is trying to keep his name clear. A person once told me a story of how he had to bribe for his daughter’s admission to a Government school. He took pains in telling me the story for getting extra money for delivering the post on time. How else would he pay the bribe? His pay was not enough. He told me that he had taken a letter from an MP for the admission, but the school authorities threw it in the dustbin.An MP’s letter being thrown out and admission being given by taking bribe — this is a very small example of how our system has collapsed. The credibility of the Government is zero. A coalition Government does not mean that’s it’s free for all. The public is neither blind nor deaf. They do not care whether it is a Sharad Pawar responsible, or some other partner of the Government. For them it is the PM and Sonia Gandhi. It is the Congress that suffers in the long run. The PM and senior Congress leaders are already apprehensive about the corruption in the system. It is impossible for any Congressman to say that he has given a clean Government when he goes back to the aam aadmi to seek votes again.It is being said that the largest party in the nation, which could have wiped out corruption, made the system transparent and could have done more developments, seems to be loaded with the biggest scams that the country has ever seen. It is disheartening and shameful. Whatever the leadership does now to amend it will be too little and too late. The media and the internet world give out all the details over and over again.In this day of ‘leaks’, the public knows everything. The saying “the fish rots from the head” acts well for a small employee of the Government. For him, or the aam aadmi, the top brass closing their eyes to what’s happening is being a part of it. So if they ask for some extra money, it’s no big deal.
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