Nov 18, 2010
EVEN by India’s standards of political corruption, Andimuthu Raja, the telecommunications minister, was pushing it. He is accused of presiding over a rigged auction of second generation (2G) mobile-telephone licences in 2008 that deprived the exchequer of $39 billion—a sum about equal to India’s defence budget. This would make it the costliest loss to state corruption that India has ever suffered. A report by the government auditor said Mr Raja had sold the licences at deliberately low prices, some of them to ineligible companies. Even for a government that has shown a blithe complacency towards graft, in a country in which corrupt politicians are rarely held to account, this was considered unacceptable. On November 14th, Mr Raja got the sack.
The government had little choice but to fire him. Indeed, two days later India’s Supreme Court criticised its tardiness in dealing with the 2G spectrum scandal. On November 18th its judges asked India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, to respond to this criticism within two days—an unusual step, which could sully Mr Singh’s reputation as a politician of singular integrity. The opposition, meanwhile, has stepped up its noisy demands for a parliamentary probe into the affair.
But Mr Raja’s exit, following as it does two high-profile political firings in as many weeks, suggests the government has a new appetite for tackling graft. Suresh Kalmadi, who headed the organising committee of October’s Commonwealth Games, stepped down as a secretary of the Congress party over allegations he had siphoned off Games funds. Ashok Chavan was dumped as chief minister of Maharashtra over his alleged role in a housing scam in which apartments meant for war widows were sold to politicians and army officers. Further high-profile departures are expected to follow.
There are several reasons the government has embarked on an anti-corruption drive now. The Commonwealth Games shone a particularly unforgiving light on the pervasive nature of graft in India. On November 15th, India's top investigating agency arrested two Games officials for allegedly awarding contracts to companies at inflated prices—the first arrests since an investigation was launched last month. More immediate political considerations will also have played a part in the sackings: a string of states go to the polls next year. India’s fast-growing middle class is thought to be increasingly intolerant of thieving politicians. And as the economy grows, so too do the spoils of graft, as the scale of the 2G scandal shows.
Mr Singh may also have been emboldened by his party’s increased majority after last year’s general elections, which brought the Congress coalition to a second term in power. But Mr Raja’s exit, in particular, may come at a cost. He is a member of the DMK party which rules the southern state of Tamil Nadu, which goes to the polls next year, and is a key ally in the coalition. Mr Raja’s ejection could weaken the party and with it the government.
His departure has meanwhile given an airing to an issue too often brushed under the carpet in India. Ratan Tata, the boss of one of India’s biggest conglomerates and a rare icon of integrity, described in a lecture on November 15th how he had decided not to enter the airline business after a fellow industrialist suggested he pay a bribe of 150m rupees ($3.4m) to a minister. He later clarified that no minister had asked him for a bribe. But the point had been made.
Source: Economist
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