Unmasking the True Face of Corruption

The 2G Spectrum scam has caught the attention of the entire nation due to the sheer scale of the loot of public money. The defenders of this corporate loot try to project the 2G Spectrum scam as a mere ‘aberration’, a rare instance for which a few ‘corrupt’ individuals can be conveniently blamed. They try their level best to hide the fact that what we call ‘corruption’ and ‘corporate loot’ is institutionalised in the present economic regime of neo-liberalism and globalisation.

Let us have a look at some bare facts:

• As much as 12 times the public money lost due to the 2G Spectrum scam has been illegally siphoned off from our country to Switzerland and other tax havens. Between 1948 and 2008, over Rs 20 lakh crores of public funds have been lost in this way according to the research body Global Financial Integrity (GFI). And this is a very conservative estimate, adds GFI.
• Nearly half of this amount exited the country after 1991 (when neo-liberal policies were first introduced). Also, the rate of this loot of public funds has been increasing by around 11.5% a year (concomitant with the increasing liberalization of the Indian economy), and about one-third of the total outflows occurred between 2000 and 2008, a period when more and more sectors were privatized.

Under the neo-liberal regime, it becomes acceptable for land, minerals, water and other public resources to be removed from the public ownership and control, and be transferred to corporate houses for them to exploit. Even if no ‘corruption’ were to be involved in this process (if no bureaucrat or politician were to benefit), it would still involve an enormous loss to the public exchequer and transfer of public assets like natural resources into private hands. Corruption on a scale unimaginable in previous times is, however, embedded in this process, as corporate interests vie to secure these huge assets.

The Saga of Scams

The Rs 9000 crore waiver to Reliance: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance gained Rs 9000 crores through a single piece of legislation passed in the parliament; supported by both the UPA as well as the NDA. JD(U)’s official spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member N.K. Singh enthusiastically promoted this loot, and argued in favour of Reliance. The Niira Radia tapes reveal how the BJP too is involved in this shameful saga of state-sponsored corporate loot of public resources.

Paddy export scam: Rice from our PDS stocks (meant to be sold at low prices to the poor) was diverted via selected private operators to the international market. This scam (which resulted in a loss of Rs 2500 crores) involved blatant scuttling of a host of well-established rules and regulations. In the name of helping ‘needy’ countries, deals were struck which made it possible for some private operators to access our PDS stock and make huge profits. The list of ‘needy’ nations include countries which have a higher per capita income than ours, countries that are rice exporters themselves, as well as countries that do not even consume white rice.

Karnataka land scam: Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa from the BJP has been implicated in this scam, wherein government land has been denotified and transferred to family members of the CM as well as senior BJP leaders in the state. And Yeddyurappa remains in power, justifying himself by claiming that chief ministers before him too have been equally corrupt.

TN land scam: Here again, the DMK government distributed land belonging to the state housing board to well-known politicians, bureaucrats and judges in Tamil Nadu. The DMK claims it cannot fulfill its election-time promise of providing land to the landless, but it has land to dole out for the rich and powerful in the state.

The list of scams is long and grows longer day by day …… corruption in Prasar Bharti, in the Scorpene deal, in IPL…..

Who Is Responsible?

Governments of all hues are implicated: committed as they are to the neo-liberal agenda, ruling class political parties are not willing to take strong action to curb corruption. Time and again, we have seen how some implicated politicians have been ‘forced’ to resign when exposed, only to be resurrected soon after in some other coveted position of power. Commissions that are meant to investigate the root cause of scams are rigged and manipulated; bureaucrats who themselves have been implicated in scams are asked to head the Central Vigilance Commission! The real beneficiaries of corruption and the loot of public resources – the business houses – remain completely unscathed and are allowed to operate without any hindrance. In fact, they are allowed to dictate policies and even ministerial berths in this so-called ‘democratic’ country.

The Human Cost of Corporate Loot: What Do the Scams Mean for the Common People of the Country?

What is the truth behind claims that governments have no money for public projects, that privatization of resources is inevitable? Do governments really lack funds? The 2G Spectrum scam (which resulted in a loss of a whopping Rs 1,76,379 crores of public funds) and other such scams expose the falsity of these excuses: the amount lost due to the 2G Spectrum scam alone equals an astonishing 3% of our GDP.

What could the government have done with this money?

• We could have cleared half of the country’s fiscal deficit
• The amount lost in the 2G Spectrum scam is almost Rs 40,000 crore more than the total amount that would be required to universalise food security – i.e provide 35 kg of food grains at Rs 3 per kg to all Indian households
• The amount lost due to the scam is:
  • 4 times the NREGA’s annual budget
  • 4 times this year’s education budget
  • More even than our this year’s entire defence budget
  • It is double the Union budget for infrastructure spending this year
  • The amount is roughly the same amount that would be required to ensure education FOR ALL for next five years (as per the estimates of National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration, NIEPA)

So, instead of spending on food security, health and education, the ruling governments of the days are determined to divert public funds and resources to increase the profits of super-rich corporations! This is the real human cost of corruption; the price we pay for corporate loot.