Editor,
This refers to the editorial, ‘Unite to end corruption’ (The Arunachal Times, 14 February, 2024). The Supreme Court of India rightly observed that anonymous donations by the rich to the ruling party in electoral bonds can help them influence policymaking.
By declaring the NDA government’s electoral bond scheme of 2018 “unconstitutional,” the Supreme Court has struck a blow against cronyism.
Lack of transparency in electoral bonds as well as in PM CARES fund is the ideal grounds for the growth of cronyism. A sizeable part of the writing off an aggregate amount of Rs 14.56 lakh crore NPAs during the last nine financial years can have close connections with this growth.
On the other hand, poor families have to bear the burnt of a policy to keep a tight rein on spending for them. As a result, many MGNREGA workers are not getting their due wages in West Bengal. A few years ago, 11-year-old Santoshi Kumari died of starvation in Jharkhand as her family was denied ration for not being able to link their ration cards with Aadhaar. This policy of high tolerance for corruption for the rich and zero for the poor pushed India further down towards more corruption and more inequality. India slid down eight places from 85 in 2022 to 93 in 2023 in the 2023 Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International.
This is bound to happen as corruption pollutes the creamy layer first, rather than the poor. It is rightly said that a fish rots from the head down.
Sujit De