How much for me, how much for them:

May 30/2011: The question of how much for whom seems to be bothering every politician of India today. Why only politicians, it is the same botheration for bureaucrats, judges, industrialists, businessmen and even the media. It is a simple pastime of how well who can possibly rip the system (read country) out. Look at the recent spat in the Bharatiya Janata Party between Sushma Swaraj, leader of the largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha and Arun Jaitley, leader under a similar situation in the Rajya Sabha. Truly speaking, both these personalities have not shown any vision or qualities becoming of a leader. That is not even required now a days. It is a matter of being at the right spot at the correct time. Once a situation gets under way, things start happening mostly on their own. A clever and wily man has to keep riding the crest by remaining clean (read-not get caught), keeping on friendly terms an effective media that bolsters the image of cleanliness and remains totally without any opinions or actions. This is the ideal politician of today, unlike someone like the Karnataka Chief Minister. Yeddyurappa seems to be caught in some kind of a political quick sand scenario. He could not keep a clean image and has had about ten or eleven scary situations to face in the past three years.

That reminds us about the main issue. Karnataka's BJP state government completed three years in office recently. On that issue, there came about a discussion, out of thin air, wherein Sushma Swaraj commented that she opposed the induction of the Reddy brothers of Bellary fame in the Karnataka state cabinet. This opinion set the ball rolling. Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar and others claimed that at the time of formation of ministry, no allegations existed against the brothers.

Mudslinging from both camps kept the media happy and satisfied. The fight was in Delhi about the state of the BJP in the State of Karnataka and so it is still going on. Now the short history. The Reddy brothers, Janardan and Karunakar, are well known for their deeds in Bellary. Also known is their relationship with a former Congress Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. So much so that while digging for iron ore in Karnataka, their tunnels would emerge in neighboring state of Andhra where also they were made welcome. The brothers invested in the BJP during the state assembly elections. When the party formed the government, both were rewarded. Reasons were clear to all. With power their empire flourished. Ambitions increased. With the strength of mining money, they threatened the Chief Minister who, somehow, managed to survive. With time, the CM must have undermined the clout of the brothers and brought back some of their MLAs to his fold and so on with the usual story.

Now Sushma, most probably inadvertently, spoke something in an interview to a magazine that could be termed as slightly unnecessary at this juncture. Especially for her career. She does not need any controversy now because she is not a towering personality (both literally and figuratively) who should be dreaming of becoming the Prime Minister of India in case the BJP manages to get enough seats in  Parliament in 2014. She would have been best advised to keep a low profile. But let us assume she blurted out something that gave the Arun Jaitley camp something to latch on to and hammer her. This happens to many politicians going overboard in promoting themselves through the media.

Arun is also, probably, another aspirant for the top post in case the BJP ever does it again. A man without a constituency and living in the knowledge that if Manmohan Singh could sing, why not he. He may not be wrong also. Unlike the present Prime Minister of the UPA, Arun Jaitley surely can talk convincingly. He being a lawyer of repute would hold him in good stead too.

All the muck starts flying because of what was said earlier. No one in politics or any other major walk of life in India is interested in the well being of the nation or its citizens. It is all about sharing the loot and who gets most of the spoils. Lately, mining has attracted everyone's attention. In the last session of Parliament, long deliberations were held on theft in the mining sector. Many learned Parliamentarians spoke on the subject. They were mostly representing state parties or national parties that were in power in states where mining was a big affair. Although almost all conceded that there was large scale pilferage and national wealth was being looted by inpiduals or corporates, no one asked for stringent action against the culprits. The reason for this was also evident. The bosses of the MPs were in power in their respective states and it is they who were perpetrating all the crimes. So who do they speak against but themselves? It came to such a point that when Ananth Kumar of the BJP rose to speak, he first explained what is the definition of mining theft. As if no one else in the House was even aware of ground realities! Anyone who heard those discussions would have laughed the guts out at the imbecility of the participants. Yet we have to live with them and also do as they say.

During that particular phase, the Reddy brothers in Karnataka, Madhu Koda in Jharkhand and the Patnaiks and company in Orissa were rocking the mining theft boat. In the meanwhile, all that has been conveniently forgotten and put under wraps. A few cases in some Courts might be giving sleepless nights to a select few but the large scale plunder of national wealth has been minimized by the media and so people do not recollect most of the bitter aspects.

Until the Sushma-Arun story spread the stink once again one may really start believing that the Almighty has to step in to save this country over and over. The current spat inside the BJP shows how rotten that party has become. No leader. No economic or social policies. No Hindutva worth the salt either. In brief, a party bereft of any consequence.

On the other hand, it also shows what the state of this nation is at present. In the desire to accumulate wealth over night, no single Indian is willing to toil. It may also seem like no one really cares what happens to the country. This kind of a negative outlook should not be misunderstood that it is being said there is no good Indian. There may be many good ones. Yet, they may be considered good till such time that they do not get the opportunity to plunder. One may be judged good or bad only when one is in a position to do wrongs for personal benefits but refrains from doing so. Those kinds of people are unknown, unheard and unseen here. Unfortunately it’s the Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley types who are seen and heard. And we all are here to be herded by those types of personalities.