POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY LAW

I read this article in the Economic Times, Chennai edition, today that the Industrialists fraternity feels it is high time that there is some governance and responsibility code in place for the politicians of our country in the form of a Law on Political responsibility. It was like somebody spelling out the vision that I had been long nurturing in my heart and did spell out in forums but with little effect. It was quite satisfying to see my vision match the thinking of the cream of intellectuals, industrialists and analysts of our country though this is not intended to elevate my status in any manner.

It is we people who vote these politicians to power and it is the industrialists who directly and indirectly provide them with the funds to contest elections, make them wealthy, powerful and also indulge in some development activities for the country whenever they get time out of politicking. There are a lot of laws in place to govern us as citizens of this country and there is a system of Corporate Governance to regulate the activities of the Industrialists. But it is quite ironical that the politicians who are made by the citizens and industrialists, do not have any law to govern their activities.

It is due to these reasons that today politics is the most unethical professions in our country in which the terms like integrity, moral values, statesmanship, discipline and principles do not find a place at all. On the personal side we find politicians not paying their rent, electricity charges, telephone bills and still get away with it throughout their life. On the official side we find their election manifestos and alliances arrangement prior to the elections and their activities and alliances after elections incomparable in all aspects. As the politicians proudly state that there are no permanent friends or enemy in politics and for that matter there is also no scope for integrity, moral values, promises etc. in politics.

So at last the industrial fraternity has come alive to the fact that the political parties just care less for the country and its economy when they draft their unethical election manifestos filled with promises that would spell doom for the economy if implemented and are seeking a code of governance to regulate the extent to which the political parties can make promises and also to see that the justified promises are fulfilled. But the politicians are made up with the support of Industrialists and the voting population of this country. So it is of utmost importance that these two fraternities get together and press for such a legislation in a single voice. Otherwise the clever politicians would successfully create a rift between the two fraternities acting individually and negate all efforts to regulate them.

A ray of light has appeared and gives us hopes that soon a code of governance would be put in place for this political community which is though the smallest in size, but is the most powerful and the most ungoverned and undisciplined in the country. It is really sad that in our country the people in charge of governance are the most ungoverned and require a legislation to discipline them.