07-03-2007, 03:01 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Ms Patil obfuscates </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Nation needs answers, not bluster
Politicians with a low integrity quotient have mastered the art of brushing aside charges that bring into question their commitment to probity in public life - they simply describe the allegations as "false, malicious and baseless". The public outrage and outcry that usually follow disclosures of wrong-doing by those who wield political power tend to fizzle out as media loses interest and moves on to another story involving another individual. And, public memory being notoriously short, few remember the misdeeds of politicians by the time elections are held. Neck-deep in allegations of financial irregularities committed by a bank, a sugar factory and other institutions with which she has been involved till recently, Ms Pratibha Patil, the UPA-Left's choice for the office of the President of India, has adopted the time-tested means of deflecting criticism by describing the charges as "false, malicious and baseless". She has also slyly suggested that the documented stories of gross abuse of power that have been appearing in newspapers every day and featuring on prime time television, and which put a huge question mark on her credentials as a suitable candidate for the presidential race, as meant to "tarnish" her image. Had it not been for the fact that Ms Patil may get elected to office because the numbers in the electoral college are stacked in her favour - which is no measure of popular approval - we could have scornfully laughed away her pathetic attempt to rubbish the news stories that threaten to denude the President's office, to which she aspires, of its prestige and dignity. That a potential President of India may have been involved with a bank that robbed its honest depositors to favour her kith and kin; that Ms Patil's sugar factory may have tried to defraud the Government of its dues; and, that she may have silently used her political connections to reap financial benefits from what are claimed to be social service trusts which have received Government largesse, raise serious questions that must be answered, and answered now.
Ms Patil cannot just seek to brush the charges under the carpet and pretend to be an innocent victim of canards and calumny. The fact of the matter is that the various exposés about the business enterprises with which she has been involved have tarnished her image. To restore the sheen, Ms Patil must come clean and if the media reports are, as she claims, "false, malicious and baseless", then she must respond to them point by point. So long as she is unable to do so convincingly, she will be perceived as someone who has cut far too many corners for personal aggrandisement. Such politicians may be well-suited to serve as Cabinet Ministers in a Congress Government and Governors when the Congress is in power at the Centre, but they are unfit to become the custodians of the Constitution of India; nor are they fit to shoulder what Ms Patil has described as "the inspiring responsibility of the office of President". Addressing DMK legislators and MPs in Chennai on Sunday, Ms Patil said if she were to be elected, it would be a "significant moment for India". She couldn't be farther from the truth: If in the 60th year of its independence, India is to be saddled with a President who has failed to disprove shocking charges that implicate her in scams and scandals, then it would indeed mark a significant turning point for public life in this country: It would signify the end of morality and ethics in politics. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Nation needs answers, not bluster
Politicians with a low integrity quotient have mastered the art of brushing aside charges that bring into question their commitment to probity in public life - they simply describe the allegations as "false, malicious and baseless". The public outrage and outcry that usually follow disclosures of wrong-doing by those who wield political power tend to fizzle out as media loses interest and moves on to another story involving another individual. And, public memory being notoriously short, few remember the misdeeds of politicians by the time elections are held. Neck-deep in allegations of financial irregularities committed by a bank, a sugar factory and other institutions with which she has been involved till recently, Ms Pratibha Patil, the UPA-Left's choice for the office of the President of India, has adopted the time-tested means of deflecting criticism by describing the charges as "false, malicious and baseless". She has also slyly suggested that the documented stories of gross abuse of power that have been appearing in newspapers every day and featuring on prime time television, and which put a huge question mark on her credentials as a suitable candidate for the presidential race, as meant to "tarnish" her image. Had it not been for the fact that Ms Patil may get elected to office because the numbers in the electoral college are stacked in her favour - which is no measure of popular approval - we could have scornfully laughed away her pathetic attempt to rubbish the news stories that threaten to denude the President's office, to which she aspires, of its prestige and dignity. That a potential President of India may have been involved with a bank that robbed its honest depositors to favour her kith and kin; that Ms Patil's sugar factory may have tried to defraud the Government of its dues; and, that she may have silently used her political connections to reap financial benefits from what are claimed to be social service trusts which have received Government largesse, raise serious questions that must be answered, and answered now.
Ms Patil cannot just seek to brush the charges under the carpet and pretend to be an innocent victim of canards and calumny. The fact of the matter is that the various exposés about the business enterprises with which she has been involved have tarnished her image. To restore the sheen, Ms Patil must come clean and if the media reports are, as she claims, "false, malicious and baseless", then she must respond to them point by point. So long as she is unable to do so convincingly, she will be perceived as someone who has cut far too many corners for personal aggrandisement. Such politicians may be well-suited to serve as Cabinet Ministers in a Congress Government and Governors when the Congress is in power at the Centre, but they are unfit to become the custodians of the Constitution of India; nor are they fit to shoulder what Ms Patil has described as "the inspiring responsibility of the office of President". Addressing DMK legislators and MPs in Chennai on Sunday, Ms Patil said if she were to be elected, it would be a "significant moment for India". She couldn't be farther from the truth: If in the 60th year of its independence, India is to be saddled with a President who has failed to disprove shocking charges that implicate her in scams and scandals, then it would indeed mark a significant turning point for public life in this country: It would signify the end of morality and ethics in politics. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->