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From the Editors desk

Dear readers,

The week that ran by offered us something heartening…a top Minister from Karnataka resigned from the Cabinet on moral grounds when he was accused of providing false information to procure a site in the State. He was later absolved of the charge and has re-occupied his seat of power.

This gesture by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister of Karnataka, Mr Suresh Kumar, is a bit unprecedented by modern day political standards. It also offers a ray of hope in the midst of the despicable scams we find our elected representatives getting embroiled in on a regular basis.

The Minister resigned on June 23 when a media report (based on an application by an RTI activist) charged him of obtaining a Bangalore Development Authority site under the Chief Minister’s discretionary quota. The charge against him was that he allegedly withheld information in his affidavit that his family owned sites and houses in the City. The Attorney General cleared him of the charges within four days.

Though not found guilty of any charge, Mr Suresh Kumar has also surrendered the site that landed him in controversy in Ram Vilas Extension, Second Stage, valued at Rs 2.8 crore now.

By contrast, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Industries, Mr Virbhadra Singh, who was forced to resign in connection with a 23-year-old corruption case, was reluctant to let go of his post. Mr Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh were charged of awarding contracts to industrial houses to set shop for monetary gains when the former was the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. Despite sufficient evidence proving his guilt, he claimed to be innocent of all charges.

With both incidents almost taking place simultaneously, the step by Mr Suresh Kumar clearly stood out. He has clearly raised the bar for politicians in the State. With many Cabinet Ministers accused of various acts of impropriety, the Minister has clearly highlighted the need for probity in public life.

We hope this sets in a similar trend among politicians in the State atleast, if not throughout the country.

From the Editor’s desk

Mystery Medic

Doctors influenced to prescribe medicines

It is unethical for doctors to accept gifts from medical representatives. Pharmaceutical companies, through their medical representatives, offer gifts in various shapes and forms to doctors. Many doctors happily accept them as they do not think it is unethical and also think it will not affect their pattern of prescribing medicines. The reality is that studies have revealed that doctors consciously or sub-consciously prescribed medications based on the gifts they received from the drug companies. This is a serious conflict of interest and can compromise the health of patients. This is no different from politicians and officials accepting kickbacks for allocating contracts. Though the Medical Council of India has started focusing on this issue, an effective method has not been implemented to curb this widely prevalent menace. Hence, it is in your best interest to be aware of this and avoid doctors, who are involved in this kind of corruption.

Goa government takes steps to weed out corruption

In a bid to weed out corruption, Goa Government will now maintain a list of tainted officials…

Corruption has not left the private sector untouched

It is not uncommon for corruption to be equated with the State and the government actors. While all the noise around corruption has been limited to the bureaucracy and the public sector, there has been a long standing silence with regards to corruption in the private sector and by non-state actors like the multinational corporations and corporate entities.

Graft contaminates water supply too

After having tightened its grip on natural resources such as spectrum and minerals, corruption has now trickled into the water supply department. Rakesh Bhatnagar explores the dynamics of the problem…

Fighting wilful blindness

Corruption has been a part of the Indian system for ages. Be it the misappropriation of public money or amassing of wealth by our bureaucrats and politicians, we the citizens are aware of everything. Perhaps, it is time for us to give up our wilful blindness…

Why is Pakistan so corrupt?

Corruption to the tune of Rs 8500 billion has taken place in Pakistan ever since the present PPP government assumed office, according to Transparency International Pakistan. Spotlight is being thrown on history and current trends of this evil and the role played by the political class, military and bureaucracy to institutionalise it.

Who will blow the whistle?

The recent murder of Narendra Singh, an IPS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, for daring to stand up to the stone mining mafia, again brings to the fore the need to protect honest and harassed whistle-blowers. While concrete legal steps have been put in place to offer them protection, they have merely remained on paper so far….

What is the best punishment to be dealt to the corrupt?

Any act of corruption can occur only with the connivance of two parties - bribe payers and bribe recipients. Which gives rise to this million-dollar query: Who is more culpable, one who pays to sin or sins to pay?