Arvind Kejriwal after a short hiatus, hit the headlines again. This time around, he did not pinpoint any particular individual and his misdoings, but raised a more serious issue - the faulty system which works at the whims and fancies of big corporates.
A corporate worker turned Indian Revenue Services officer turned social activist and now a politician, Kejriwal knows the system in and out. With his first hand experience of how our government machinery works and the legal acumen of veteran lawyer Prashant Bhushan, India Against Corruption has raised a well known, yet serious issue of the pol-biz nexus.
They did not expose anything new, but they collated many facts and minutes of meetings. They joined the dots to show clearly how the Indian government had to succumb to the pressure put by Reliance, which ended up in increasing fuel prices.
In the recent cabinet rejig, as alleged by many, the Petroleum minister Mr. Jaipal Reddy was removed and given a less important ministry because he did not agree to the terms put forth by Reliance. It is also alleged that Reliance used it's clout in the government to transfer him from the Petroleum ministry. This is a quintessential example of crony capitalism.
Crony capitalism determines the postings of public servants and portfolios of ministers. It decide what prices people should pay for commodities.
No doubt that these corporates fuel our economy and takes India to the global scene, but this should not give them powers to influence government decisions.
Business begets money, money begets power; but it is the government which has to prevent this power from crossing the limits, placing the nation and it's people's interests before anything.
Jai Hind!
A corporate worker turned Indian Revenue Services officer turned social activist and now a politician, Kejriwal knows the system in and out. With his first hand experience of how our government machinery works and the legal acumen of veteran lawyer Prashant Bhushan, India Against Corruption has raised a well known, yet serious issue of the pol-biz nexus.
They did not expose anything new, but they collated many facts and minutes of meetings. They joined the dots to show clearly how the Indian government had to succumb to the pressure put by Reliance, which ended up in increasing fuel prices.
In the recent cabinet rejig, as alleged by many, the Petroleum minister Mr. Jaipal Reddy was removed and given a less important ministry because he did not agree to the terms put forth by Reliance. It is also alleged that Reliance used it's clout in the government to transfer him from the Petroleum ministry. This is a quintessential example of crony capitalism.
Crony capitalism determines the postings of public servants and portfolios of ministers. It decide what prices people should pay for commodities.
No doubt that these corporates fuel our economy and takes India to the global scene, but this should not give them powers to influence government decisions.
Business begets money, money begets power; but it is the government which has to prevent this power from crossing the limits, placing the nation and it's people's interests before anything.
Jai Hind!
