The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Top people should help remove corruption: VITU Chancellor

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Monday, Apr 07, 2008
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Top people should help remove corruption: VITU Chancellor

Special Correspondent

National interest should bring political parties together: Viswanathan

Job aspirants borrow money to pay bribe
Political parties need money for poll expenses

VELLORE: Corruption in politics and administration can be rooted out only when the people at the top change their attitude, according to G. Viswanathan, Chancellor of VIT University.

Delivering the keynote address at the ‘Turning point 4th annual district convention 2007-2008’ of the Lions Clubs International District 324-A4 here on Sunday, Mr. Viswanathan said that he had proved his point when he was Food and Cooperation Minister for about a year during the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime during 1991-96. The roots of corruption could be traced to the need of the people to pay bribe to get government jobs. Since the monetary expectations of the ‘people at the top’ were high, job aspirants had to borrow money to pay the bribe. Therefore, after getting the job, they assumed that they were empowered to demand bribe, claiming that they had to pay the officials right up to the top.

They resorted to illegal means, using their position, to earn money to repay what they had borrowed. “If the people at the top are good, the lower-level officials will also be good,” Mr. Viswanathan said.

Another reason for corruption was the fact that political parties needed a lot of money for election-related expenses. They got this money from those who had unaccounted or black money.

The black money had generated a parallel economy, which grew faster than the legal economy.

“Nobody knows the extent of this unaccounted money. Unfortunately, some political parties depend on black money to face the elections,” he said.

Mr. Viswanathan said that unlike in the U.S. and Germany, which had only two political parties, and the U.K. which had only three parties, there were 501 recognised and 811 registered parties in India.

In Germany, when the two parties got equal number of seats in an election, they formed a coalition government in the national interest. But it was because of the lack of such political maturity in India that good deals such as the nuclear deal hit a road block.

“If the national interest demands, both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party should set together and solve disputes,” he said.

The Lions Club movement, which was an international movement, had a role to play in transforming the political situation in India and help in the elimination of corruption, he said.

R. Gurumurthy, Past Multiple Council Chairman of the Lions District, said the Lions International Training Institute coming up in Yelagiri Hills was a unique project of the Lions District 324-A4, and would benefit the Lions Club members throughout the country.

M. Venkadasubbu, outgoing Lions District Governor, welcomed the gathering. V.S. Thalapathy, Past District Governor (PDG), delivered the ‘turning point’ address. Mr. Gurumurthy presented a certificate to Cabinet Treasurer M. Balakrishnan, and Mr. Venkadasubbu gave the certificate to the Joint Cabinet Treasurer R. Pichandi. Cabinet Secretary T.S. Udayashankar and PDGs Ratna Natarajan, N.S. Ramanathan and Shanmugam spoke.

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