2G spectrum scam: This scam has cost the public exchequer Rs 1,76,000 crore. To put it into perspective, this amount would have been enough to provide the extra funds needed for a universal public distribution providing 35 kgs of rice at two rupees a kilo for the entire remaining term of the UPA Government. This amount is also eight times more than the entire Central budget for health and at least three times more than that for education. Yet the Government led by the Prime Minister says it has not enough funds to provide universal food security. This colossal loot of the public money was done under the tutelage of the Telecom Minister who followed an utterly dubious policy of spectrum allocation, presumably, to please certain corporate interests. What is all the more shocking is the complete silence and inaction of the Prime Minister on this faulty policy-making by a Cabinet Minister. The opposition raised questions about both policy matters as well as procedural issues and asked the Prime Minister to intervene. But he chose to ignore those questions. Even now, when the entire country is asking for answers, the PM is completely silent while the Government is denying the legitimate demand of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe into this huge scam.
Commonwealth Games Scam: The cost of Commonwealth Games (CWG) at the time of bidding in 2003 was estimated at Rs 1899 crores. By 2010 the total expenditure on the CWG rose to Rs 70,000 crore when the Games were eventually held. This expenditure is around 14 times the expenditure incurred during the CWG held in Melbourne in 2006. Even funds worth Rs 700 crore earmarked for the development of the deprived sections were channelized towards expenditure on the CWG. This colossal expenditure on the CWG is a direct result of the humongous corruption indulged in not only by the Games Organizing Committee but also by various functionaries of the Central and Delhi Government. The UPA Government has constituted an enquiry committee into this scam headed by a former CAG. The committee is basically powerless and its role has been proscribed to look into the irregularities of the Organizing Committee only while many branches of Central and Delhi Government were also involved in this scam.
Adarsh Society Scam: After the Kargil war, the Adarsh Housing Society was set up in 1999. It stated in official letters to the state government that it was meant for housing the widows of the martyrs in the Kargil war and for the families of war veterans. It has now transpired that among the 103 apartments that were sold to members of the Adarsh Society, not a single flat was given to either the widows of the Kargil martyrs or to the war veterans. All these flats were cornered by top Congress Leaders, bureaucrats and even by top ranking officers of the armed forces. What is more, while the market price of each flat was around eight to ten crore rupees, they were sold to these people at just 60 to 80 lakh rupees each! With the exposure of this scam, the CM of Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan, had to resign. However, this scam has shown glaringly how all rules are flouted and bent to ensure that congress leaders and higher ranking bureaucrats grab whatever public property is available, even if it belongs to the widows of the soldiers who died fighting for the country.
Liberal Corruption under UPA government
What these scams highlight is the malignant nexus of corrupt UPA Ministers, bureaucrats and big business operating at the centers of power. Many of the big names and the doyens of corporate India are involved in these corporate crimes. The nexus poses a serious threat to the system of parliamentary democracy itself. These powerful lobbies transform the instruments of Governance to suit the interests of corporates and scamsters and shape public policy to advance private interests. In the current era the nature of corruption is one where it is not the earlier method of giving bribes to get some contract from the government or the license to open a factory. Now, the policy itself can be bought or sold with money with the big businesses deciding what a particular policy will be. It is therefore not surprising that all the constituents of UPA including the Congress are actively involved in various corruption cases since all the parties cater to the interests of the big business and corporates
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