No more holy cows
The cabinet has decided to finally remove an anomaly in the law concerning the declaration of assets which was so far confined to politicians alone. With the inclusion of the judicial and military personnel also, all those drawing salary from the national exchequer would now be required to declare their assets every year. This would end the discrimination against a particular section of society only. This will also put an end to the perception that certain sections of society were being treated as holy cows.
In a society where influential people can bend rules and break laws, corruption is bound to spread like cancer. It is all the more so in cases where discretionary powers can be used to gain pecuniary benefits. So far, only politicians have been subjected to an intrusive examination of their assets and for obvious reasons. Governments in power have enough discretionary powers. There is still a fairly large state-controlled sector where cronies can be accommodated or jobs sold. A foreign firm which can earn millions of dollars if the government agrees to sign a particular contract would go for bribing an obliging minister.
The rivalry among political parties ensures that corruption among politicians is brought to the lime light. However, as numerous incidents reported by the media indicate, the malaise has hardly left any section of society unaffected. Certain sections have in fact institutionalised corrupt practices. While receiving discriminatory benefits they have provided them legal cover. Like politicians who are frequently accused of misusing their office to gain illegitimate wealth, the unscrupulous among the judicial and military officials too are not far behind. Stories about bribes in defence contracts have appeared several times in the media. Similarly there has been no dearth of corrupt judges in the country.
Corruption exerts a corrosive influence on society. This not only leads to the erosion of its moral fibre but also to bad governance which then has detrimental effect on the overall economy. A law that makes all sections of the civil servants to declare their assets would be a step in the right direction. Meanwhile, the government should take more steps to improve its own reputation.