People's Democracy

THE Vajpayee government is stinking. The rot has sunk so deep that India and its people can be saved from being sold on a platter only by ridding our country of this government.

The exposure of scandalous corruption in high places by tehelka.com is unprecedented. That corruption has become institutionalised, substantially aided by the economic policies of liberalisation, had been noted in these columns many a time. But these revelations came as a shock even to all those who were conscious of this cancer eating into the vitals of our civil society. They are shocking not only because of the quantum of corruption. They are shocking because of the totally cavalier manner in which sacred interests like national security can be compromised and negotiated for a price. The Vajpayee government has been completely stripped of all respectability, credibility and integrity. For the sake of India, this government must quit immediately.

The resignation of the BJP president, Bangaru Laxman, only vindicates the validity of these exposures. As we go to press, indications are that some ministers may follow suit. The Vajpayee government must realise that it can fool the Indian people by finding some scapegoats. There is only one goat to be sacrificed – the Vajpayee-led NDA government itself. This NDA government is responsible for downright moral degradation and the degeneration of the entire system of governance. It has shown itself as a combination of unscrupulous people who would be prepared to sell their own mothers for pecuniary gains.

It is no longer shocking that those who invoke nationalistic jingoism at the drop of the hat for political gain, are the first to barter the country’s interests. All the BJP’s slogans of ‘swadeshi,’ national pride, strength of character, political morality, etc, mouthed with nauseating repetition, are not only hollow but are actually a cover to mortgage our country and the people.

For the sake of India that is Bharat, Vajpayee and his mercenary gang must quit. The Indian people, seething that anger, will not allow this obnoxious government to remain in office any longer.