Where law is a matter of whims opportunities for corruption are embedded and emboldened in the process. Politically motivated corruption is at the root of mismanagement of the government and lawlessness everywhere.
It was not unknown that the government is surviving through corruption of public money and betrayal with public trust. The move against casino lords cannot be seen as the way for cleansing the government, as claimed. They are followers but not the government. We are waiting with no hope.
The casino business was in the hands of government’s favourites and enjoyed immunity from the government. The people have become so used to corruption and deception that there is no easy way to generate public hope for a better future.
The same is the case with the project contracts as “development model” for our country. The contracts have been given to party favourites. It is not unknown how these projects are used for robbing of public money as extension of politics of corruption. Corruption has been a sharing business for too many people in too many places.
The drive against illegal casinos is nothing if it is not a full-blown fight against corruption. Casino corruption is low level street extortion. The real corruption is to be found high up in the government.
The government coffer is nearly empty and the money it needs can be collected from those involved in looting crores of public money directly. Most of these have gone out of the country. Anti-Corruption Commission could not do anything about hard money laundering. Corruption in high places remained out of bounds.
The general public are the victims of the depressed economy and no amount of pressure from the National Board of Revenue or the ways of Anti-Corruption Commission will produce money.
If high level corruption is not followed, the campaign against casino corruption will create opportunities for corruption over corruption.
When corruption is politics, then the cancer lies within the system. Because government protection is available, punishment of casinos’ lords or the student leaders is most likely to be fading away. There is likely revolt within the party leaders. Otherwise campaign has to move up for catching bigger thieves in the government.
Being unconcerned about the consequences for the academic atmosphere the teachers are actively engaged in misguided party politics. This way the public universities have become battlegrounds of violence for sharing unlawful gains. Allegations of involvement in tender corruption are also surfacing.
It is so hopeless to see and experience that the courts are not free to apply law, unaffected by servility found everywhere.
The people are furious and frustrated. We cannot be so much helpless against so much organised plundering of the people.
But the government is driven by the belief that as long as corruption is safe and satisfying for many they are safe. The corrupt ones will protect the government in their own interest. But everybody is not corrupt. Safety in corruption is slippery. The constitutional legitimacy has to be counted at one stage or the other.
Denying justice for fear of political pressure is a gross misuse of power making inroads of corruption in the judiciary. To initiate false cases for bail business is not unknown, but cannot be stopped. Sending arrested persons into police custody without the presence of their lawyers is unconstitutional, but not heeded. The reason should not be too unclear. There is opportunity of corruption for everybody.
As our history goes, one can rightly blame the weakness of character and the slavishness of conduct among us for making corruption easy, ignoring the people’s Constitution and denying us our voting right. Surely they are not all of us. But the whole nation is going through the miseries of misrule and extortion.
Despite all this, as the power of police or recklessness of corruption cannot be the government, change has to come. But the responsibility of the sensible ones is to try to the last to make the change happen peacefully.
It is our country and we cannot make corruption the way of ruling us. We must have the pride as a free people to have a government suitable for a pride people.
