Scandal in politics

Nooky on the sly may be fine for those who don’t care much for their reputation, but higher standards are expected from politicians.

The tragic saga of a nurse in Rajasthan who has been missing since September 1 and was reportedly in a relationship with a powerful politician has shaken the very structure of the Government of that State and even led to the resignation of the entire Rajasthan Cabinet of Ministers. It is now understood that the State’s former Minister for Water Resources Mahipal Maderna has admitted to having an affair with Bhanwari Devi but denied his involvement in her disappearance. His wife, after interrogation by the CBI, said, “Having an affair with someone and making a CD is not a crime”.

Mr Maderna’s affair with the 36-year old woman is neither the first nor the last in our country or the world. While everybody shows interest in sex, at least covertly if not overtly, we as a nation adopt an ambivalent attitude towards it. While the courts have not disapproved of live-in relationships, most segments of society do not approve of it. In 2005, for instance, actress Khushboo had to face two dozen defamation cases for saying that it was okay for girls to have pre-marital sex as long as they took precautions to avoid unwanted pregnancies and STDs. She later even justified her statement by saying no educated man could expect his partner to be a virgin any longer.

In 2010, a bench comprising then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and ano-ther judge squashed the 22 criminal cases registered against Khushboo on the grounds that her statements on the issue of pre-marital sex and live-in relationships were her personal views and that the Constitution gives her the right to express them.

Then, of course, there is the famous war of Troy that was fought over Helen, about whom Marlowe wrote: “Was this the face that launched a thousand ships/And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?/Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss”.

Whatever some people may say, if there was no sex there would be no people. If a common man indulges in it, hardly anybody notices. But people expect the rulers to have a model conduct. Thrones have been lost and empires squandered over sexual indiscretions. A more recent survey conducted abroad showed that an overwhelming number of men would have an illicit affair if they were allowed an environment of secrecy and a safe partner. Here are some recent instances involving the sexual indiscretions of our politicians:

2010: Former Karnataka Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Hartalu Halappa resigned after a friend’s wife charged him with rape.

2009: Veteran Congress leader and three-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Narain Dutt Tiwari had to resign from his position as Governor of Andhra Pradesh when a video allegedly showing him and three other women in a compromising position in his bedroom at Raj Bhavan was exposed following a sting operation. His resignation came only a month after a paternity suit was filed against him in an unrelated case. That same year in Kerala, another Congressman and movie star Rajmohan Unnithan was arrested and later on granted bail for ‘indulging in immoral activity’.

2008: Former Odisha Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management Manmohan Samal resigned when his involvement in a sex scandal was discovered.

2003: Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Amarmani Tripathi was arrested on charges of murdering his pregnant girlfriend Madhumita Shukla, and is now in jail serving a life-term.

Uttarakhand’s former Minister for Revenue was linked to an unwed mother of Assamese origin and later, the CBI registered charges of rape against him. He resigned soon after.

And so the list is goes on. It would suffice to say, that given a chance, most people would jump at the opportunity of having a fling.

Politicians abroad are not lagging behind their Indian counterparts. Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer was forced to step down after his involvement in a prostitution scandal. Following that, the appointed Deputy Governor also admitted that he and his wife had had several extramarital affairs.

Former US President Bill Clinton was accused of sexually harassing Arkansas State employee Paula Jones and was infamously charged with having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

More recently, Moshe Katsav had to resign as Israel’s President because of his involvement in a sex scandal. In March 2011, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for two rapes committed against a subordinate to the Union Ministry of Tourism, in the 90s.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has also been accused of engaging the service of prostitutes, some of whom were allegedly minors. His trial will commence shortly.

In the first instance after being caught, not only politicians but almost everybody will deny their involvement in a sex scandal. Obviously politicians cannot be an exception to this human nature. But the problem in our country is that, even when politicians are caught with their pants down, they deny that anything happened or they blame it on a political conspiracy.

The common man’s perception in India is that our politicians can get away, with anything. Corruption stands first and sex scandals come second. In fact, the author knows that in some cases, sex has been an element of corruption and has worked like a part payment.

The vital question here is: What is a scandal? There is no clear definition but a scandal can be defined as “loss of or damage to reputation caused by actual or apparent violation of morality or propriety”. In politics, it would be best to keep scandals separate from ‘controversies’ (which implies two differing points of view) and ‘unpopularity’. Many decisions are controversial, and many decisions are unpopular — that alone does not make them scandalous.

The same applies to consensual sex — as long as it does not involve any blackmail or harm the national interest.

A good guideline is, whether or not an action is, or appears to be, illegal. Since everyone, particularly a politician, is expected to be law abiding, breaking the law is, by definition, a scandal.

Misunderstandings, breach of ethics, unproven crimes or cover-ups, may or may not result in scandals depending on who is bringing the charges, the amount of publicity garnered, and the seriousness of the crime, if any. If any law has been violated and a crime committed to conceal wrongdoings, it certainly calls for the severest punishment by an appropriate court of law.

It must be borne in mind that certain acts may not violate any law but they might be immoral in the public discernment or vice versa. It is not correct to identify as to how a person should conduct himself. But it will be wise to follow what Aristotle said: “All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.”

Courtesy : The Pioneer