Mr. CM, dare to clean it up?

Here are two reasons why Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy’s announcement of his intention to uproot corruption from the corridors of power and expression of fear that doing it could cost him his job should be taken with more than a pinch of salt. One, his diatribe was aimed mostly at the corruption in the bureaucracy; he steered clear of the political class who have made graft a way of life. Two, the squabbling that went on, and still going on to an extent, over portfolios indicates how parties and ministers crave for the so-called money-spinning portfolios.

While Kumaraswamy’s statement that corruption pervades all three floors of Vidhana Soudha is being interpreted as an indirect attack on the previous Siddaramaiah-led administration, the public—tired of corruption—would gladly take his declaration of intent to clean up the system at face value, provided he follows it up with some action. But the indications are otherwise. His brother and cabinet colleague
H D Revanna, who secured the lucrative PWD portfolio, effected the transfer and promotion of dozens of senior engineers in his department within hours of taking over, which has reportedly not gone down well with some Congress ministers.

Ironically, Kumaraswamy was of the opinion that transfer of officials is where corruption begins and has talked about how middlemen take lakhs for transfers. His command to officials to stop indulging in corruption is welcome, but can he do the same with his Cabinet colleagues? Corruption in bureaucracy is just one part of the problem; the bigger challenge is to stop the political class from blatantly monetising the power they wield. Rooting out graft is an enormous task, as Kumaraswamy himself pointed out. But if he is serious about what he said and goes ahead bravely, the people will stand firmly with him. If not, he will prove to be just another politician, the kind who pays occasional lip service to the anti-corruption cause, but for all practical purposes, remain an integral part of the system that perpetually loots the public.