Mumbai massacre survivors join new Indian anti-corruption party:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/4886000/Mumbai-massacre-survivors-join-new-Indian-anti-corruption-party.html
"Our leaders are filthy and immoral," said Mr Uledar, 29, a devout Christian.
"Instead of running the country and giving us security, they are looting it,
getting fat from corruption. I want honest people to come in to give us a new
start."
Standing on a platform of professionalism and meritocracy, the new party is
emblematic of a new mood of anger and frustration among India's rapidly growing
middle class, for whom the new dynamism in the economy is lacking sorely in the
political sphere.
Comprising doctors, executives, academics and other professionals from all
religious backgrounds, it promises to cleanse what is frequently described as
an Augean Stables of sleaze and graft within India's parliament. A quarter of
its sitting members are either convicted of or facing criminal charges,
including serious offences such as embezzlement, rape and murder.
This week a former cabinet minister, Sukh Ram, was jailed for three years in
New Delhi for corruptly amassing a fortune of 40 million rupees (£500,000). But
in general it is rare for such cases to end in punishment.
He argues that if Indians can head multinational companies like Citibank and
PepsiCo, there is no reason why talented professionals with the necessary
expertise cannot govern India in the same way.
I want everyone to know that solutions to our problems are available," he
said.. "If India can have just one parliament of honest, clean, qualified
professionals, we can be a developed nation in five years."
The party even has the blessing of its more established rivals, who sometimes
accuse India's professional classes of being aloof from politics. Ravi Shankar
Prasad, spokesman, BJP: "I welcome the party," said Ravi Shankar Prasad,
spokesman for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"Instead of criticising from the sidelines, it's good that activists,
intellectuals and professionals want to enter politics. What the party's impact
will be, how knows?"
