Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production and properties are owned by people. Crony capitalism is one in which the business relies closely on government officials in order to earn it's stupendous share of money. No doubt the government officials too have their share in the gargantuan pie of wealth which they receive in return for their nepotism and for paving the way for the business leaders. Recent revelations have brought to light a number of such malpractices.
In the US , a lot of top businessmen are convicted every month. But this does not happen in India. That's something worth pondering over. Anil Ambani's Swan Telecom and Unitech were allegedly involved in the 2G spectrum scam but no none of the accused were convicted beyond appeal. The same goes for Robert Vadra scam. Robert Vadra was accused of having amassed crores of rupees through his illegitimate dealings with DLF and nepotism shown by the Haryana government. No one has been convicted beyong appeal yet. INLD leader Abhay Singh said - "The Congress in alliance with CBI and its 'B' team hatched a conspiracy in order to save Robert Vadra (son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi) in the land scam in the state," he alleged.
Once poster boy of BJP, Nitin Gadkari, began building his private empire. Besides favouring infrastructure companies for key road projects, Gadkari set up his own Purti group of companies, which included a controversial private power generating firm. When TOI exposed Gadkari over rampant irregularities in these firms, Gadkari retaliated, saying, he was clean and has the blessings of powerful people in the BJP and RSS. Eventually , I-T men raided the firms associated with him and he was accused of being involved in fraudulent practices. His firms had fake directors, offices and it remains dubious if they really have any assets or not. But Gadkari on the other hand haughtily held out a threat to the Income Tax department. He said that no one will be able to save them when BJP comes to power. Gadkari affirmed that he is not involved in any malpractice, his intention is to help the poor farmers and that a collusion is being hatched against him.
The IAC website claimed that Gadkari has "five power-producing industries and three sugar industries in Maharashtra". "In a short span, Gadkari has built a huge business empire, with more than 15 companies in (several) sectors, including construction, sugar, distillery, power, coal, agro, etc," the website read.
According to a recent World Bank report, India ranks at 183 out of 184 countries of the world in enforcement of contract. This brings to light the dire need for some grave amendments and overhaul needed by our system which at present is in the interest of only the crooked politicians and businessmen of our country. Majority of the masses remain oblivious of the loopholes in our system. The wonky politicians ensure that none of the Bills introduced in the parliament is mordacious enough to harm their interest. That is exactly what they did to the Lokpal Bill, which even if passed in the original form would not able to serve its true purpose to a substantial extent. The change needed is in the police-judiciary system. As long as our senescent and futile system prevails, such instances of corrupt malpractices on the part of politicians and businessmen will continue to prevail and most probably thrive in future.
