Dangerous Corruption in India – Editorial in New York Times (July 12, 2015 )

Stinging  Rebuke from New York Times

         (Note:Corruption scandal of astounding proportions, yet another sordid tale and startling example in corrodes of India’s politics, public is  put at risk by unqualified doctors and professionals whose main asset is their ability to bribe, Mr. Modi  who booted out Congess remains studiously silent, are stinging words used by kottorNew York Times. How should we proud Indians who gave a brute majority to a BJP government  react? james kottoor, editor)

On Thursday, India’s Supreme Court ordered the country’s Central Bureau of Investigation to examine a corruption scandal of astounding proportions, even by India’s terrible standards. It has been dubbed the “Vyapam scam” after the acronym for an examination board in the state of Madhya Pradesh that has a lot to say about who gets government jobs and coveted slots in medical schools. The scam involves bribes paid by students to get the high marks needed for these slots. Some of this illicit money was channeled into political campaigns, or so it is suspected. 

Public view by the suspicious death on July 4 of the television journalist Akshay Singh. He reportedly began foaming at the mouth after sipping tea while interviewing the family of a student involved in the scam who was found dead. According to an official count, about two dozen people connected in some way with the scam have mysteriously died. Some 2,000 others have been arrested since the state opened an investigation in 2013. 

They are mostly low-level figures — students who paid bribes, brighter students who took exams in their place and exam administrators. Simmering for nearly a decade, the scam was catapulted into The new investigation should shed much-needed light on how the funds were used and who benefited. But the sordid tale is yet another startling example of the way corruption corrodes India’s politics. In this case, the public has also been put at risk by unqualified doctors and other professionals whose main asset was their ability to bribe their way into school or a government job.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party in the belief that he would end corruption. But the Vyapam scam comes on the heels of another scandal that exploded last month dubbed “Lalitgate” involving India’s profitable professional cricket association. Both scandals have taken place in states governed by the ruling B.J.P. Mr. Modi has remained studiously silent on both affairs.

The scam can only dishearten voters who voted last year to elect The next session of Parliament opens July 21. There is much important work to be done. But the rival Indian National Congress party is delighted to be able to turn the corruption tables on the party that booted them out of office, and is unlikely to allow much other business to be debated. Mr. Modi needs to speak out against these scandals now. He must also ensure that the Central Bureau of Investigation remains free of government interference and that whistle-blowers, witnesses and journalists working on corruption cases are protected.

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