Same old, same old.

Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, BJP's Ms Sushma Swaraj accused civil society members led by Anna Hazare of indirectly inviting dictatorship by specking against democratic institutions. TOI. March 27. She said that the issue was not limited to an individual or a group of MPs but the entire institution which is the anchor of democracy in the country. She meant the Parliament. Enormous indignation. But is it righteous? Ms Swaraj was reacting to a comment by Mr Arvind Kejriwal, a member of Anna's team, that the Parliament has a serious problem of credibility as there are 162 lawmakers with criminal records. We are not talking shop lifting but crimes such as murder, rape and extortion. Politicians defend themselves by saying that everyone is innocent unless proven guilty and they want to prove their importance by saying that only Parliament can pass laws no matter what anyone says. Agree to both. So, why do you not pass laws to hang the guilty. How can you, as a woman, sit beside a known rapist or share a meal with a murderer. Also in today's paper the Army Chief, Gen VK Singh has said that he was offered Rs 140 million to allow the purchase of 600 trucks which were " sub-standard ". " Just imagine, one of these men had the gumption to walk up to me and tell me if I cleared the tranche, he would give me Rs 14 crore. He was offering a bribe to me, to the Army chief. He told me that people had taken money before me and they will take money after me," Gen Singh said. There are reports that the Comptroller and Accountant General has discovered that blocks of coal mines were sold to private companies for paltry amounts who then went on to make windfall gains. The scam is said to be worth $ 211 billion putting the $ 36 billion telecom scam into shade. There is usually a lot of drama but nothing ever happens. Cases drag on for decades. Witnesses die or are coerced into silence and eventually the case is thrown out for lack of evidence. Sukhram is still free 15 years after being caught red handed. ND Tiwari defied court orders to provide a sample of his DNA and nothing happened to him. Ramalinga Raju is still free after confessing to looting his own company, Satyam whereas Bernard Madoff is serving a 150 year sentence. If Ms Swaraj really politicians to be respected pass laws that will force courts to finish cases within a finite time, free up the police and other investigative agencies from political interference, constitute a strong Lok Pal and do not give tickets to criminals to contest elections. Until we see politicians serving long prison terms or, better still, being hanged for heinous crimes we will see all of you as accessories. If you don't like it, tough.