Along Longkumer
Consulting Editor
In a recent news report, which has come as a pleasant surprise, the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been reported to have lower assets than most of his cabinet colleagues. Believe it or not, but according to details of movable and immovable assets declared by the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues for 2012, Nitish Kumar has Rs. 14,475 in cash. The amount was Rs. 46,974 in 2011. One is left wondering if this can indeed be true because it is quite abnormal for a politician and that too, a Chief Minister to be as poor or simple as is being projected of Nitish Kumar. Nevertheless the point is that our politicians in Nagaland should try and compare their wealth and asset with someone like the Bihar CM. The result will not surprise many because the kind of corruption in a small State like ours is quite mindboggling. The list of Nitish Kumar's other assets are more or less the same as declared last year. These include a house in New Delhi valued at Rs.40 lakh and moveable assets worth Rs. 6.15 lakh, a 2003 model car, an old TV set, an old air conditioner, a refrigerator, a cooler and some cows, a computer, a treadmill and a bank loan. The other noteworthy thing that perhaps a Christian State like Nagaland can emulate is the practice of Ministers declaring their assets. This was the third occasion when details of assets of 29 Bihar ministers were uploaded on the government website as a step towards transparency. This is something that needs to be encouraged. And with Assembly elections over, the Church, which has been heading the clean election campaign, should not just keep quiet but as a follow up demand for transparent and accountable government post-election.
Sometime in 2011, this column had mentioned about how India was also going through a transparency revolution and that the walls of secrecy were crumbling in every field including politics, business, judiciary and administration. Indeed, in Nagaland as well, more than ever before, we are going through a time when transparency and an open government is what people are expecting. Being an election year the opportunity was there to make our elected leaders accountable in the way our State is governed. However the bigger worry is public apathy. We have seen that Nagas are not serious enough to make corruption an election issue. Perhaps our society is not yet ready for this transition—towards transparency. Any reform process will be slow and frustrating but we must persist. This reminds us about the Clean Election Campaign undertaken by the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC). Let this be the beginning of our journey to rid ourselves of the ills of corruption. Democracy is about dialogue and peaceful transition and the current discourse on tackling corruption should be taken to its logical conclusion through change in mindset and systems.
As already mentioned, since we do not have a culture of accountability (among politicians and bureaucrats) and transparency in governance, there will be resistance in the beginning. Nagaland is today known as one of the most corrupt. The people of the State and its government cannot be an exception to the winds of change taking place beyond our borders. Already at the Centre, the Prime Minister, Ministers, IAS officials etc are now expected to declare their assets in the public domain. A notice to this effect has also been circulated to the States. However we continue to remain silent. If the Opposition Congress party or the ruling NPF in Nagaland they are so concerned about corruption in high places as has been made known by them on different occasions, perhaps this is an opportunity for both the parties, especially the elected MLAs, to spell out in clear terms what they want to do in order to tackle corruption. As for the ruling government, the Chief Minister should take the lead and ask all Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Advisors etc. to declare their assets.
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