They decided to make the video tape public. The self-professed Gandhinian defense minister first resisted, claiming that the tape was doctored. But soon, unable to withstand public pressure, resigned in disgrace. Though Fernandes was never sent to jail, his political career was over.
Tehelka’s sting operation rubbed the political class the wrong way. They went after it with a vengeance. To offer someone a bribe (though fake) is in itself a crime, they argued. When Tehelka offered bribes, it was the journalists who were actually committing a crime, their legal scholars professed. They argued that the evidence was collected via illegal means, and therefore was unsuitable to be used in the court.
The judges appointed by the government agreed and that was the end of case.
The Indian government, and the political elite, then went after financial backers of Tehelka and almost ruined it. Since this episode, no journalist has dared to conduct such a high profile sting operation. Tehelka has now transformed into a regular magazine.
The Thelka case is an example of a private initiative of sting operations. But often, sting operations are conducted by government bodies. In the United States, techniques very similar to Tehelka’s has been used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to convict high profile politicians like senators and congressmen.
Even local law enforcement bodies conduct sting operations. For example, a car with a door flung open is kept in a street, while someone watches from a distance with a camera. Once stolen, the law enforcement official nabs the culprit, and takes the person to court.
Such sting operations are totally absent in Nepal. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse Authority (CIAA) has not conducted a single sting operation to catch a politician or a top government official. By design, little power is given to the CIAA and it is kept under the influence of the government. This has led to unfortunate scenarios.
CIAA needs more power to conduct sting operations against corrupt politicians and bureaucrats
Take, for example, the case of Mohammad Wakil Musalman, the Forests and Soil Conservation minister who is accused of soliciting bribes from civil servants for transfers to lucrative forest areas. It is an open secret that ministers take millions of rupees to transfer a civil servant and go unpunished. Then they cleanse this booty by claiming that their riches come from family and friends. Worse still is that when accused, they proudly challenge the authorities to produce even a tiny bit of evidence against them and prove it in the court!
Musalman is just one example. There are many others, who are very apt at soliciting bribes, and who never get noticed. They steal in style, and remain untarnished.
While all this happens, the Prime Minister is compelled to sit and watch. If he were to prosecute any of these ministers, he would lose his own job.
All of this can change if the CIAA is given the authority to conduct sting operations. Imagine a situation where someone offers bribe, and records the encounter with the minister. If the minister accepts the bribe, he makes the video-tape public. If this evidence can be used to prosecute the minister, wouldn’t this curb the abuse of power?
It is already very hard to convict the elite in Nepal, because they have the money and power. And we all know that in a poor country with weak institutions, money and power can go a long way; they can even buy innocence. Proper laws can pave the way for changing this. It can bring a revolution in the accountability of public officials.
Perhaps this is not the right time to make tough anti-graft laws. Our Prime Minister already has a lot on his plate. And he cannot alienate the supporters he needs to conclude the peace process.
But one day, a brave Prime Minister should relinquish his control over the CIAA. He should make the CIAA totally independent like the FBI in the United States, and give it the power to conduct sting operations. This in turn will enhance his ability to govern. His ministers will not be able to save him when he is caught in a corruption scandal. And he will free the Prime Minister’s office from a big burden that it carries, once and for all.
The writer is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance at Texas A&M International University in Texas, US
680anand@gmail.com
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