There are two words the Prime Minister mentions in almost every speech he makes in this election campaign. ‘Bhrashtachar’ and ‘parivarvaad’. Corruption and dynastic democracy. He always links these two things and hammers home the point that one follows from the other. He adds that nearly every opposition party in the ‘INDI Alliance’ is no more than a family firm. In an eerie echo of a famous Indira Gandhi slogan, he says, “I say get rid of corruption. They say save the corrupt.” In Mrs Gandhi’s original version, she had said, “I say get rid of poverty. They say get rid of Indira.”

Forgive the deviation. I found it curious that Modi should rework a slogan deeply associated with the despised Dynasty upon whose shoulders, in his view, all political mistakes of the past rest. Returning to the present, I must admit that there is a strong link between corruption and dynastic democracy. As someone who has closely observed what happens when major political leaders bequeath their constituencies and political parties to their progeny, I can confirm that dynastic democracy began when our leaders realised that there was much money to be made from ‘serving the people’.

The truth is that the quickest way to make a dishonest fortune is to become an Indian politician. I have seen people from ‘humble’ origins become millionaires virtually overnight. Where I disagree with the prime minister is when he seeks to create the........

© Indian Express