Andhra Election Politics : Where does Money go?

Every political party alleges that everybody is seriously corrupt. And yet, each Politician, irrespective of the party he/she represents, spends as much as he/she can to BUY votes by offering primarily liquor and money. Some political parties are creative and offer sarees, cricket kits of youngsters and kind.

No Political party, Absolutely NO political party has any hint of honesty or guts to put out their account books to the public.

Source: The Hindu

I wrote a while back about the three questions each Political party must answer. So far, barring all the pep talk about ending corruption, no political party has demonstrated any transparency in the party to prove they are NOT corrupt. It appears, I am asking too much from the politicians!!!

The Real Questions ( YesToPolitics )

If there is any party that is promising to end corruption, we ask the following questions to prove that a) they are not corrupt, b) they will not resort to corruption during elections and c) they will not become corrupt once they are elected.

1. Show us the Money.

If people have to trust a party and entrust the responsibility of maintaining money of the entire state, the party must have solid strategies and books of managing party's money first. If they can't manage their own party money, how can we expect the party to manage the entire state.

So, be transparent and share with people your party accounting booksthat clearly show

• who contributed money to the party
• how and where are they spending each paisa of it

2. Show us the plan, not just promise !

It is quite easy for political parties to shower promises of free acres of land, money directly transferred to a family account or a hugh irrigation project that could save 1000s of agricultural families. But how can we trust the party whether it can keep its promises. To earn our trust, show the people that your party really understood the issue and fully aware of its costs in implementing it.

Show us for each Election promise

• expected number of beneficiaries 
• cost of the total project
• how long will it take to realize the project
• how do you allocate budget 
• what do you sacrifice to keep this promise

No political party can create money out of thin air. If party decide to spend on something, it is their responsibility to show where the money comes from. What other projects will be shutdown to fund this new project.

3. Share the facts

When party make any allegations against another party or person, show us the facts that made you believe so. Release all the evidence you have to the people so that people can understand your allegations and see for themselves the real picture of corruption. Telugu Desam Party's web page sharing a few details of the Congress Party alleged scams is a good beginning. But totally inadequate to prove anything.

Answers to these three in absolute fairness and honesty would help people understand and decide which party will be the best for them.

Otherwise, there is no meaning in talking about corruption of others, when you are also just one of them.