-The scale of recent Indian influence in UK and US politics spreads political corruption, scandals in the West
From Sardar Shahab
in London
Return of Sajid Jawed as the new UK’s Health Minister has been the talk of the town since the departure of Matt Hancock, the self-righteous protector of the nation’s public health in the UK COVID Pandemic.
Sajid Jawed who resigned as Chancellor of the exchequer (son of a Pakistani born bus driver) is been welcomed as one of the few respected politicians in the conservative party.Mr Jawed was replaced with Rishi Sunak (a junior housing minister of Indian origin when Mr Jawed rejected Prime Minister’s Boris Johnson order to fire his team of aides, saying “no self-respecting minister” could accept such conditions in his office by a Prime Minster.
The scale of recent Indian influence in UK and US politics is often being associated with current wave of Indian style political corruption scandals in the west.
What irony that Britain struts around the world stage lecturing developing nations on good governance when the whiff of corruption hangs so heavy over Whitehall. No wonder this crippled system never gets fixed while a brazen Prime Minister gets away with lying over his claim to possess a plan for reform. Yet as the old Turkish saying goes, a fish rots from the head down.
Matt Hancock is accused of practices often associated with the third world politics, by appointing Miss Gina Cola Dangelo, a departmental director while her brother’s firm was winning NHS contracts, just like Hancock’s sister, and we discover that the disgraced Minister was not being truthful when saying he had “nothing to do”.
Contrary to that Hancock’s resignation is highly significant, since it reveals much that is wrong with British political system and the shallow people who all too often rise to the top. Consider, after all, why Hancock found himself in this crucial post when the world was struck by its most devastating public health crisis for a century?
The reason is simple: he was a man of such shallow principles and spinelessness that he was prepared to ditch everything against his previous claims, just to keep his precious seat at the Cabinet table. His sickly resignation speech was telling there was so little sympathy even on his side.
Matt symbolises the corrosive tribalism that demands slavish loyalty rather than compassion, ideas or leadership skills from Ministers. Even in a pandemic, these people play pathetic games and fight prissy culture wars rather than reach out across the political divide and soothe divisions for sake of the nation.
However far worse figures are still sitting around the Cabinet table, such as Periti Patel current sectary of state consistently accused of bullying and betrayal in the past. She had to resign from former British PM Tressa May’s Cabinet back in 2017 on charges of having secret trips and meetings with Israeli officials.
One inquiry against her concluded that she failed to display the high standards required by the ministerial code of treating her civil servants with consideration and respect” and cited examples of “shouting and swearing“ Her approach on occasions has amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying”.
So, is it any wonder we keep getting disturbing glimpses of their arrogant hypocrisy, their sense of entitlement, their incompetence and their utter contempt for the ordinary folk who fund their salaries?
And is it any wonder there is such lack of faith in our political system when leaders make rules then break them with such insouciance?
This administration headed by Boris Johnson, a man who has behaved worse in both his private and professional life than Hancock yet ended up running the UK? A frequent liar bereft of fidelity, devoid of principles and lacking even a semblance of ideology that hides his lonely hollowness behind the mask of a clown. A populist leader so insecure that his former aide Dominic Cummings recalled how if Cabinet discussions grew difficult the Prime Minister would “do the whole ‘Let’s take it offline’ shtick before shouting ‘forward to victory’, doing a thumbs-up and pegging it out of the room before anybody can disagree”.
Being said that one can hardly surprise by the on-going scenario of Pakistan’s politics where Prime Minster Imran Khan is trying to get a grip over his own Cabinet and an opposition infused with mega corruption scandals.
