Gopal Chaudhary, who is all set to contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as an independent candidate from the Agra South constituency, says that his only purpose of joining politics is to make money and fool people. “I have no motive to enter politics besides earning money so that I can invest and avail all the facilities of an elected MLA,” Gopal Chaudhary was quoted saying.
Stressing that everyone these days was entering politics for financial benefits, Chaudhary told ANI, “Everyone enters politics to earn money and build their houses. I will do the same.” Admitting his lack of experience in the field of politics, Chaudhary also said that he does not know how to earn money after becoming MLA, but the officials will teach him once he gets elected.
In a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chaudhary said that he will dupe the public just like a prime minister dupes a nation of 125 crore people. “A man becomes a prime minister by duping a nation of 125 crore people. He must have some talent. I will follow the footsteps. I will think how to make a fool of the public to gain votes from them,” he said.
#WATCH: Independent candidate Agra South Gopal Chaudhary says ‘my only reason for coming into politics is money, I’ll fool people” pic.twitter.com/sYfPIdhiYC
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 27, 2017
Chaudhary’s statement is shocking as he publicly revealed his motive of contesting the elections, but no one can deny the fact that corruption has become an unavoidable part of politics and every now and then, one or the other politician reaffirms this fact.
Politicians dutifully disclose their increasing assets at each election but no questions are ever asked about how they acquired this wealth nor are any explanations provided.
In 2014, as many as 82 per cent of the new MPs had assets worth over Rs 1 crore each, making it the richest Lok Sabha as compared to 2009 (58 percent) and 2004 (30 percent).
Three parties from Andhra Pradesh — TDP, TRS and YSRCP — had the richest MPs with average assets worth over Rs 50 crore. India’s richest MP — TDP’s Jayadev Galla of Guntur — is worth Rs 683 crore.
Today’s politicians are ‘very shrewd businessmen’. Do you think the political leaders are attracted by the meagre salary of an MP/MLA ? No. It’s the opportunity to make more money under the table using their newfound power.
Blaming Chaudhary or other corrupt politicians is not the solution, it is us who can try and reform the political system. Despite knowing that a particular leader is corrupt or isn’t a good politician, we vote for him/her because of a political party we support or due to freebies.
In a democracy, a government is shaped by the people. A leader in power can be done away with in the next election. If none of the options suit the voter, the power to vote ‘NOTA’ or ‘none of the above’ lies in the hands of the voter. But by accepting freebies or supporting corrupt leaders, are we not proving ourselves to be corrupt?
One can’t just enjoy a good governing system without shaping it. The problem is, we do not realise that we are not the victims but the culprits of the bad system that we complain and boast so much about! The choice is with us, whether to support corrupt leaders or work towards shaping a better political system.
