"Honest statesmanship is the wise employment of individual manners for the public good." - Abraham Lincoln
When it comes to Indian Politics, then one can accord that it is difficult for a leader to be compatible with the Indian politics and be honest at the same time. But there are some leaders who are maintaining honesty in the system, AK Antony, the Defence minister of India, is one of the few in that basket. Recently, Gen VK Singh, the army chief, has made allegations about the bribe offered to him by an equipment lobbyist, and subsequently he revealed that he informed to the Defence minister Antony, who then could not take action against the lobbyist. The allegations which revealed by Gen VK Singh, has spurred many debates in the both houses of the parliament and across the media. It may mar the reputation of AK Antony, one of the clean politicians of India.
In response to this issue, he complained to the CBI to commence a comprehensive probe immediately. He also promised the action against the guilty, however powerful he may be. He was fair in saying that he acted on his judgement, and he could be punished if he was wrong. He was often accused for the delay in procuring equipments for the Defence, the process which require the approval of many authorities: which causes the rise in the price of the equipments from the bidding date to the approval date. He was just following the procedure. But he has the record of embarking on the legal probe immediately and following it whenever a mischief happened in the departments covered by his ministry (Adarsh scam, Sukna land scam). Unfortunately it is a reaction, but not an anticipated action. However, his integrity and his penchant for not compromising on corruption were well known across the political parties.
AK Antony has modest overall assets and the least movable assets (5 lakhs) in the cabinet of India. He is one of the ten powerful Indians in 2012, but never own a vehicle. He took a home loan for the construction of his house in Kerala. His son has graduated from Stanford with an education loan from Canara bank, where his wife worked for the most part of her life.
Having said that, just being honest and playing safe doesn't serve welfare of the country. A crucial political leader must be a person of statemanly judgement. Honesty with statesmanship is a lethal combination of a strong political leader. The current issue of the Army chief, which surfaced the rift between the Army and the government, stink to high heavens. Lets hope that AK Antony serve in catching hold of all the guilty and act with jurisprudence to complement his Mr.clean image.
