'2G scam might be big but who will exploit it?'

A Ganesh Nadar finds out if the 2G scam will play an important role during the assembly poll among the rural voters of Tamil Nadu.

The 2G scam is the biggest scam of Independent India. It has seen the arrest of a Union minister (A Raja). It has seen the arrest of senior members of the bureaucracy. It has seen a suicide of an aide of the minister. It has seen the biggest industrialists in India going to the CBI to offer their explanations for benefiting from the scam.

The loss to the exchequer has been estimated at 1.7 lakh crore according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The CBI has come out with a different figure. No one knows what exactly the loss was. The CBI is pursuing the case diligently under the watchful eye of the Supreme Court.

This case is very important to Tamil Nadu and the assembly polls here since Raja belongs to Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Mennetra Kazhagam. The CBI has also questioned the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter and wife in this case.

Many folks did not know what 2G means but they all seem to know about huge scam. Will it have an effect on the poll results? We spoke to a few voters.

A shop keeper in Kurumbur, a small bazaar in Tuticorin district, laughed, "Who cares about scams anymore. Every voter knows that who ever wins will work for himself, to enrich himself. Everyone is selfish. Most of the voters know that after the elections we will seldom see our MLA. So what they want to do is make a quick buck while the elections are on. 50 percent of the voters are just waiting to see if they will get a thousand rupees for a vote or two thousand rupees, they are not interested in what the government does after that".

In Valavallan village in the same district, there was a lady running a grocery shop. "Of course I know what the 2G scam is, everyone knows. We all saw it on the TV set that the government gave us free after the last election. We saw Raja getting arrested. We know all his officers have been arrested. We know one of his aides committed suicide. This time I will not vote for them".

A hotelier in Tuticorin had a different opinion. "You are talking about one scam. There have been so many scams over the years. People will forget. This time the opposition has a good chance because J Jayalalithaa and Vijaykant are together but you never know. At the last minute they will drown the voters with money, whoever distributes the most money will win. The scam won't affect the elections. It's money power that will effect the elections."

Korampallam is where the Tuticorin collectorate is. A tea shop owner there asked, "Were you watching TV yesterday. They showed Vijaykant (DMDK) beating up his own candidate. How can he expect people to vote for him if he behaves like a dictator? He will loose his popularity if he behaves like this. Who cares about the scam? See if I like you, I will vote for you irrespective of what you do. And if I don't like you, nothing will make me vote for you."

According to him the committed voters of the DMK and AIDMK would continue to vote for them. It was the floating vote which would be affected by the 2G scam. He insisted that this scam was being talked about only in the cities. Villagers still were largely unaware of what it actually was.

Rajendran, a voter in SBI colony, Tuticorin said, "The 2G scam might be big but who is there to exploit it. This is where J Jayalalithaa made a mistake. She shouldn't have parted company with Vaiko. He was the best speaker on her side. He could have explained to the people the amounts involved. How the money was made and who got it and how they got it. Just saying that so many lakh crores were lost doesn't convince the common man".

A senior journalist with a Tamil daily agrees with this viewpoint. He says, "Vaiko could have gone to town with the 2G scam. He would be able to pin point where the money came from and where it went and why. Now there is no one to explain."

He added, "This is a closely fought election. Margins of victory will be very low. Both sides are evenly matched. The Election Commission is on its toes. Those who think they can distribute cash or gifts will find the going tough. The DMK is very happy that Vaiko is not in the opposition. They are saying, 'At least we don't have to worry about what he is saying, and also we would have to reply to his every allegation, which is not easy as he speaks so well'."

Vallanadu is in Tuticorin district. It has its own black buck sanctuary on a hill and also a police firing range on the other side. As the afternoon was very hot there were few people in the bazaar.

A petty shop owner said that the 2G scam would not make people change their party affiliations. Very few people knew about it and even fewer would vote because of it. "Here people vote for their party, their caste and also if they personally liked the candidate. Corruption is not an issue or maybe it's the last issue they consider. Tell me, who is not corrupt?"

One of his customers, a farm labourer, differed, "They have lots of money earned out of scams. I heard they are bringing in the money in ambulances and they will distribute it to voters. That will not make a difference. I will not vote for them even if they bribe me. After all, it is public money."

An auto driver in Tirunelveli was very knowledgeable about the elections. "The 2G scam has got nothing to do with the elections. Elections are won on personalities. A candidate gets a certain amount of votes from his supporters. Then he gets his party votes and then the votes of his allies. He will also have other people around him who can bring him votes. Like panchayat presidents, ward members and others. So, the better your network, the better chance of your victory. Scams have no role to play".

A hotel worker had a simpler view, "Every one knows the 2G scam, all you need to do is give him a quarter (of liquor) and a briyani and he will come with you. Next day someone else will give him the same and he will go there. Corruption is not an issue".

So though the 2G is an issue in this election, there are other issues that influence the voter. We will know more as the election date gets closer but the final outcome will be known only after the votes are counted.