How the political class has looted India

“Study these four men washing down the steps of this unpalatable Bombay hotel. “One is this, namely, that we should require by law and by Constitution — if this provision is to be effective — not only that the Ministers should make a declaration of their assets and their liabilities at the time when they assume office, but we must also have two supplementary provisions. “The other provision would be that if we find that a Minister’s increases in his assets on the day on which he resigns are not explainable by the normal increases due to his savings, then there must be a third provision to charge the Minister for explaining how he managed to increase his assets to an abnormal degree during that period. On August 16, 1924, G.F. de Montmorency, private secretary to the Viceroy, sought Home Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council Sir James Crerar’s opinion on “cases of corruption” in the Bengal Council. There were “offers to pay sums” to some members “to abstain from voting in the division on Ministers’ salaries”; “actual payments” were made to some others; offers of salaried posts in the money spinning Calcutta Municipal Corporation; and regular “monthly payments to nominated members” as well.