Zero Tolerance of Sleaze

The media all over the world have demonstrated how there is absolutely no tolerance of corrupt practices in the civilized world. After the annual conference of the Federation of Intertiol Football Associations (FIFA) started on Thursday in Switzerland, there were shock arrests of seven top officials of the organization from a luxury hotel in Zürich on suspicion of corruption and fraud. Nine football officials are reported to be among the 14 people facing sentences of up to 20 years in jail if found guilty in the long-running corruption case involving more than $150 million in bribes. What is significant is the outcry all over the world for the sacking of FIFA’s veteran president, Joseph Blatter, even though he was not on the list of those charged with corruption. The media all over the world have demanded that Blatter should step down, even though he has headed FIFA for 17 years and was set to stand for re-election on Friday. The Le Matin daily of Switzerland, said that Blatter did not have credibility any more. Le Temps, another Swiss newspaper hailed the arrests of the seven football officials as marking “an end to impunity” long enjoyed by intertiol football’s main body. The moral comes through very clearly: Anyone heading an organization so full of corrupt officials for 17 years has no business to remain any longer even if he enjoys the reputation of being clean. The moral and the zero tolerance of corruption need to find acceptance in Indian politics as well.