Acquittal of Jayalalitha Shows the Complexity of Rooting Out Corruption: Time for Direct Election For Chief Minister

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Founder of Loksatta Party reacted to the verdict in Ms. Jayalalitha case with a series of tweets:

Acquittal of Ms.Jayalalitha in the disproportionate assets case & public rejoicing show the complexity of rooting out corruption and the personalized, feudal politics.

Power for private gain and personal aggrandizement is the norm. Far-reaching politics & institutional reform is vital for India's future.

All traditional parties are mired in a crass political culture. Most parties are private fiefdoms. States are specially vulnerable.

We need systemic change in states - direct election of Chief Minister with proper succession & term limits. Status-quo is not sustainable.

Radical reforms - police, prosecution & judicial - are needed to enforce rule of law. We need to rise above personal political fortunes.

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamilnadu & Karnataka witness vast expenditure for vote buying (Rs 5-10 crore per Assembly candidate!). Corruption is inevitable in such an electoral system.

Debate must rise above individuals. Can we change rules of the game putting the best & brightest in office? Can honesty & power coexist?

The breathless live coverage of Jayalalitha case must give way to robust, mature reflection to help us transform our political culture.