By Ananya S Guha
It is difficult to determine what exactly are the points of dereliction of Indian polity and culture. Is it the scams, is it the criminal politics, or the gambling in cricket, or is it the abject dastardly behaviour in Parliament which reached its nadir, and the lowest of low a few days back. Legislators shouting at each other was a common phenomena, but using weapons is something that the mind refuses to accept. And then there is public defense of the action, without an iota of repentance- all this was to ” save our state”. What were these leaders doing all these years to save their land, after crass accumulation of wealth?
Hanging our heads in shame will not do, taking action against such reprehensible behaviour may do a bit to save the cause of democracy. Undemocratic behaviour can only be tackled with stern punitive measure. Even as the electronic media plays the pivotal role, in this double, or treble edged drama, what happened on that ‘ historic ‘ day cannot easily be removed from the mind. But then who is interested to redeem politics form its quagmire? Certainly not politicians. Political life in India is saturated with libertine laws, the plutocrat and money nexus. So the goading and wealthy politician has his/ her surrogate among some ‘ commoners ‘ as well as a mafia of businessmen. What lessons shall be teach our children, or school children? Where do we go from here? Will that historic day be embellished with a recording of the actual events that day? The irony is that it is divisive politics, from within the echelons of the ruling party. Tears will idle away, there is no use for them- they have become useless!
What about the offenders? They have become the worst pretenders, in the name of saving their state they are playing the pettiest of politics, and whipping up fanatical sentiments. And then, this historic bill was passed, allegedly when things were ‘ blacked ‘ out in Parliament, with the TV transmission mysteriously lapsing into a ” technical” flaw. The cynics called it a political blemish or strategy, but the bill was passed. There was pandemonium once again, both inside and outside, this august house, which by now has degenerated into a winter of discontent, or better still malcontent. Immediately the electronic media with alacrity, which undoubtedly is its forte showed two sides of the coin in Andhra Pradesh- some in elation, and some raucously protesting. The drama still continues to unfold leading to divisiveness of the political and social communities. One thing is crystal clear, never before has Parliament witnessed such atrocious scenes, and inflammable wrath, in the midst of such volatility one wonders how sacrosanct Parliament laws are. If some leaders do not accept a bill which was ‘ passed ‘ and there was no ‘ debate’, then where is the sanctity, or the decorum of a bill being passed?
The sense of shame and anger which now envelopes the country is a matter of worry. It is a disintegration of code of behaviour in Parliament which represents the people. My discussion is not on the merits or demerits of the bill, but the appalling behaviour of political leaders, starting with infusion of ” pepper spray” to rank bad manners, slander and double talk- note that the opposition party which supported the bill, is now also accusing the ruling party!
There seems to be so much of vitriol among our political leadership, that any iota of respect for another’s point of view has sunk into abysmal depths of political and even personal animosity.
I can only use this lame aphorism – ” God Save The Country” ! One also can expect something drastic in the next elections, or can we?
And from this we now go on to Act Two- The Rajya Sabha!!