By Poonam I Kaushish
Rajnetik virodhi ya jaani dushman? Tragically, the lines between a political opponent and a sworn enemy have got blurred wherein winning at all cost is the new normal of political morality to the exclusion of ethical considerations in elections interspersed with trash talk, torrent of vitriolic abuse and double and triple crossing. All reveling in their baser characteristics swaying to the heady tinkle of money, cheap thrills and seetees with the devil taking the hindmost!
This was brutally underscored by Election Commissioner O P Rawat, who lamented the decline, of electoral politics where, “poaching of legislators is extolled as smart political management; strategic introduction of money for allurement, tough-minded use of state machinery for intimidation etc. are all commended as resourcefulness. The winner can commit no sin; a defector crossing over to the ruling camp stands cleansed of all the guilt as also possible criminality”, he added last week.
Of course, his outburst was against the backdrop of the political shenanigans witnessed during the prestigious battle royale by BJP President Amit Shah to ensure defeat of Sonia Gandhi’s Political Secretary Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat recently. The Commission was forced to use its special powers under Article 324 to revoke the decision of its Returning Officer in the State and declare invalid votes cast by two rebel Congress MLAs, primarily, as they had violated secrecy norms by disclosing their choice to unauthorised persons, other than the Party’s election agent.
It all started with six Congress MLAs resigning ahead of polls and joining the BJP leaving Patel little leeway but to herd 44 of the remaining 51 legislators to a Karnataka luxury resort to prevent further defections. Within days, the Income Tax searched 60 premises linked to Karnataka Energy Minister Shiva Kumar who was overseeing the MLAs stay. This led to the Congress accusing BJP of misusing its resources as it sought the EC’s protection.
At the outset, I am least surprised and really don’t understand what the brouhaha is about as come elections our netagan are past masters at showing their (girgit) true colours throwing all public decency and decorum to the winds! With the stakes for India’s Raj gaddi skyrocketing, polls are all about badla and protecting personal and Party izzat wherein immunity acts as an implicit sanction for more of the same. Alongside, our leaders have perfected the art of making alliances into the most luscious mistress to be measured through the prism of power-glass politics as rajniti is all about ruthlessly grabbing power sans ideology, rearranging its friends and negotiating with enemies.
Worse, once you start peeling off our netagan’s mask one comes face to face with the naked truth, wherein every party and its leaders have perfected the art of beguiling its hum zulfs and dushmans with aplomb. More incredible is the whopping monies being spent on this dazzling razzmatazz.
This is not all. The friends and enemies are all rolled into one to fulfill their lust for power with clinical precision devoid of any pretensions of ‘meeting of minds’, ideology or principles. Exposing that power is the glue that makes incongruent Parties come together.
Take Bihar. Chief Minister and JD(U) head Nitish Kumar last month walked out of the “secular” RJD-Congress Mahagadbandhan switched across to the “communal” BJP and was promptly dubbed Hindutva. How does someone who was secular yesterday become communal today?
Ditto vis-a-vis MPs or MLAs. The less said the better of mafia dons-turned politicos who are paraded as prized bulls and portrayed as safedi ki chamkan compared to their chor brethren who are unfit to rule, leave alone provide good and honest governance. Consequently, the State has become a battleground of caste senas, armed brigades and ideologically indoctrinated lumpens. Big deal if political goons have emerged as the biggest threat to society and the nation.
Sadly, no Party and its netas talk about their vision and plans to propel the country forward. Neither are they worried about selecting the right candidates on the basis of their character, integrity, honesty et al. It is all about making the best of a bad bargain. Hence caste, class, creed, criminal and communal paradigms will decide how votes are cast along with loud and abusive procrastination that catch the eyeballs. Winnability not acceptance holds the key. All want the Taj or to be Kingmaker, no matter what the means.
The tragedy of it all is that in this winner take-all-fight, the polity has usurped the legislatures and virtually turned them into a free-for-all. Parliament and Assemblies are now the new akharas where legislators throw paper missiles and files, hurl mikes, shout slogans, clash and exchange blows with rivals even climb on the Speaker’s desk and wrench the microphone off its base as Marshals helplessly look on. This is a standing testimony to the contempt our netagan hold for these temples of democracy.
Clearly, the blame for this descent of political discourse into the depth of subjective skullduggery and vulgarity lies squarely with Parties. Quick to crack the whip and complain post haste to the Election Commission they have shied away from demanding the same discipline for such crude and repulsive swipes at rivals.
Alas, gone are the days of politicians enunciating their ideology and policies in measured tone and tenor of how they plan to take the country forward on a growth trajectory. Today, polls have been reduced to a slugfest of personal insinuations and character assassinations against opponents which brings out the worst in everyone. Along-with monetary inducement to defectors, flexing muscle power to steal a stubborn leader, bluntly paisa pekhe tamasha dekh.
All this has vitiated the very idea of democracy. Never mind, the aam aadmi’s distaste for vulgarity, gender insensitivity, sexist thinking and speeches spewing communal hatred. Additionally, with Parties refusing to act against hate-laden speeches the case for allowing the EC to disqualify candidates with legal safeguards gains currency.
What next? Where do we go from here? No longer can we merely shrug our shoulders and dismiss it as political kalyug. Undeniably, our leaders need to tone down personal attacks, divisive politicking and force and instead take on each other on issues that their constituents and the nation face. Those who reduce the level of discourse to such depths only do so at the cost of exposing their lack of civility to the electorate and the country at large.
Importantly, India is today at the moral crossroads. Specially against the backdrop of our politicians having perfected the art of cultivating low morality and high greed, donning different party robes, according to their whims and fancies — and the need of the hour and leaving India dangerously communal, but the Parties and their leaders hypocritically secular.
Our polity needs to dump its ongoing political nautanki and remember one age-old truth – if you point one slanderous finger at another, four other slanderous fingers will point back at you! Nor can we allow small men to continue to cast big shadows.
The EC has exposed India’s political nadir. Questionably, can a nation be bare and bereft of all sense of shame and morality? And for how long? It time our polity desist from employing their individual meanness in the name of public good. They need to re-think their priorities and desist from destructive mindlessness. And remember the adage: Nothing costs a nation more than cheap politicians! —- INFA