By Albert Thyrniang
Being a football fan let me give you the news that José Mourinho has been appointed manager of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. In 2007 when he was coach of Chelsea Football Club he had said that he would never mange the bitter rival club. However, a few days ago he broke that promise and today the ‘Special One’ vows to eat, sleep and breathe his new club. For a living and for his passion for football he has to displease the Chelsea fans who once adored him.
On Friday(22nd) last everyone was stunned at the overnight coup by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra. ‘Phir Ek Baar’ Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister and NCP’s Ajit Pawar was made Deputy Chief Minister. The swearing in ceremony took place at 8.00 am on Saturday after the President of India hurriedly revoked the President’s rule at 5.45 am.
Call it a stunner, a sensation, a coup, a sudden twist, a surprise, a bombshell, a shock, a bolt from the blue or by whatever name, it was totally an unexpected development. Just moments earlier the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress were finalising government formation. Everyone expected the Sena chief, Uddhav Thackeray to be Chief Minister supported by the NCP and the Congress. The top leaders of the three parties were shell shocked and were at a loss on how to react. A Congress leader thought it was fake news. Sharad Pawar said his nephew acted on his own. Shiv Sena leaders accused the 9th Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Baramati MLA of back stabbing them.
Charles Kennedy once said, “The one thing we can all be sure about in politics is you are as well to expect the unexpected.” The British politician joined the Labour Party at the age of 15, shifted to the Social Democratic Party and ended up leading the Liberal Party when the former merged with the latter. For a politician there is nothing surprising if a totally unusual event happens. Shifting of political loyalty is quite normal. Ideology, principal, ethics and morality can always be sacrificed for power and other motives.
What impresses me is when Oscar Wilde writes, “To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.” Wilde was not a politician but a writer. The BJP must have taken a leaf out of the popular Irish poet’s book. The playwright of 1880s, the early 1890s who died at age 46 might have inspired the likes of Amit Shah and Narendra Modi.
This is not the first time the country has witnessed the BJP’s shrewd machinations. In March 2017, the BJP with 21 MLAs formed the government in Manipur with the support of the National People’s Party, Naga People’s Front and the Lok Jan Shakti Party despite the fact that Congress had 28 MLAs and needed the support of just three more legislators. The same was carbon copied in Goa when Amit Shah’s party snatched power from the Congress’ hand though the grand old party bagged 17 seats as compared to 13 by the saffron party in a 30 member House. After the death of Manohar Parrikar in October last year it was thought that the BJP would be weakened but instead it was strengthened by the 10 Congress MLAs who shifted allegiance to the ever strong party that rules the country. In Manipur too its number has shot up to 31.
The reasons and motives of Ajit Pawar joining hands with the BJP are no secret. The newest Deputy Chief Minister wishes to escape criminal investigation and charges in the Rs 25,000-crore money laundering case (from the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank) and the multi-crore irrigation scam that took place during the NCP-Congress government when Pawar was Water Resources Minister.
The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress should have known that the BJP exploits the weakest links in rival parties. It lures criminal and corruption accused to its fold for the sake of power. During its reign the BJP had claimed credit for ‘exposing’ corruption in the former NCP strongman, Sharad Pawar. During the campaign, the Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis said that Pawar’s rightful place was in jail. In 2014 he tweeted, “BJP will never, never, never have any alliance with NCP. Rumours (of taking NCP’s support) are motivated. We exposed their corruption in assembly. Others were silent.” Today a 100 degree somersault is performed.
The NCP chief is not the first corruption accused to be enticed. Closer home in Assam, the BJP aggressively accused Himanta Biswa Sarma’s involvement in the Saradha chit fund case and Louis Berger scam but welcomed him to the party with open arms before the 2016 Assembly election. Now he is a key cabinet minister, the convener of the BJP sponsored North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a strategist and the poster boy of the party in the North East. Suddenly he is no longer corrupt and has a clean slate.
It is on record that of all MPs who face criminal cases, 55% (92 MPs) are from the BJP. The most high profile is the Malegaon blast accused, Pragya Singh Thakur who has been ‘insultingly’ nominated to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Defence. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) tell us that the BJP has the most number of MPs/MLAs with cases of crimes against women. So Opposition leaders should have learnt that the BJP wins elections and forms governments by any means, including inducting tainted individuals into its fold.
The BJP is accused as a party of no morality and ethics, no principles and propriety but the likes of Maharashtra will keep happening. The trio of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress may accuse the BJP of misusing the offices of President or of the Governor but we know that the two titular offices have always acted on behalf of the party in power. Every ruling party uses the ‘rubber stampers’ to its own advantages.
Questions must also be asked of the Shiv Sena. Why did it not respect the mandate of the people of Maharashtra? After the results it should have been natural for the pre-poll BJP-Sena alliance to form the government. The Chief Minister’s chair was also a rightful privilege of the BJP. Why was Uddhav Thackeray adamant to be Chief Minister when he had only 56 MLAs to 105 of the BJP? On what basis did the Sena break the 30 year old alliance with the BJP?
The Shiv Sena might have realized that the only way to put a break to the BJP is to unite all non-BJP parties. But why did the talks of government formation take so long? President’s rule was imposed on 13th. A forthnight was enough time for the BJP to plot defection in the NCP. Do the leaders of the new formation not know that the BJP does not play by the rules? Without satisfying himself, the governor hastily sent his recommendation to Rashtrapati Bhavan at midnight to end his rule of the state. Without waiting for the approval of the Union Cabinet the president approved the recommendation without as much as an examination, unusually invoking Prime Minister’s special powers. The notification revoking central rule was even signed digitally. The governor swore in the new Chief Minister in record time. To favour the BJP no date is fixed yet for trial of strength in the Assembly. There is nothing to say except that both the President and the governor merely acted like BJP puppets. But Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress leaders should have anticipated it.
Now the majority of the rebel NCP MLAs might have returned to the uncle and Fadnavis might have to humiliatingly quit or be defeated on the floor of the House but the whole operation is a daylight murder of democracy. The Supreme Court might even declare Devendra Fadnavis an illegal Chief Minister, but they all once again reiterate that the BJP has more modern political brains than the rest combined. Others have been outsmarted and the trend will continue.
Ending on a ‘homely’ note, by and by we might understand the functioning of the BJP but we will never comprehend the working of our ADCs. It is more than high time for Meghalayans to realise that KHADC, JHADC and GHADC serve no real purpose. The best way to put an end to the regular tamashas in the three ADCS is to abolish them forthwith.