By Patricia Mukhim
Election campaigns in the three constituencies headed for bye-elections scheduled for October 30 next goes something like this. “This Party is in power but has not delivered. We did better than them,” and the response to that from the other Party is, “We inherited all the problems from them so why should they blame us?” Should elections be reduced to such infantile blame games? Should all the grouse be cumulatively vomited out during these campaigns? What about taking up these issues in the Assembly and even beyond the Assembly sessions? Who stops an MLA from raising issues on the slow pace of development in the Constituencies that are election-bound? Take Mawryngkneng constituency. It has to be one of the most under-developed constituencies and perhaps one of the largest beginning from Mawryngkneng, and spanning through Sohryngkham, Mawshbuit, Mawlynrei, Mawpdang, Mawdiangdiang right down to Diengpasoh adjacent the Shillong bypass.
The constituency has decrepit roads which have remained unrepaired for over two years, possibly because it was under an Opposition MLA up until his demise in February this year. An MLA’s task is not easy and allows no rest. And that task does not include paying money to constituents for their hospital bills, their children’s school fees etc. The MLA’s primary function is to ensure that the Government addresses all the lacunae that reduce people to beggars waiting at the MLA’s home or office at 7 am in the morning. Now, who do we blame for reducing people to that level of shamelessness? The only difference between beggars that sit and beg on our streets and those that go to the MLA’s house to demand money is that the first one is not a voter; the second one is and feels that he/she has the right to demand money from the MLA because he/she has voted for that MLA.
For this very reason, the MLA is compelled to have a second job that yields profit without much investment and that is a contractor’s job in the same system that he/she serves as an MLA/minister. Yet no one speaks of conflict of interest here. How can a PWD Minister award a contract to his own firm? Yet this is happening blatantly in Meghalaya and there is none to call this out. The Meghalaya Special Area Development Scheme too has become like the MLA’s personal resource to be spent just five to six months before the Assembly elections. There is no stock-taking by the respective BDOs. Isn’t there a clear line between what the bureaucracy should be doing and what an MLA does? Should the BDO of a Block be subservient to the MLA of that area and do his bidding? But what we have seen is that if the BDO does not comply with an MLAs demands he is quickly transferred to another Block or Directorate. Even Deputy Commissioners have not been spared from the shenanigans of the MLAs of certain constituencies. If MLAs/ministers interfere in day to day administrative governance then it is no wonder why we have the kind of governance we have today which is hugely politicised. Constituents that are unfortunate to have an MLA that is not in the government are doomed to live in the dark ages.
What all the three constituencies going to the polls this month actually need are good roads, an efficient water supply system, stable electricity, a functioning garbage management system, primary health care facilities, schools within the constituency that function well and can be proud of producing good results and students that are emotionally, physically and psychologically sound. This is what society needs to heal itself. The younger generation has unfortunately seen too many bad role models among politicians. I find it difficult to name one politician in our state who is a good role model in terms of (a) punctuality (b) being incorruptible (c) being responsible for pushing reforms and legislating policies (d) taking active part in the Assembly not just to point out what’s wrong with the ruling party and government but to show a better way forward. The easiest thing to do is to blame others even if we are ourselves guilty of the same errors. This is debilitating and a waste of the people’s time especially if it is done on a public platform during elections.
And yet it seems as if it’s virtually impossible to be successful in creating a political campaign unless you spend all your time and money slating the other politicians, rather than setting out what YOU are going to do. Would it not have been better for everyone if the parties just focus on their own policies and spend their efforts proving to the public that they’re worth voting for? It is political immaturity to be pointing out at others all the time. It shows you have nothing to speak for yourself. Instead, the unfortunate reality is that they’re all as bad as each other and it seems they are all too immature to focus on themselves and instead need to point out everyone else’s flaws. As a result the voters too are divided. Even the supporters of different candidates get into an acrimonious debate which spills over to social media and at high decibels.
How much better would it be if all the Dorbar Shnong of the constituencies organise one common platform where candidates will spell out not just what they would do for the constituency which is a hyper-local issue but also rise above the local to speak of the state, the region and the nation because an MLA is supposed to have enough awareness about state and national policies and not be stunted to think only of the immediate needs of the constituency. MLA candidates have to show the way to the hoi-polloi by rising above the mundane and triggering new thinking. In such debates people must be allowed to ask pertinent questions. They should be efficiently moderated so that such questions do not degenerate into personal attacks.
Why most people want to become MLAs is because of the power and perks. The perks include medical facilities, residence, reimbursement of electricity and phone bills and travelling facilities and other things as deemed fit by each state. Most MLAs don’t get themselves or their families treated in the state because they perhaps know the quality of our health care facilities. No MLA would allow his/her family to get treated at a Primary Health Centre. That’s why they always have to be informed by the constituents about the poor functioning of the PHCs. Yet they are supposed to be good for the public.
Can we ask which MLA among the current set of 57 sends his/her children to a local Government aided school? If there is one we would be happy to know but I bet there aren’t. On the contrary once a person becomes an MLA his/her status is upgraded and so too that of the family. Hence they don’t access the services that ordinary citizens have and don’t know most of the problems faced by citizens. They have to be briefed about these problems. It would be so good to see an MLA who faces the day to day problems that citizens do including not having access to clean water or their children attending a school where teachers are mostly absent. I would also like to see an MLA that walks not just during the election campaign but on any other day as ordinary citizens do so they can see how badly off the roads are and perhaps feel the pressure to pursue the issue with the PWD Minister.
The problem with our elected is that the moment they win elections they are divorced from life’s realities and have aspirations for an expensive lifestyle they would not otherwise have been able to afford. Then it becomes a race for acquisitions – from mansions to swanky, expensive cars and the list goes on. Yet they are the role models of our times. We cannot change anything if we don’t change ourselves and our voting habits! Period…