Parliament is dead; long live the
Parliament.
I am not a celebrity, nor am I one of the Mango people
deprived of the basic comforts essential to lead a decent life. I am a middle class educated professional
with no special claims to be heard or be written about. But what I say below is
an echo of many others like me- and in that respect I am one of the Common Man
(aam-admi) even if I do not fully subscribe to the order of Mango people.
I am sad- no, that is not correct as that would mean I am
beyond consolation.
I am depressed- no, that is also not correct as that would
mean I am vanquished beyond hope of recovery
I am angry- no - that is not correct as that would mean some
degree of affinity with the person I am angry with and I have no affinity with
anyone to be cross with.
No, the truth is I am simply frightened, shattered and
paralyzed witnessing our rapid descent towards anarchy. There is nothing to
hold us back as we have lost respect for our secular Bible- the Constitution of
India. For 65 years the Constitution was a bulwark against anti-democratic
forces. Thanks to the Constitution framed by legal luminaries, we did not go the Chinese way opting for a single party rule
nor for the military dictatorship of Pakistan( though even today their
parliamentary governance is handmaiden to the Army) nor the Presidential form
of democracy of USA, but followed the Westminster form of Parliamentary
democracy. We had enjoyed for six decades after independence a reasonably good
democracy that was built upon the Constitution to establish the structure,
procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and to set out
fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of
citizens. Freedom of speech was one of the rights it bestowed on the people of
India. For almost six and a half decades, our democracy had been sustained by
our veneration of the Constitution as the Supreme Law of India. Parliament,
judiciary, Legislative Assembly and all institutions set up by the Act of Parliament
held the country together that bestowed individual freedom on its people to
vote in and vote out members of Parliament every five years. We accepted the Acts legislated by the
Parliament, we respected the institutions mainly the judiciary, we resolved our
differences within the laws framed by the Constitution and we governed
ourselves as a democratic nation.
Today all these sacred institutions have become suspect. Corruption
has become stubbornly endemic and pervasive among all sections of our society.
Nothing gets done without the exchange of pelf. Corruption has become a way of
life. Those who do not accept or offer bribes were regarded as aliens from an
archaic past. (I recall one of the political members on our college Governing
Body( today the lady is top among the
upper echelons of her party)
speaking disparagingly about my refusal to do the party’s bidding in
appointments and admissions saying ‘that she will neither eat nor will allow
others to eat’. This was stated in her trademark impeccable Hindi.)
Corruption is not uniquely an Indian phenomenon. It is in most parts of the world including the
developed countries in the West, but the
difference is in the West corruption does not meet with social approval. Meghnad Desai says, corruption is as Indian as
daal-chawal because everyone specially from
the middle class at some point of time has been guilty of giving –if not
accepting bribe –to get things done. Henc e it is ironic that these very same
people are lending support to the crusade against corruption. The result is
corruption has become a potent tool to settle scores with one’s adversaries.
This is the most pernicious form of corruption- corruption of the moral fibre
of the nation.
India against corruption started off well under Anna Hazare
to pitchfork corruption centrestage. But Anna has found to his dismay that many
of those who joined him at Jantar Mantar had many a times compromised on moral
principles. The hysterical shout against corruption was a strategic means to deflect
attention from their own personal questionable dealings. When Arvind hijacked Anna ‘s revolution and arrived
on stage, Anna withdrew. The ABC of this movement Arvind, Bhushan and
Sisodia(where’s’ is pronounced ‘c’ as in’sea’)have launched a vitriolic attack on parliamentarians as
part of a well calculated strategy to show to the world that everyone in India
except they and their fledgling group is corrupt. They pronounced from the
stage that they have evidence against 15 cabinet ministers and against any
number of opposition leaders for their fraudulent dealings involving crores of
money. It does not matter if it is 1880 crores (that Namo, the Incomparable alleged about Mrs.G’s
travel –cum-health expenses-though not by ABC) or a smaller sum of 71 lakhs
that Salman Khurshid is alleged to have stashed away among equipment for the
differently- abled people, the moot point is to make serious allegations so
that they tarnish the reputation of all those the trio despises and put the
onus on their ‘adversaries’ to prove their innocence. The draft reports
surreptitiously accessed by the Media (by bribing the officials concerned) are
shown as the final report to malign those named in the report. Having been an
Income Tax officer, Arvind knows too well that the draft CAG report is always
sent to the party in question for its replies and the final report is then made
and signed and sent to the authorities concerned for further action, if
needed. Since the allegations are full
of innuendoes and insinuations with or without substantive evidence, it is
apparent that the motive is to cast
aspersions and malign his adversaries. ABC does not want to lodge a FIR against
the corrupt Ministers and high fliers, for they do not trust the judiciary, do
not trust the executive authority, do not trust the Government because everyone
is corrupt. Only ABC alone is the truth bearer of this nation. ABC has set a
dangerous precedent of making sweeping charges on quarter truths and three
fourths lies. Arvind may be right in his
espousal ( time will tell), but such a free for all is fraught with danger as
anyone can exercise his freedom of speech and his right to air charges from the
street corners. The TV towers have turned towers of Babel where accusation and counter
accusations spoken in high decibel drown everything in a cacophony of noise.
It has taken many years for our leaders who were in the
forefront of the freedom struggle to build our constitution and democratic
institutions but it has taken less than three weeks for the ABC to destroy
them. The trio wants people’s courts on the streets and the media to conduct
trial and pronounce judgements. Can
there be a better and swifter way to let loose anarchy?
ABC has fine tuned the art of fighting on the streets.
The ABC looks at parliament as a house of thugs( and ironically he wants to get
elected to its office) ,courts full of self
seekers, the bureaucracy swarming with dishonest officers ( though he himself was a bureaucrat), all
organizations suspect and there is no
one in this functioning democracy who can be trusted. ABC wants to shape the nation’s policies by
giving voice to the people and expects theirs to be the distilled voice of
wisdom.
Where does this leave Arvind and his fledgling political
party? He wants to get elected to parliament which he holds in utter contempt
today. Will he lead the country or will he allow people to rule from the
streets as he has shown the way. No institution
can function if multiple voices are given the freedom to direct its activities.
ABC seems to believe that espousal of corruption
is a magic wand that will solve all the ills of the country. Manna, honey and milk will flow through the land and
everyone will be assured of his/her share and Ram Rajya will be once again brought back. Since no constitutional body as it exists
today is trust worthy, the people’s darbar will deliberate on all issues- home,
defence, finance, food, foreign policies etc and govern the nation from the
streets. The army will march not to the command of a general but to the direction
of every Jawan who is a part of the
aam-admi. The Ministries will function to the policies enacted on the streets. Schools, colleges and universities will function according to what every individual desires for his/her ward .We will showcase to
the world a vibrant democracy that functions from its streets. I do not know
what role ABC will play .Will they preside over the people in which case what
happens to people’s power? Will they
seek their vote in which case they have to once again bring back all the
constitutional bodies that had been vilified by them now.
ABC believes in
fomenting anarchy for utopia to follow. But the frightening question is can the
country be rescued once anarchy sets in?
I am frightened to see Parliament brought to the streets. I
am frightened for whom will ABC toll today, tomorrow, day after and day day
after. I hope and pray ‘that it does not toll for me’ for my blasphemous writing.
I am frightened to hear ABC’s obituaries on Parliament. Yes,
I am frightened because no one dares to say “Parliament
is dead ; Long live our Parliament.”
