The sad Indian political circus: Unprecedented state of anarchy  

June 28, 2011

The sooner the ruling Congress Party and opposition parties seek a vote from the people the better. But both sides may not be prepared to face the wrath of the aam aadmi yet

Nagesh Kini

Over six and a half decades after attaining independence and later declaring ourselves a Sovereign, Democratic, Republic, we are living in a state of uncontrolled, dysfunctional anarchy today.

In our own amchi Mumbai, a veteran journalist is shot on a busy road in broad daylight, a woman is raped and the body dumped in a suburban train, kids are kidnapped with demands for ransom, newly-constructed flyovers are cracking up, the list of scamsters whether in the Adarsh or the 2G scandal is unending, now corporate bosses, even some Members of Parliament and a union minister are cooling their heels in jail for the first time, as some others still roam free.

The stark reality is that we citizens are mute witnesses to a circus, with clowns like the Digvijayas and Ramdevs raving and ranting, without an effective ringmaster. So who is calling the shots?

The last parliamentary election in 2009 which put UPA-II in the driver's seat was a fractured mandate, in the first-past-the-winning-post electoral system. The Congress and its allies netted less than a third of the popular vote. The combined opposition agrees to disagree, as is evident with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties.

In Mumbai, less than 42%-well below even half the city's eligible population-cared to exercise their franchise. Among those who did cast their vote, many were transported to the poll booth and even paid in cash or kind (liquor continues to be an effective bait). Many voted in place of the absentee middle and upper class people who chose to go out of town with the family for an outing on voting day.

No government can claim to speak for the entire people, even though the writ of a government applies also to those who have voted against it and to those that did not vote at all. It is only systemic convenience that allows a government, with a wafer-thin majority, to speak, act and arrogate unto itself the right to steamroll over the people.

The government's apathy, gross misgovernance, maladministration, non-responsiveness to serious matters, coupled with all-pervading corruption perpetrated by the babu-neta-goonda raj has resulted in  a massive confidence and trust deficit in the elected representatives, who have been found to be busy lining their pockets, by dipping their fingers into the MPLAD (Member of Parliament Local Area Development) funds, coming together to hike their own remuneration and allowances, and enjoying heavily subsidised sumptuous biryani without observing the Q in parliament or assembly canteens. All this raises a big question mark about the sincerity of the elected representatives to represent the people and requires civil society to step in to stop the rot being perpetrated by them.

At no time, since independence, have we witnessed an attempt to listen in to conversations in the offices of the union finance minister, the de facto number two in the government, by planting bugs, while the union home minister terms it as a "non-event".

It has been revealed in response to RTI queries that former ministers for railways and fertilizers attended only 15% of the cabinet meetings.

Article 370 of the Constitution on Kashmir has not been abrogated yet, although the then prime minister had promised that it was to be only a temporary provision.

The prime minister publicly pats the disgraced communications minister even after the CBI finds a prima facie case. The minister for human resources development (HRD) is saddled with the responsibility of the communications ministry, and immediately on taking over challenges the numbers in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

This minister, along with three senior cabinet colleagues goes to Delhi airport and then to a five-star hotel to negotiate with Ramdev Baba, nicknamed by some as sarkari sadhu, and then bad mouth the yoga guru.

In the middle of the night, Delhi police lathicharge and teargas men, women and children on a silent protest at Ramlila grounds, a la Jallianwalla Bagh.

The fine on the union rural development minister, enhanced by the Supreme Court, is paid by the state of Maharashtra and a judge of the Supreme Court wonders how the minister continues in office.

While the HRD minister also holds charge of the communications ministry; the finance minister presides over not less than 35 committees of groups of ministers. When do they get the time to discharge their duties?

A tainted secretary is appointed chief vigilance commissioner; a former chief justice of India under the scanner is appointed as the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission; a corrupt Karnataka chief justice is transferred to Sikkim where the legal community launches a protest. There are scams and scams-the shame of the Commonwealth Games, the 2G licence scandal, Adarsh, and perhaps more that will pop up.

The government has yet to get the Direct Taxes Code and an amendment to the Companies Act passed in parliament, and it is not making much effort to fast-track the Satyam multi-crore fraud prosecution, even though the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States has heavily penalised the auditors.

Right to Information (RTI) activists along with the media, have played a key role in exposing the wrong-doings, with the CAG providing the numbers like in the 2G and Reliance K-G Basin matters, and the judiciary is monitoring the action being taken.

The so-called civil society will have to broaden its base, by getting many more non-political professionals and individuals on board, to propel action. The war of words (as the joke goes in Delhi) between 'Sibal Society' and Civil Society must stop. People have taken it on themselves by coming out, because the neta-babu-goonda nexus has virtually hijacked the legislative process; rushing through with some measures, but holding back on others, even getting some matters passed through the backdoor and planting cronies at sensitive positions. Their argument that only they, as the elected representatives, can decide on matters, does not pass the muster. And for the simple reason that they have not been elected by a sizeable majority.

We have seen our so-called netas on the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha channels misbehaving and throwing agenda papers and currency notes on the floor of the House, also abusing and assaulting their opponents in full public view. The Representation of People's Act needs to be amended to incorporate the "Right to Recall" those representatives who have failed in the performance of their elected duties.

The Lokpal Bill, drafted jointly, is the need of the hour. It should cover all, right from the top-be it the president, the prime minister, ministers at the Centre or in the states, the superior judiciary, the armed forces, all constitutional authorities including the CAG, CBI, CVC, CIC, CEC, civil society, heads of corporate India, the regulators and professionals, need to be brought under the purview of not a bulky 11-member group, but a manageable three-member Lokpal team, set up along the lines of the Election Commission.

The appointment and termination of these members must be decided by parliament, and not the executive or Cabinet. The other persons to be covered down the hierarchy must be left to local functionaries.

The earlier the Congress Party and the opposition parties seek a vote of confidence, the better. As a result of what is happening all around, both sides are unprepared to face the wrath of the aam Bharatiya aadmi yet!

(Nagesh Kini is a Mumbai-based chartered accountant turned activist.)