The ruckus and the pandemonium that was witnessed in the Bihar Assembly today has become a routine affair in the country's elected bodies, whether Municipal Corporation bodies, State Assemblies or the Parliament itself. Members throw mikes, slippers and just about anything and everything within their reach; brandish wads of currency notes in the House; push, shove, punch and kick each other and then brag about their "feats" in front of cameras. They are audacious and impudent enough to cloak their actions in the veneer of right to freedom of speech and expression and most ironically - DEMOCRACY.
It's difficult to pin-point a precise starting point for this sorry state of affairs, for each and every link in the chain only serves to reinforce and strengthen the preceding. The rot sets in with the very process of electing representatives. No election can be won without pumping in massive sums of money on campaigning, the costs are incurred not just on printing of campaign material but also on collecting crowds for rallies and gatherings and on cronies who carry out campaign management for the candidate.The prescribed limits for expenditure are nothing but a joke, enforcement is either lacking or in case of conviction, toothless. Where does all this money come from? In part from party funds and in part from the candidate's own pocket. Who gives these funds to the party? Corporate houses, businessmen with deep pockets and crime-lords are some of the much publicized sources but not the only ones. A large chunk of the cash also comes from government officials paying huge bribes to the powers to-be for plum postings in different departments. Check-posts at various borders invariably collect large amounts from businessmen whose trucks are at the mercy of check-post officials. Fines are collected not only for genuine offences but also under false pretexts. Businessmen are ready to pay in order to avoid undue harassment and opportunity loss of business arising out of seizure of vehicles. And hardly any of these fines find their way into state coffers for they are actually bribes. A percentage is retained by the officials and the rest is sent to politicians who in turn retain a percentage and deposit the rest into party coffers which fund election costs. Businessmen recoup their costs from the end-user of the raw materials or the finished products which drives up market prices of the goods. A very recently publicized case involved an illegal iron-ore mining scam to the tune of 60000 crore in Karnataka where all political outfits at different points of time have grown fat on the earnings. The ruling BJP government at first tried to muzzle investigations by the Lokayukta by tying down his hands and taking away prosecution powers and when the issue became a hot potato owing to the latter's resignation in protest, reinstated and reposed full faith in him. The opposition led by the Congress wants the issue investigated by the CBI - not just because CBI is under Congress' control at the moment, but also out of fear that the Lokayukta will go after politicians of all hues whereas the CBI can be used for selective targeting. The past three assembly elections in Karnataka have been funded majorly out of illegal iron-ore export earnings. The same story is true for every state in India, with iron being replaced by other commodities such as bauxite, zinc, copper and even timber. So the very process of electing representatives festers and nurtures an ecosystem that loots the country of its resources and the citizens of their wealth. And what do we get in return? Abusive hooligans throwing slippers and shoes and putting on an unabashed reality show style display of physical strength.
There is nothing to show that those running the country even understand the enormity or complexities of the problems and issues facing the state, let alone being capable of solving them. The country today finds itself in the middle of a civil war that keeps engulfing more and more districts and states with every passing day. The threat of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism never abates. ISI has built an incredibly vast and complex network of spies, sleeper cells and surrogate organizations in almost every state of the country. Southern states of Karnataka and Kerala increasingly find themselves in the midst of Islamic radicalization of their youth. UP has the largest presence of ISI spies in the country.(You'll find an AK-47 being sold at a paan shop in Azamgarh district of UP.) Certain districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are in control of jihadi elements. Kashmir one doesn't even need to talk about. Insurgencies in the north-east are being fueled and festered by the ISI operating from Bangladesh and Nepal. And the most heart-wrenching aspect of each and every of these Hydras is the tacit support of the political establishment- the same which we bring into power by voting for them in elections. Vote bank politics relegate everything else to the background. Religious fanatics, particularly those belonging to the minority communities, are appeased and allowed to carry out their nefarious activities in return for electoral support, the common man be damned! The recent case of a lecturer's hand being chopped off in Kerala by an Islamic party PFI(Popular Front of India) went unpunished with the Congress-led government trying to play down the issue. This party has links and ties with jihadi elements in and outside India as has been revealed by police investigations time and again. Yet, the green signal for taking action is never forthcoming from the political establishment. The state is becoming a hotbed of radical activities but neither the Congress nor the Left seem keen to risk political capital by antagonizing minority communities. If there is one party that has contributed the most to the security ills plaguing the country today, it's the Congress. It has always shown and led the path when it comes to sycophancy and short-term selfish gains, others following suit. To win minority support it scrapped POTA- the only legislation that had any teeth to deal with terrorist activities calling it "draconian","anti-minority", "biased" and a myriad other adjectives. The legislation itself says nothing of the religion of an offender. If an overwhelming majority of the terrorists belong to a particular community,how does that make the legislation "biased"?? Quick to renounce and berate Hindu extremist actions, its leaders try to put a question mark and raise doubts whenever a Muslim terrorist is gunned down by the security forces. Digvijay "foot-in-mouth" Singh calls into question the genuineness of the Batla House encounter in Delhi when on a tour to Azamgarh where the killed SIMI terrorists hailed from. Doesn't matter that the Delhi police force lost its best officer in the encounter. Since the terrorist was a Muslim, it's a crime to have killed him irrespective of the fact that he was behind bombings in Delhi and a wanted man. Not one statement was forthcoming from any of the Congress leaders over revelations by David Headley that Ishrat Jahan was an LeT recruit, something which Narendra Modi has been claiming all along after her death in a police encounter and Congress crying itself hoarse over the issue. Abdul Rehman Antulay, who has long outlived his utility as a politician seeks to resurrect his political fortunes by raising questions over the encounter during the Mumbai attacks. Elements in the government,bureaucracy,judiciary and police are on the payroll of crime gangs,slum lords,smugglers,land and forest mafia and anti-national elements yet we never hear of a conviction or a punishment. If it takes more than two years for a Ajmal Kasab to be handed the death sentence for killing hundreds with sheer impunity in full public and camera glare, there must be something dreadfully wrong with our public institutions. And mind you, the case first goes on to High Court from here and then to the Supreme Court and if both uphold the death sentence the defendant has the option of seeking mercy before the President of India. And going by the government's own claims a decision over the plea can't be taken before clearing the 20-30 petitions already pending(and have been pending for years).
Hail democracy!!
The first part dealt with the issues of electoral malpractices and national security.
The next part will talk about the misuse of democratic rights by miscreants to create more problems for others and the role democracy plays in hindering economic growth and development of the country. All of these are not without consequences for the poor and helpless in the name of whom all of it is done which shall be examined.
