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Have we, as a nation, lost all sense of decency and propriety?
When the name of Lal Krishna Advani cropped up in connection with
the hawala scandal, the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) had the courage and a sense of moral rectitude not only
immediately to resign from his Lok Sabha membership, but to refuse
to contest a seat until his name was cleared. That is nobility.
But what does Laloo Prasad Yadav do? His name is associated with
all manner of scandals, but he has already gone on record as saying
that he will continue as chief minister of Bihar even if he is
charged in corruption cases. Presumably he will not resign but will
continue as chief minister even if he is found guilty and sent to
jail. And to show that he has the people behind him, he went on to
organise a 'raila' - a corruption of the English word 'rally'.
Corruption in Laloo Prasad's Bihar is so widespread that it has now
entered even the sacred precincts of the English language. And how
was this 'raila' organised? Listen to this editorial comment in
the highly-respected Chandigarh-based The Tribune:
"Deve Gowda should recollect his memories of the 'raila' in
tranquillity in the light of the happenings recorded by the media:
there was a complete bandh without a formal call. The terrorised
Patna kept its windows shut. None of the markets were open.
Pandals spread over five lakh square feet were set up 'free of
cost'. Petrol tankers were used as water tankers. Dance and
nautanki sessions were held in the residences of MLAs loyal to
Yadav throughout the previous night. Forcible donations were taken
for days... A stunned silence prevailed in the city!... Even Uttar
Pradesh is less vandalised than Bihar. But who cares?"
The vandalisation was bad enough. But worse was Deve Gowda's
endorsement of Laloo Prasad. Was it necessary for the prime
minister to rush to Patna to share the platform with a man so
thoroughly identified with corruption? And was it necessary for
Gowda to endorse Laloo's leadership so openly as he did at the
'raila'? The garibi rails Gowda told the hired, captive audience
was an eye-opener for those who wanted to eliminate Laloo Prasad
Yadav from politics.
Gowda went on to say, "Any move to destabilise Yadav will adversely
affect the development programmes of the United Front government at
the Centre and the Janata Dal government in Bihar.. The poor people
are totally committed to Yadav.. he has undoubtedly demonstrated
his support base by holding such a historic rally..."
In effect this is prime ministerial endorsement of corruption. What
more can one say?
Savagery in Bihar is an everyday affair. Bihar witnesses an average
of 14 murders a day and one kidnapping every four hours. According
to the latest police statistics, on an average 16 persons are
either killed, kidnapped or looted in Bihar every hour!
Is Deve Gowda aware of these facts? Or is he refusing to face
them? For Laloo, the law does not exist. He seems to be
proclaiming to the world that he is the law and let no one question
him.
Only the other day the Calcutta-based The Statesman revealed that
Laloo Prasad has nominated his brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav to the
Bihar Legislative Council even before the latter completing 30
years of age.
According to the official legislative council handbook, Sadhu Yadav
was born on 5 July 1967. He was nominated to the Bihar Upper House
on 7 August 1995 when he was hardly 28.
Now, Article 173-B of the Constitution clearly lays down that
"qualification for the membership of the state legislature on the
case of a seat m the legislative council is not less than 30 years
of age." If that is so clearly laid down, how come Sadhu Yadav has
become an MLC at the age of 28?
Is Laloo Prasad Yadav above the law? Has anyone brought this to
the attention of the prime minister? Or of the election
commission?
How long is this nation to tolerate the likes of Laloo Prasad
Yadav? This is not an idle question because important points of
law are involved.
When a chief minister openly flaunts his contempt for law what
should be the duty of the prime minister? To support him publicly
because Laloo can terrorise an entire city into submission? And
may it be said that it is not just Gowda who is guilty of condoning
lawlessness.
The Congress party which was supporting the United Front government
is equally guilty. The Congress cannot wash its hands and look the
other way when Patna is burning.
All along the Congress seemed to have lost its voice. What sort of
political laryingitis was the Congress suffering from that its
voice was stilled?
It is time the public woke up to the situation and demanded the
ousting of the Laloo Prasad and the Gowdas from the seats of power.
Our public life has to be cleansed. We have to do a Surat and
sweep away the rubbish that is the Janata Dal government in Patna
and the United Front government in Delhi. And the sooner, the
better.
M V Kamath, veteran political commentator, takes on all comers.
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