Author: Sudheendra Kulkarni
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: August 3, 2008
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/343911.html
If there is a hung Parliament next time and
a coalition government whose survival hangs by a thread, do not be surprised
if New Delhi becomes a bigger bazaar of horses than it was when Dr Manmohan
Singh won the vote of confidence on July 22. The price of the horses will
be far higher than the unbelievable benchmark set by the managers of the UPA's
victory last week. CPI leader A B Bardhan had disclosed that Rs 25 crore was
the "ongoing rate" for each opposition MP being purchased by the
UPA. Getting moneybags to provide Rs 1,000-2,000 crore for buying MPs is no
longer beyond the realm of possibility. Corporate houses wanting to protect
or promote their business interests will open up their war chests to be used
by their paaltu (kept) politicians. There will be wheeler-dealers galore,
from small-time fixers to big-time racketeers, some with dubious international
connections. In short, the mandate of the people at the time of polling will
have no bearing on the kind of government that might come into being with
the help of defections, both wholesale and retail.
In other words, Indian Parliament will be
on sale from now onwards.
Those who disbelieve should see what happened
in Parliament on July 22. Three BJP MPs - Ashok Argal, Mahavir Baghora and
Faggan Singh Kulaste - displayed inside the House wads of currency notes,
allegedly paid to them by Amar Singh, general secretary of the Samajwadi Party,
as a token amount of Rs one crore for abstaining from the trust vote. In a
petition submitted to the Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, they have claimed that
they acted as whistle-blowers to expose the 'votes-for-notes' conspiracy to
save Dr Manmohan Singh's Government. They have also claimed that CNN-IBN,
a TV news channel, conducted a sting operation to record their whistle-blowing
operation and also promised to telecast the recorded tape "soon"
after the display of currency notes inside Parliament. The channel has not
telecast the tape till today. Instead, it has chosen to hand over the tape
to the Speaker, who has constituted a committee to probe the MPs' complaint
against Amar Singh, Ahmed Patel, political secretary to the Congress president,
and one more MP.
Who is telling the truth? The three BJP MPs
or Amar Singh, who has denied the allegations? This columnist seeks the indulgence
of this newspaper to make an important disclosure: as a political activist
determined to fight corruption in public life, I assisted the three BJP MPs
in their whistle-blowing operation. I was a witness to most of what they have
stated in their petition to the Speaker and vouch for its authenticity. I
was with the CNN-IBN team almost from the beginning to the end of its sting
operation and have witnessed its recording of the operation. I have no hesitation
in affirming that the channel has double-crossed the whistle-blowers by flouting
its own solemn assurance to telecast the tape before the trust vote was taken
on July 22. I am willing to depose before the inquiry committee and ready
to face any punishment if found guilty.
However, the probe of the specific complaint
by the three BJP MPs is a side issue. The real issue is that the outcome of
July 22 has convinced ordinary people in India that horse-trading was responsible
for saving the UPA Government, and that it could well become a permanent feature
of politics at the Centre. What could be the consequences of this mass perception?
Won't it make more and more people cynical about politics and politicians?
Won't it make even those political parties, such as the BJP, which speaks
of probity in public life, susceptible to thinking that the only way to beat
the wheeler-dealers of a rival party is to have smarter and more resourceful
wheeler-dealers of their own? What will happen to our democracy if most political
parties come under the vice-like grip of wheeler-dealers and corrupt leaders,
who, in turn, function as per the scripts prepared by their masters?
Last week's developments have forewarned us
about an even more ominous portent - the possibility of Naxalism coming to
our towns and cities. As an extremist political opinion, it openly rejects
the system of parliamentary democracy, calls it a sham and has pledged to
overthrow it by violent means. About 100-odd districts in India are already
said to be under considerable Naxal influence. Is there any wonder if, in
the aftermath of the "cash-for-votes" scandal in New Delhi, Naxal
groups increase their influence to 200-odd districts, including our main urban
centres? Once the institutions of democracy lose their sanctity and legitimacy
in the eyes of the people, the descent to anarchy can be very quick. Make
no mistake about what Naxal groups will tell our angry and frustrated youth:
"Look at the dirty games these political parties play in the name of
democracy. How can you trust them to work for you? What is the value of your
ballot when those who get elected with your votes are up for sale to the highest
bidder? Therefore, shun the path of the ballot and join our path of the bullet."
Difficult days are ahead for Indian democracy.
Therefore, the time to act for you, me and all democracy-loving people, is
NOW.
- sudheenkulkarni@gmail.com
