Tales of institutional failure in the winter of discontent

Demonetisation and its aftermath have hogged headlines and usurped all the Breaking News space for the past month and more.
Rahul Gandhi speaking in Parliament
Rahul Gandhi speaking in Parliament

Demonetisation and its aftermath have hogged headlines and usurped all the Breaking News space for the past month and more. The highly-charged partisan debates have had more abusive content than informed criticism and there is no need to waste scarce space here on that subject.

We are more distressed at another almost perpetually adjourned session of the Parliament. It truly can be termed a Winter of Our Discontent. Particularly saddening were the pictures of Rajya Sabha in session with less than a dozen members in vision. Empty benches told a tragic tale of institutional failure. This is the House where the BJP-led ruling coalition doesn’t enjoy a majority and one would have thought that the United Colours of Opposition for once would strive to corner the government.

We have been tired of being sermonised by various constitutional bodies and authorities that none should cross the Laxman Rekha. But is this possible if institutions embodying the sovereignty of the people abdicate their responsibilities, and shirk duties and obligation? Ironically, it was left to a member of the BJP Margdarshak Mandal, L K Advani, to publicly vent his frustration about the apparent inability of the Speaker and the minister for parliamentary affairs to ensure the proceedings in the House are conducted smoothly and decorously. The PM may have made a tactical mistake by deciding not to speak about the disputed demonetisation in Parliament but the Opposition hasn’t exactly covered itself with glory. Not allowing the House to function has constrained the President to remind them of their duty towards those who have elected them.

More amusing than anything else has been the sight of RaGa daring Modi to let him speak in the Parliament. “If I open my mouth, there will be an earthquake,” thunders the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi clan. He expects Modi to shake in his boots. The audience watching the video clip can barely suppress derisive laughter. What stops him from ordering his cohorts to let the House function for a few minutes as he single-handedly demolishes the dark forces that threaten Indian democracy and secularism? One is thankful for small mercies. No one has advised him to quote Bismil: “Waqt aane par bata denge tujhe e aasmaan kya hamare dil mein hai!”

Unfortunately, RaGa hasn’t been the only one who has an exceptional talent for yawning to accommodate both his tiring feet. Farooq Abdullah has suddenly decided to remind us Indians that the land known as Kashmir doesn’t belong to ‘any one’s father’. How one wishes that before stating this profundity, he had analysed how the listeners outside the reduced circle of his fawning followers in the street-side in Srinagar would react. His claims to political leadership are primarily based on inheritance and legacy. His son in turn was handed over power with the trappings of a successor being crowned in a fiefdom. The phrase “baap ki jageer” is akin to a double-edged sword. The urge to secure a place in history is ill-served by the determination to wield the blade of steel to commit harakiri. Or is sekappu the right word?
One can understand RaGa making slips of tongue in Hindi, but Farooq sahib isn’t challenged linguistically in any of the many languages he uses. It’s a pathetic sight to see an emaciated Lion in Winter trying to roar and rule the forest as he once did in his prime.

Amidst the farcical posturing, the nation managed to mourn the passing of the ‘Iron Lady of Tamil Nadu’ and ‘Amma’ the compassionate protector to countless poor. Should we remind our readers that never did J Jayalalithaa find the need to raise her voice to use intemperate language even when she threatened?
Days to come promise limitless amusement and greater irritation. Newspersons inform us that Arvind Kejriwal is undergoing a crash course in Punjabi to let salvos loose in that robust language as he leads his front in the electoral battleground in the border state. Mamatadi not to be upstaged by anyone has, the same sources reveal, armed herself with Bangla-Hindi dictionaries. Obviously, her sweet-sounding mother tongue isn’t suitable to hurl choicest abuse at despicable political opponents. The elections that are considered crucial for the fortunes of BJP are the ones in UP. It’s hard to imagine Mamatadi upstaging ‘star campaigners’ like RaGa and maybe forever elusive Priyanka there. All this effort is most likely to be wasted.

There have been other distractions—hacking of personal accounts of celebrity journalists, whiff of a scandal in Arunachal Pradesh, a former IAF chief being held for interrogation... But they will all have to wait. Right now, what is making news is King Khan kowtowing to the uncrowned king of a once proud city. 

Pushpesh Pant

Former professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University

pushpeshpant@gmail.com

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