B L Saraf
For a democratic form of governance it is necessary that political leaders and parties place choices before the people to discuss issues and policies, in the public. The electoral process which is set in motion at regular intervals is, primarily, aimed at such an exercise and help a voter to make choice for the formation of a government he thinks will come good to his expectations. Unfortunately, the process which ought to be a boon has turned into a curse. Rather than breathing in fresh air to the democratic procedure to detoxify it of the pollutants which might have sneaked in, over the period of time, these elections unleash vicious forces which further muddy the water .
It is election time and we are in thick of madness. Thanks to a vilely politician , everything that has gone worse in our political system is on the display. Slush funds are overflowing the market : highly polarizing rhetoric is blurring out from every possible mode of communication . Well, one may say that this phenomenon hasn’t come to the fore all of a sudden. It is gradual progression of the malaise that was diagnosed in 1951 when first general election was held , after the country became a republic and came to be governed by a Constitution.
Madhavan K .Palat, the editor of Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru informs us how Jawaharlal Nehru was pained to observe that politicians failed to place issues before the people for a thorough discussion and debate. Palat writes about Nehru’s impressions on the elections held during his period “in 1951 Nehru complained that political parties were busy peddling lies and deceit : in 1957 , he felt that fundamental issues are seldom mentioned.” And In 1962 Nehru’s observation was ” people seem to go mad the moment elections are announced .” What we witness today, these words seem to have had a prophetic ring .
Winston Churchill would always find fault with the democracy , particularly when it came to the Colonial world, British Empire had once Lorded over. Once he remarked that ” democracy is full of defects and elections vitiate the atmosphere .” Seeing as we have been , how vicious and ideologically polluting the election game has become in contemporary India Churchill couldn’t be far away from the truth.
We are in a election seasons and our not so honorable ‘Public Servants’ fearing banishment and some bestowed with the Weather Cock sense, are on a look out to find a ‘suitable place ” to do Public Service.” To and fro movement has well and truly commenced . What previously would be detested as “Gaya Ram – Aya Ram” syndrome now has become an acceptable Norm .This is elections time and politicians are on ticket hunting job . The sanctity of the electoral process has been squeezed of the spirit by an un abashing Turn Coat who has temerity to explain his political somersaults on the skewed notion of “there is no alterative ” for him but to cross over to the winning side do the “public service “. Let the ideology and morality be damned !
Nothing seems to have changed since 2020 when the Supreme Court had given us hope that representative democracy will survive the odds conveniently created by a politician. It had struck powerful blow for political morality , in as much as it sought to administer some measures of stringency in the Law of Defection. In an order of far reaching consequences the Court asked Parliament to consider setting up of a permanent Tribunal, headed by a retired Judge or any other mechanism to hear disputes regarding defection of a legislator from one political party to the other.The Apex court made these suggestions in a case brought against Manipur Speaker who had violated letter and spirit of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, incorporated in 1985 to prevent horse trading of the legislators. In this case one Congress MLA had defected to the BJP to become a minister. Obliging Speaker came to his recue and did not initiate any action against him.
Before the Supreme Court a question arose whether the Speaker, who is essentially a ruling party nominee, could be entrusted with the power to adjudicate upon an election dispute or disqualification of the MLA. It is still not too late to stem the rot . Just an amendment to the 10th Schedule is required to give effect to the Court’s view and provide for a summary procedure once action against a defector is initiated.
We may grant it to a politician to go party shopping . After all he , by definition, is the person seeking power in the government for which he should have an elected seat in the legislature . Therefore, he has no qualms in being called a ‘Turn Coat ‘ and having tasted power once the politician feels loath to relinquish it, in his unholy quest to do “Serve the Public .”
The party shopping move of the politicians, currently unfolding in UP, reminds me of the similar situation that prevailed there in late 1960s. The frequency which marks a politician’s urgency to move in and come out of the party, to retain power, prompted a Lucknow poet to put it in a satirical vein :
“Shubah mille Sansopa mein; Shyam mille Prosopa mein; Kal mille kounsay dal mein koi janea naa ”
Note : Sansopa was the Hindi abbreviation of ( SSP ) Samyukht Socialist Party , essentially a UP centric political entity , led by Madhu Limaye and George Fernandez while as Prosopa denoted ( PSP ) Praja Socilaist Party lead by Karpuri Thakur of Bihar . They all came out of the Ram Manohar Lohia school of politics .
Translated it should read : In the morning he (politician) was found in SSP; In the evening he was in PSP : Next day where he will be, nobody can hazard a guess.
In addition to what is written in black and white in the Constitution something more is scripted therein , though invisible . That is called Constitutional morality which the Greek historian , George Grote described as ‘ a paramount reverence for the forms of the Constitution’. With all the defects in the electoral process and leaving the exploitative politicians to their games , we have to respect the Constitutional morality and retain faith in universal suffrage – a valued gift given to us by the founding fathers .
(The author is Former Principal District & Sessions Judge)
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