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| Undermining democracy | | | Omkar Dattatray | 2/11/2018 11:06:17 PM |
| | In our political scenario there are only politicians but very few statesmen. The politicians of various hues are busy in taking political mileage out of every serious or petty issue. The political bosses without any exception are concerned only with getting and sticking to power. They are least bothered with the real and genuine issues of the voters. The old adage that politics is the last resort of the scoundrels is very much true so far as the political scene of the country is concerned. Our politicians are adept in politicizing every issue or non issue just to capitalize politically. This is what is happening in our country and its law making bodies. The parliamentary democracy has become a laughing stock due to non-seriousness of the parliamentarians and the legislatures. In fact, democracy is undermined and governance is the first casualty. The national parliament and the state legislatures are reduced to fish market like situations. And these seem to be wrestling places where muscle and lung power is in full swing. What a perversion of the parliamentary and democratic decorum envisaged by our founding fathers? You silence your opponents by shouting and using very unbecoming and unparliamentarily language. Stopping usual legislative proceedings on flimsy grounds has become a hallmark of Indian political scene. The political satraps have become masters in the art of disrupting normal legislative functioning. Thus they are busy in subverting democracy for their own selfish and ulterior motives. Our august legislatures and parliaments are manned by many selfish politicians not by Nehru like parliamentarians. Unnecessary criticism and hurling of abuses has become a routine affair of our parliament and state legislatures. Legislative decorum and discipline are the things of by gone days. In the past Ayodha controversy, RSS controversy, Swadesh VS Videshi controversy, Sukh Ram issue, Bofors issue, stock scams, Tehelka revelations have rocked our nation. In present times Demonetization and GST, Triple Talaq issue etc have rocked our parliament. These issues had taken much precious time of our legislatures and had caused much loss in terms of man days and monetary terms. Discussions, debates, voting, criticism, disagreement and differences of opinion are the necessary off shoots of the plant of democracy. The tree of democracy will not grow and fruity without these basic branches. So if you want a healthy and purposeful democratic way of functioning, you should allow healthy debates and discussions within reasonable limits of decency and parliamentary procedure. Agreed that healthy debates, discussions and opposition are the very soul and breathe of democratic functioning but it also is the obligation of the people's representatives to allow the proceedings of legislatures and not to stop and disrupt the business every now and then. People's representatives have no inborn right and license to stall proceedings at their whim and caprice just to satiate their ego. Recurrent stalemates, pandemonium and adjournments are not in the interest of the average citizens. These only lower the credibility of our democratic institutions. The legislatures are voted for transacting legislative business and for the raising the genuine problems of the electorate in these august bodies. They should criticize the government and they are within their constitutional and democratic right to oppose the polities of the government. Because in a democracy you must uphold others right to differ. However what is happening in our august parliament is against all norms of democracy and democratic procedures as laid down by our previous parliamentarians of Nehru era. Not allowing the parliament to function for weeks together is no democracy in action but is definitely subversion of the institution of parliamentary democracy. Our legislators are in fact obstructing and hindering governance in the country by resorting to unwanted stalling of the legislative proceedings. Governance is a continuous process and it should go unhindered with or without parliament. Legislators have no right to obstruct the governance but have the duty to help the powers that be in solving the burning issues confronting the nation. However our politicians resort to stoppage proceedings and thus hinder governance. Perhaps this is done for gaining popularity and limelight through electronic and print media. So today's acrimonious scenes are politically motivated and do no good to citizens. Noisy scenes and stalemates every now and then bring disrepute to the parliamentary democracy. Legislatures are becoming places of non seriousness. The good olden days when meaningful and constructive criticism was the characteristic feature of our parliamentary decorum do not hold ground today. Parliamentary discipline and decorum are the things of yore. Politicians of various hues are not allowing legislatures to function and are thus working against the interests of the common man. It may be the issue of corruption in high offices or in defense deals or any other serious issue but legislators don't have any constitutional rights to stop functioning of the parliament or have they? Adjournment of the parliament sine die is not a sign of the triumph of democracy but in fact points towards the debility of our democratic institutions. The whole world is watching us and laughing in its sleeves. It also points towards the urgent need for training and schooling of elected representatives in the art of legislative working. Moreover, parliamentary discipline and decorum should be imparted to them; otherwise they will continue to stop the proceedings on petty issues just for the sake of opposition. Thus orientation course should be conducted for all legislators to infuse in them the essential qualities of democracy and citizenship. Or else they will float all norms of decency and decorum. Other alternative is to recover the man days lost from those legislators who resort to unnecessary stopping of the proceedings. This is one of the ways to infuse in them the qualities of working in parliament and state legislators. Opposition for the sake of opposition is not good politics. Politicians should not make an issue of every serious or non serious issue. Opposition in a parliamentary form of government has an important role in criticizing the actions and policies of the government. Blind opposition is not needed or else you undermine the very democracy you profess to uphold! |
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