MLAs on Sale Again: A Mockery of Democracy
When the entire country is in mourning over the death and destruction that coronavirus and the lockdown that followed have caused, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat is witnessing the theatre of absurdity where ‘Operation Kamala’ (a term given to the BJP’s attempt to buy opposition MLAs) has reached a crescendo in the backdrop of the Rajya Sabha election. Putting the country’s economic downturn to shame, Gujarat is seeing crores of rupees being exchanged in horse trading (a term given to negotiating deals to buy MLAs). Already three Congress MLAs have been lured by the BJP’s offers and have resigned from their posts, forcing the Congress to adopt a counter strategy of ‘quarantining’ its members in a resort.
When industries are facing their worst ever crisis and are staring at bankruptcy and economic activity has seen a slump like never before, the BJP government does not seem to be facing any shortage of funds to buy the opposition MLAs. These developments are a public mockery in the face of the acute livelihood issues before the common man and when the country is in the throes of a daily struggle of life and death. It is almost as if politicians have nothing to do with the problems their voters are facing, conveniently forgetting the fact that they owe their power, which they are using unashamedly to amass wealth, to these people.
Many have alleged that the ‘Namaste Trump’ roadshow organized in Ahmedabad was responsible for the entry of the Corona virus into the country. In the light of the ‘Namaste Trump’ event, many restrictions in the airports were delayed. Experts have stated that the country would not have had to suffer a complete lockdown if the government had imposed restrictions in airports and quarantined those who entered the country way back in February itself at the time of the event. Modi failed to understand the gravity of the situation arising out of the Corona virus and didn’t heed to the repeated warnings of the World Health Organization (WHO). Organizing the prestigious ‘Namaste Trump’ event was more important to the Prime Minister than the health of the country and imposed the lockdown only after the virus had spread its wings across the country. The lockdown did not have any impact on the spread of the virus/ but succeeded in destroying the country’s economy that was already down in the dumps.
That Ahmedabad was Corona’s gateway into the country was an allegation levelled by none other than a senior Shiv Sena leader. Lending credence to this allegation is the number of Corona-related deaths registered in Ahmedabad. Today, Gujarat is one among the states that have gained notoriety for the higher number of Corona infections. Similarly, Gujarat has failed to handle the problem of migrant labor. With relaxation in the lockdown restrictions, the possibility of the Corona virus spreading its tentacles is high. It is now imperative more than ever for the Gujarat government to come up with mitigation plans to protect the people and provide solace to those who are bearing the brunt of the economic downturn. Instead of stepping up its efforts in these directions, the Gujarat government is focusing all its energy on increasing the number of BJP’s Rajya Sabha members. Those who cited helplessness in providing funds for development works are now spending crores of rupees for ‘Operation Kamala’. The opposition Congress that had to join hands with the government in fighting the Corona virus is now being subjected to ‘resort quarantine’ with the scare of losing its MLAs looming large.
For the Congress in Gujarat, though, the BJP’s modus operandi is not new. Whenever the opportunity has arisen, the BJP has been buying MLAs to its fold. The political developments that Gujarat witnessed during the 2017 Rajya Sabha elections made national headlines and garnered attention for the involvement of Karnataka in the political drama. To ensure that their party MLAs are not purchased, Gujarat Congress leaders took refuge in a Bangalore resort and the onus of their security fell on Karnataka Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar who succeeded in this mission. Though this increased Shivakumar’s prestige nationally, it was also responsible for triggering the ire of the BJP central leadership against him. It has also been alleged that the IT raids that he faced later was an outcome of the resort politics that resulted in a harsh jail term for Shivakumar. Now, the history of horse trading and resort politics is repeating itself yet again in Gujarat.
Recently, the Union Finance Minister admitted that the government does not have funds for developmental projects and that new projects would have to be put off by a year. However, just before the countrywide lock-down, Madhya Pradesh had witnessed the collapse of the Congress government under the weight of ‘Operation Kamala’. Political developments, first in Madhya Pradesh and now in Gujarat, indicate that our leaders have no dearth of cash to buy MLAs compared to the Centre that is citing lack of funds for developmental projects. Hundreds of crores exchanged hands by the time the BJP government came to power in Madhya Pradesh. A similar plot of toppling the state government is being hatched in Maharashtra. In Karnataka, where the BJP came to power by resorting to ‘Operation Kamala’ just a year ago, BJP leaders have been repeatedly holding out the threat of buying more opposition MLAs. When the country is facing a massive fund crunch for carrying out developmental works, what is the source of money for the BJP to indulge in these political games? When the country’s economy has collapsed, how can only the BJP’s economy face a surge in fortunes? How could the BJP garner recognition for being the richest party in the world? These questions and the disappearance of black money after demonetization are obviously linked.
Despite the relaxation of lockdown norms, shops and commercial establishments are not seeing any business, but those indulging in horse trading and who are willing to get high bids are seeing bright days laden with money bags. The manner in which MLAs are selling themselves to the highest bidder is a sad reflection of the state of affairs in the country and is the greatest tragedy that India is facing. As long as people are willing to sell themselves, there will always be buyers. Though the BJP is to be fully blamed for this total erosion of values of electoral politics, the Congress is also guilty of having as its members those who are not committed to either ideology or originality of thought or personality. Instead of selling themselves in this manner, it would be better for parties to auction their MLAs after elections and the party that buys the maximum number of MLAs can then form the government. This would at least save the people the trouble of facing elections repeatedly!
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Crossing river, trekking hill voters reach polling booths to cast vote in Surguja LS constituency
Balrampur/Chhattisgarh (PTI): Enthusiastic voters reached polling booths trekking steep hilly paths, crossing a river and even on a horse to cast their votes in remote areas of the tribal-dominated Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, officials said.
Balrampur district falls under the Surguja Lok Sabha constituency which was among seven seats where polling was held in third and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state. The Surguja Lok Sabha recorded 74.59 per cent voting, as per the Turnout application.
Voters, belonging to Pahadi Korva, a particularly vulnerable tribal group, including Rajesh, Madan, Sukhu, Gopal and Nandlal, crossed a river to exercise their franchise at a polling booth in village panchayat Amera under the Samri assembly constituency, a government official said.
Similarly, electors, including Lakhan Nagesia, Sahu, Phulsai and Kalesh of Bachwar village under the Ramanujganj assembly constituency walked through hilly terrain for about two hours covering 8 kms to reach a polling booth and cast their vote, he said. A voter, Parimal Dey, reached a polling booth in Sagarpur village under the Ramanujganj assembly seat on a horse, the official said. Dey is a cattle rearer who owns 150 goats.
Two hyper sensitive polling booths -- Chunchuna and Pundag -- located in a Naxal-affected area of the district which shares border with Jharkhand, also recorded significant turnout, he said. The two booths are located in the Samri assembly constituency.
"Special security arrangements were put in place in this area to ensure peaceful voting. Voters of Chunchuna and Pudang ensured their participation in the great festival of democracy braving Naxalite threat," he said. The Chunchuna polling booth has 767 voters and it recorded 84.35 per cent turnout, while Pundag has 595 electors and it registered a turnout of 72.44 per cent till 5 pm, the official added.
