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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Alleging unauthorised sorting of postal ballot covers, TMC files complaint with EC
Kolkata (PTI): The TMC on Saturday said it has filed a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging unauthorised sorting of postal ballot covers at an EVM strongroom in Kolkata.
TMC workers, who have been camping outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, alleged that eight trunks of postal ballots were brought in at 4 am and were taken to a room, which has no CCTV coverage.
"We have been demanding that every single millimetre of space where EVMs and postal ballots be under CCTV surveillance. But as these trunks were taken inside, it was clear that they were taken to a room not under CCTV cover. Why should this happen," a TMC member asked.
Voting machines from several assembly segments of northern and eastern Kolkata are stored at the strongroom at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra.
As TMC activists were demonstrating, BJP's Shyampukur candidate Purnima Chakraborty reached the spot with her supporters, escalating tensions.
Both sides started shouting slogans as police stood between them, attempting to bring the situation under control.
Chakraborty claimed that sensing defeat, TMC workers were creating chaos outside the strongroom.
Later, the TMC said it filed a complaint with the EC over the issue.
Similar scenes were witnessed outside the strongroom at the Barasat Government College in North 24 Parganas district, where TMC workers demonstrated, alleging that the CCTV was switched off for 17 minutes in the morning.
TMC's Ashoknagar candidate Narayan Goswami reached the spot, demanding that he be allowed inside the building.
An election official said the CCTV cameras were working fine, but the power cables of the monitors installed outside the centre snapped.
"The 17-minute footage will be shared with TMC or whichever party wants it," he said.
In Purba Bardhaman district, the BJP shared a purported video that showed a person scaling the walls of the University Institute of Technology, where EVMs had been stored.
The EC said the video was old and the person seen in it was engaged for the installation of CCTV cameras and ACs.
