Democracy has been changed to Namocracy: John Brittas slams govt in fierce Rajya Sabha speech
New Delhi: In a fierce speech delivered in the Rajya Sabha, during the special session of the parliament called by the government, Member of Parliament John Brittas took the government to task for what he saw as a lack of accountability and adherence to the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Brittas dissected various aspects of governance and policy, highlighting concerns about the Prime Minister's presence in Parliament, the erosion of democratic values, and the changing definitions of key constitutional principles.
John Brittas began by questioning the Prime Minister's attendance in Parliament, asserting that the Prime Minister's presence was a mere 0.001 percent of the parliamentary sessions. This raised concerns about the accountability of the executive to the legislature, a fundamental tenet of parliamentary democracy. Brittas emphasized the importance of the Prime Minister's participation in parliamentary proceedings and called for increased engagement.
Brittas, who represents CPI(M) in the parliament, delved into the ideals outlined in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, which includes liberty, equality, and fraternity. However, he pointed out that the concept of justice seemed to have transformed into a "bulldozer era," indicating a departure from the original ideals. He criticized the use of sedition and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as manifestations of a restricted liberty.
“I will just dwell on the Preamble of it. It speaks about Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. If you take justice, you will notice that we have reached the Bulldozer era that is a Justice now. The justice that is being imparted is the bulldozer so if it is economic Justice, we don't want to speak about the Oxford report because that's not a good company for good Organization for the present dispensation. You see the inequality that is spiralling us. The Liberty that has been assuring where has it reached, now it is more manifested in the form of sedition and UAPA that is a liberty we just reached,” he added.
He then addressed the principle of equality, highlighting the underrepresentation of minorities, particularly Muslims, in various aspects of Indian society, including the executive, legislature, judiciary, and media. He contrasted this with the diverse representation in Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet, stressing the need to protect minority rights.
“Another Cardinal principle is equality of status and opportunities this government is honest to say that they don't believe it itself, Ambedkar, who they try to appropriate now, was absolutely clear when he said that democracy is not the law of majority but the protection of minority minorities. It's not Said by John Brittas but by Ambedkar. What is the representation of 20 crore Muslims in executive, in legislature and Judiciary even in medias, you know that the representation of Muslims Christians minorities in Kerala, what is the situation in Delhi, in Parliament, in executive? We all talk about this government’s main topic is to discuss about Mughals. I said they talk about Mughals more than the Indians, now, actually. In Akbar’s rule, or even Aurangzeb’s rule more than 50% of the ministers were Hindus. Do you know who Birbal was? He was a Hindu. Can you spot somebody in this executive now? What is this status of the representation of minority? Nehru's cabinet that was the first Ministry it was a model government it had given representation to every segments ministers there were Muslims, Parsi, Sikh, everyone, ofcourse even Syama Prasad Mookherjee, he asserted.
Brittas discussed fraternity, pointing out the misuse of the term "go to Pakistan" as an attack on the patriotism of certain individuals. He defended the patriotism of all Indians and questioned the country's standing in global indices, such as per capita GDP, human development index, and hunger index, which often ranked India poorly.
The MP questioned the evolving definitions of key constitutional values. He critiqued the government's approach to sovereignty, asserting that hugging foreign leaders did not equate to true sovereignty. He also raised concerns about the shift from socialism to "Adanism," referring to the influence of corporate giants like Adani in policy-making.
Brittas expressed his dismay at the confusion surrounding the concepts of secularism and socialism among certain members of the government. He called for stronger voices within the cabinet to uphold these core values and prevent any erosion of secularism and socialism.
“Now secularism. See secularism you know a gentleman sitting in prime minister's office had the audacity to say this constitution has become useless. And he said he doesn't understand the meaning of socialism and secularism. A gentleman heading the economic advisory Council of the Prime Minister had the audacity to come and say that he doesn't understand the meaning of secularism and socialism. I would have expected a cabinet minister the stature of Dharmendra Pradhan to say shut your mouth did you say sir you should have said it,” he said pointing at Union Cabinet Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
In conclusion, Brittas underscored the essence of democracy as the accountability of the executive to Parliament and, in turn, to the people. He lamented the perception that democracy had transformed into "Namocracy" or "Modicracy," suggesting a lack of transparency and accessibility to the Prime Minister.
The MP also criticized the transformation of the term "Republic" into a media platform, alluding to Arnab Goswami's Republic TV. He implied that for some members of the ruling party, the concept of a republic had become synonymous with certain media outlets rather than upholding the values of a democratic republic.
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SRH knocked out of play-off race after washout against DC
Hyderabad, May 5 (PTI): Sunrisers Hyderabad were eliminated from the play-offs race after their Indian Premier League fixture against Delhi Capitals was called off due to heavy rain following the first innings here on Monday.
Pat Cummins-led SRH pace attack ran through the DC batting line-up to limit the visitors to 133/7 before rain dashed the slim hopes of the home team. Both teams shared a point each for the abandoned game.
With 13 points from 11 games, DC remain in contention for a top-four spot.
After reaching the final last year, it was a season to forget for SRH who could not replicate their ballistic run of 2024 with the bat. Having collected only seven points from 11 matches, SRH will now be playing for pride.
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were already eliminated from the competition.
Before rain lashed the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, the hosts put up a clinical effort with the ball and were on course for only their fourth win of the season until rain arrived, creating large puddles of water on the outfield. The match officials decided to call off the game at 11.10 pm local time.
The shot selection of Delhi Capitals' batters contributed to their downfall after being put in to bat.
They were left reeling at 29 for five in 7.1 overs with captain Cummins causing the maximum damage.
Cummins had Karun Nair caught behind on the very first ball of the match with a good length ball around the off-stump. It was a rather loose shot from the DC batter first up.
Faf du Plessis departed in Cummins' following over, a failed attempt to put the relentless Australian away for a boundary. Not getting any loose ball from Cummins, the South Africa went for a pull on the charge only to be caught by the wicket-keeper.
Cummins' third victim was Abhishek Porel who was caught after mistiming a flick.
Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat then got into the act by dismissing Axar Patel and K L Rahul respectively. The in-form Rahul went for a drive on the up but ended up edging it to Ishan Kishan behind the stumps.
It was one way traffic until Tristian Stubbs (41 not out off 36) and impact player Ashutosh Sharma (41 off 26) combined to take DC to a respectable total. They shared a 66-run stand off 45 balls.
Sharma was able to break the shackles by depositing leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari for a couple of sixes over long-on in the 15th over.
Stubbs did not look as comfortable as Sharma in the middle but managed to provide much needed support to the latter. The South African could find only four boundaries with the last one coming off the final ball of the innings.
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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2025
Match 55 between @SunRisers and @DelhiCapitals has been called off due to wet outfield.
Both teams share a point each.
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/1MkIwk4VNE
#TATAIPL | #SRHvDC pic.twitter.com/VnVZWjsjGJ
