Irresponsible political class tells India to go to hell

It’s difficult even for the most forgiving of souls not to get desperate. It was the old story playing out again on day two of the winter session — the politics of expediency winning over the sense of political responsibility; the interest of the country getting secondary to political point scoring. It has become so predictable now that it’s getting tiring. The country should be worried. The political class has grown far bigger than the people it represents and its interests have become bigger than the interests of the country. That Parliament could be held hostage for so long and on such frivolous excuses is indication that the political class is getting bigger than the most sacred of institutions in the democracy itself. What is specific in the development that we should be worried about? Well, it seems an end to the logjam is not possible — neither are there enough voices of reason around to drill sense into our leaders nor is there any serious intent to do it. Worse, there’s no institutional solution to it. There is no provision in the constitution which could force the representatives to bury their differences and work, at least temporarily. [caption id=“attachment_138440” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“That Parliament could be held hostage for so long and on such frivolous excuses is indication that the political class is getting bigger than the most sacred of institutions in the democracy itself. AFP”]  [/caption] If the BJP is at it this time, it could be the Congress holding the houses to ransom when it is in the opposition. With the intensity of political animosity so high and the determination not to allow governments to function so strong, there’s little hope of respite. Four sessions have passed already with not much meaningful work done. If the current stand-off and spirit of acrimony continues there’s little hope that the government will be able to function normally for the rest of its tenure. Where does that lead up to? Stalled policy decisions, no questions on governance issues and finally chaos. Political parties are certainly taking us to a dangerous situation. The Anna Hazare episode was expected to teach the political class a hard lesson — respond to people or the people will take over — but, as the events unfold now, it never did. Behind the impasse in Parliament there’s the not-so-subtle message from the political class: ‘To hell with people and the country. We will be around even if you don’t like us. You will have to elect us. You can throw out candidates but you cannot throw out parties. Simply because you don’t have a choice. Issues can wait, decision can wait but not politics. We come first in the democracy since we are irreplaceable.’ So much for democracy being of the people and for the people! It’s a hopeless situation out there for the common man. He has to endure price rise, land grabbers, the PDS irregularities, poor health services and injustice on several fronts. He has to endure the people he elects to represent him too. It is not only about the poor. The rich also need their leaders to speak for them. The industry needs policy initiatives as do several other sectors. The functioning of Parliament is related to all aspects of life of people. It leaves nobody in peace if it does not work. But who’s going to tell that to the leaders? Who indeed! The people - those sad, wretched creatures who live in the illusion that they are the masters in the democracy? They are disillusioned by now but there is little they can do to stem the rot. Throwing parties out of office does not send out a strong message any more. That’s the only option they have. The present state of affairs calls for a dispassionate assessment of the situation. The country needs to find a solution to the arrogance and indifference of the political class. Unfortunately, the members of the thinking class, mentally aligned to one political party or the other as they are, do not look ready to respond to the challenge. There is no serious discussion on it yet. Television channels are not exactly enthusiastic on the subject at this point. But it’s time everyone got serious. Rivalry between political parties are heading to a point of no return. Their antics are getting inimical to the interest of the country. It has to stop somewhere. Leaders cannot be allowed to get bigger than the people or the country.