The Dance of DemoCrazy
By: Sudha (July 24th, 2008)Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 8:00pm
Over the past few days, the nation woke up to numerous stories about MPs switching loyalty for payoffs ranging from rupees 3 to 25 crores. Charges of horsetrading were doing the rounds since the past three days but the countrymen did not expect MPs to suddenly start disgorging wads of currency on the table of the House, allegedly given to them as a ‘bribe’ for abstaining from voting in the confidence motion moved by UPA government. The MPs also claim to have videographic evidence (Rajdeep Sardesai trying to earn some brownie points over Tehelka and Pranoy Roy’s NDTV, with a stunning sting operation) of the whole bribery deal. India was stunned (perhaps more by the flashing of the wads, in the sanctum sanctorum of world’s largest democracy, than by the allegation per se). This cash-on-table was the first for the Lok Sabha!
If the allegations are true, then the guilty must be punished on grounds of the evidence at hand (NOT that such exchange of money is happening for the first time in Indian political history, as cited and made to believe by the leader of opposition, Mr. L K Advani). If these allegations are not true, it would imply an extremely disparaging conspiracy.
What followed was nothing but more shame for India. The opposition cried foul and claimed the trust vote of Tuesday as ‘a big farce’ - bad for democracy and shameful to the nation (but it surely did seem that there was probably nothing else left in the BJP’s kitty but to play this card to somehow stall the confidence motion, a last ditch desperate attempt). It almost worked. It did postpone the voting by over an hour. What started two weeks ago of as a sure downfall of the UPA government, swayed in favor of UPA by the evening of the confidence motion only to appear faltering away by a clincher by the BJP MP from Morena (of course under the blessings of experience Advani). A stern speaker however saved the day for UPA. It was surely a nail biting finish and shall we say an exhilarating dance of democracy!
CPI(M) has now expelled Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee from the party on the ground of ’seriously compromising’ its position and not obeying the party whip. What more? The 21 members of the House who cross-voted on Tuesday are also liable to be disqualified (expelled from their respective parties at least). I wonder what the truth really is….but what we witnessed was MPs abstaining or deserting their party men. Perhaps only time can tell if it was for the good or bad of India.
While the confidence motion was in session, many speakers spoke in favor of and against the motion. However they got interrupted, shouted down or either ignored. But as usual, Lalu Prasad Yadav (the dark horse and the biggest find of the UPA government) managed to hog all attention (and deservingly so). Also impressive was the speech delivered by Rahul Gandhi, who chose to speak as an Indian rather than a congress man. Although I’m uncertain about certain points that he raised, what impressed me was his demeanor and choice of words which was professional and devoid of mudslinging. “Fear of the unknown should not prevent us from making decisions,” was what he said. A glimmer of hope? Can’t really say.
But India is now all set to launch a full blast lobbying among the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for an exemption for nuclear commerce from later this week in the wake of UPA winning the trust vote in Parliament. After the government won the confidence motion last night, the US said it will work with the Indian government and expedite the processes at IAEA and NSG.
In the wake of news doing the rounds that India would no longer be free enough to conduct nuclear tests; PM, Manmohan Singh asserted that nothing in the nuclear agreements prevents India from conducting further tests.
Well, the future certainly looks uncertain now!
Two days back, I did write about a ruler who never has or had to face a trust vote but today let me also tell you about a certain arch-rival of the said ruler who pretty much like the Indian politicians, works towards preventing you from letting ‘the’ ruler reign over you….he is no unknown power, but he or his ways shouldn’t prevent us from taking a decision to let the ruler reign over us. It will be a gross understatement to call his tactics as horse trading, for when he somehow tries to buy our allegiance towards him, he is proposing - soul trading!
Take the decision and reap the benefits and friendship of the ruler who is very much unlike our politicians that have stooped so low as to make democracy look like ‘democrazy’.
Ascertain your future.
Tags: BJP, Coal, Congress, horsetrading, IAEA-safeguards, Manmohan Singh, Nuclear energy, Pranoy Roy, Rajdeep Sardesai, Tehelka, UPA
July 24th, 2008 at 2:56 am
A Ruler Who Never Had or Has to Face a ‘Trust’ Vote
The Manmohan Singh government seeks a trust vote in the Lok Sabha today and the political drama in India has managed to attract widespread attention worldwide, as it will decide the fate of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. Under this bilateral pact, th…
July 24th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
It is sad to see how the country is being led, to see the convictions of our leaders and to see the passion behind their acts. The entire issue was a real eye opener on how matters of great importance are dealt in our country. It showcaused the leaders & decision makers of this great nation. Surely our nation needs a whole lot of Favor and Grace from GOD. The democracy needs a real overhaul if India is to make an impact in the world. Its time to bring some sensibility to the decision making body. Voters should be very serious about their votes else we will make a big joke of our country.
July 25th, 2008 at 12:13 am
I don’t understand the concept of ‘whipping’ the MPs by their respective parties.Why shouldn’t the MPs have the freedom to vote for whoever they think would be best in the interests of the nation.If whipping is justified then why shouldn’t bribing be justified too.you know.Its whipping and then offering money for their obedience.Moreover if the parties can fully control the functions of their MPs why should there be 545 representatives in the Lok Sabha.Couldn’t there be just a few representatives of the parties or something like that.
July 25th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I agree with Heman on the issue of whipping…people like Somnath Chatterjee get thrown out of the party when they try to speak their mind and try to bring some sense in the whole process….
But this article really shows how poorly our leaders have conducted themselves, the values have been sacrificed on the altar of short term gains….
Mr.PM hope this does not come back to haunt you, you have a bunch of corrupt and selfish on your boat…..
No wonder the youth of the nation believes that trampling everything on the way to achieve its goals is the way to go…
God save this nation…
July 25th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Because legislatures typically only require a majority of the quorum in attendance, a majority party can be outvoted if a large number of its legislators are absent and the opposition is in full attendance. An important part of a government whip’s job is to ensure that this situation never arises; sufficient majority legislators must keep party attendance close enough to equality that the majority is slim, and the quorum cannot be busted by the departure of the majority legislators, this is difficult and can be exploited by the opposition to harass the majority.
Check this link for more detailed explanation
Whip - Politics