Indian politics just acquired a darker shade

The aftermath of the Karnataka Assembly polls… the sleaze, charges and counter charges, allegations of humongous sums being offered to lure away MLAs to the opposing camp, and audio clips that support such charges… has taken Indian politics to a new low.

That constitutional heads such as Governors of States can dance to the tunes of their political masters and take diametrically opposite decisions while dealing with hung Assembly verdicts, as happened in Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya and now Karnataka, sends your confidence in Indian institutions plunging.

Add to this the screaming, raving and ranting, and downright gaal-galoch (filthy abuse) by bhakts from both sides on social media, and we are presenting a face to the world that is fit for both ridicule and contempt. For after all, hasn’t Indian democracy been a shining beacon for numerous nations, particularly dictatorships and banana republics, to emulate?

Granted that everywhere in the world, including the best of democracies, political intrigues and ugly games do get played out to grab power. But there is some decency in following the basic rules of the game. But our political bosses seem hell bent on shoving the nation down the hall of shame.

Rhetoric vs reality

And when all the rhetoric around us is of acche din , development and progress, we have certainly progressed on one front — hiking the price tag on our legislators. From the aya ram gaya ram politics of yesteryears, where legislators jumped off the sinking ship for a post in the government and some monetary consideration, the amount doing the rounds in Karnataka this time has numbed the senses.

The sums being mentioned are a humongous ₹100-150 crore. Even if this is an exaggeration, it is proof enough of the colossal levels of corruption in our country. And it poo-poohs all tall claims of the government’s attempt to weed out black money from the system and move towards a cashless economy. Surely the huge sums on offer would not have been paid to the deserters through bankers’ cheques!

That such cash is available, is a stinging slap on the faces of the bulk of ordinary Indians who recently stood in unending queues for long hours outside ATMs to withdraw a miserable ₹2,000 of their own money.

Sadly, no party has emerged from the Karnataka potboiler without mud on its face. Yes, the BJP failed to get a simple majority, but the mandate is not for the Congress either, nor is it for the JD(S). Our body politic has degraded so terribly that when the leads were coming in and it became clear that the Congress will not get a majority, it rushed to the JD(S) and offered it the chief ministership. For this the party was praised for being nimble footed!

After all, hadn’t the BJP done the same in Goa and Manipur? Welcome to an era where expediency is preferred to morality or ideals.

Once again, the question begging an answer is why was the Congress so arrogant and , instead of making a serious attempt to form a pre-poll non-BJP alliance, it accused the JD(S) of being the BJP’s B team. An understanding of the ground reality and some political savvy on its part in tying up a strong and secular alliance would have saved the people of India from witnessing the emergence of such filthy politics, missing MLAs and horsetrading.

The silver lining

But in this sordid saga, the one institution that saved the day was the Supreme Court. For once, the Congress showed some nimble footed action in moving the apex court against the swearing in of BS Yeddyyurappa as Chief Minister. Even though that was not granted, the BJP was given just 24 hours to prove its majority on the floor of the House. The court went further and directed live coverage from the Karnataka Assembly to prevent any blatant or shady methods by the BJP to win the trust vote.

In acting so speedily and boldly, the Supreme Court’s image, recently tarnished by four of its judges raising some serious issues, has certainly regained some of its sheen. The Supreme Court has proved that it can be the institution of last resort.

But during such dark times, some humour helps; such as Kerala Tourism inviting the MLAs to its resorts. And as our inboxes got flooded with images of the Indian flag showing “South India officially BJP-free”, on Twitter The Great Dictator with the handle @tittoantony tweeted: “Welcome to South India. You are now entering into a Fascism Freezone. Relax, Cook and Enjoy your delicious Beef Fry.”

No prizes for guessing which South Indian State that came from!

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