POLITICAL DIARY

New Delhi, 4 April 2009

Who’s Moral In Immoral Eyes

MORALITY? ARE YOU JOKING

By Poonam I Kaushish

Immorality is the flavour of the week, folks. Oodles of tu-tu-mein-mein sprinkled with loads of promises and spiced with the right caste and communal combinations. Swaying to the heady tinkle of money, cheap thrills and seetees. Election 2009 has seen it all. Jai Ho.

With the stakes for India’s Raj gaddi skyrocketing, never before has there been such a shameless, ugly and raw exercise in vote-catching chanted by all parties. Everyone and everything was game. Ends matter not the means. Winning is the name of the game. In the hope this would bring them political tripti.

Sadly, none seems to care a damn for morality and none has the patience to bother about the poll Bible – the model code of conduct. Or listening to a discourse on it. After all, how would their art of double-speak succeed if the preachers of morality were to start practicing it? Besides, the gullible voter does not seem to be even aware of its existence. The elaborate code comprises seven broad segments: Dos and Don’ts about general conduct, meetings, processions, polling day, polling booth observers and the party in power.

Clearly the Moral Code of Conduct has become the most potent missile in the arsenal of political rivals and jaani dushmans. The list of offenders reads like a virtual `who is who' of Indian politics and encompassing all parties. From political heavy weights down filmi sitare to mafia dons and halka-pulka netas.

If one had any doubts, forget it. Parties and candidates have conveniently buried it. Take the clause that asserts: They “shall avoid scrupulously all activities which are “corrupt practices” and offence under the election law, such as bribing of voters, intimidation of voters, impersonation of voters.”

But it is raining money all the way. From the BJP, Congress, Samajwadi, BSP, even the CPM and scores of other parties. Not a few are innovative. While Mulayam, Jaya Prada and Govinda used Holi as a pretext to “reward” his people and spread ‘paisa bhaichara’, BJP’s Jaswant Singh was stricken by an acute bout of ‘do-good’ pangs for the poor, a Congress candidate ‘bribed’ patients in a hospital while his BSP rival lured the janata into a cinema hall and hosted a free matinee show. A CPM candidate who professes not to know what bribery means was present at a function where monetary help was given to his voters! 

Another copied the sword-buckling hero by displaying firearms in an election procession. What to speak of the mafia dons who have “dared” officials for confiscating licensed arms of people supporting them on the ‘pretext’ that they were being used to threaten rival party supporters.

Asserts the Code:  “There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Mosques, churches, temples or other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election propaganda.” So what. The Congress has once more fallen back on its tried and tested formula --- putting its secularism against the communal forces.

Counters the saffron Swami, “vote for me on Hindutva not development”. Yet another BJP candidate has been accused of misusing religious sentiments in her campaign by distributing calendars of Hindu deities, carrying her party's symbol and her photograph. Retaliates Samajwadi’s Mian Mulayam, How can the members of the minority community forget the sacrifices made by the SP. 

Asserts the code: “No party or candidate shall indulge in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic”. Yet all parties have been doing just the opposite. Starting from the criteria for selecting a candidate down to soliciting votes it has been nothing but a deadly combination of creed and caste.

Take a good hard look at the candidates in the poll fray in UP, Bihar and Rajasthan. Former cricketer Azharuddin is the Congress’s candidate in Muslim-dominated Moradabad. Not because he wants to serve the people but because he is belongs to the minority community. Or ex-Saffronite Kalyan Singh who is busy playing footsie with the Samajwadi thanks to his Lodh votebanks. What to say of Dalit ki Beti Mayawati who continues to bank on her Dalit-Brahmin caste engineering. 

With parties and candidates wantonly violating the Code, what is the remedy? Alas, the EC is powerless. Asserted an official of the Election Commissio: “The Model Code of Conduct lacks legal sanction. It is intended to work as a moral policeman to ensure free and fair elections. We can only freeze a party’s election symbol or derecognize it as a national party. Nothing more, nothing less.”

In other words one can merrily violate the code brazenly and yet get elected to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies. See how the BJP cocked a snook at the Election Commission’s unprecedented action of asking the Party to withdraw its Pilibhit candidate Varun Gandhi for making anti-Muslim speeches. Asserted its Prime Ministerial candidate Advani, “No rule or the Constitution gives such a right to the Commission."

Questionably, in this all pervasive decadence, interspersed with growing public distaste, cynicism and despair is there nothing to cry a halt to this depravation? Not really. Even the West Bengal Electoral Officer’s novel concept of introducing a ‘Violation Index’ lacks legal teeth. It is merely intended to keep a tab on political parties violating the model code of conduct and mount moral pressure on the candidates to adhere to the Code by inspiring a voter reaction against the offenders.

The index would quantify the code violations for the voters to make a value judgment and vote accordingly. Not only that. It would be constantly updated to reflect the current poll code violations and would be posted on the Commission’s website. Wherein each breach would be counted and the numbers put up against the name of the political party.  The higher the number of points a party tots up, the bigger offender it would become. So that the voters would instantly know who was the bigger culprit when it came to use of unfair means and hopefully change their perception and voting preference.

Further, the Index would have specific points for each kind of violation and the Party that topped the index would be adjudged the highest offender. And its entire data would be put on website so that the aam aadmi could know how their jan sevaks have fared in violating the Code. An example: For bribery in the scale of 10, three points would be added in the violation index and 10 points for making communal statements. For rectifying a violation, the party would get 0.5 points as bonus, which would be subtracted.

Clearly, given are rhinoceros-skinned netagan this is not enough. We need to give more teeth to the EC and, wherever necessary, recast the Model Code of Conduct. Even give the Commission the power to countermand an election in case a candidate violates the Code.

That apart, as the nation readies for a new Government the people must not allow themselves to be fooled or taken for granted. Specially, as we know that our politicians have perfected the art of cultivating low morality and high greed, donning different Party robes, according to their whims and fancies and the need of the hour. Leaving India dangerously communal, but the political parties and their leaders hypocritically secular.

The time to pause and ask: What do we want? And, what is in the best interest of India and its democracy? The answer lies in two simple words: probity and morality. Can this be assured? Or, is that asking for too much? ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)