Political Diary
New Delhi, 11 January 2014
Public Twilight
Zone
HONEY, IT’S SEXY & STEAMY
By Poonam I Kaushish
“You know that I'm attracted to you, don't you? You must be
thinking, what, this old man is getting drunk and saying such things. But I
really like you, I love you….” “When I tried to move away, he kissed my arm and
repeated that he loved me….”
“He placed his hand
on my lower back….he put his right arm around me, kissed me on my left
shoulder…I was shocked…..This was unwelcome physical contact and sexual
advances….. Subsequently he asked me if I would be comfortable travelling with
him and staying in hotel rooms.”
Sleazy and steamy sentences from a sex novel, raunchy scenes
from a porn movie, a “choli ke peeche”
guftagu between two lovers, kiss-and-tell of Bollywood’s casting couch?
Alas, none of these but two sordid tales of our judiciary aroused. Blow-by-blow
accounts of what intoxicated and fired-up Our Lordships and propelled them to
greater heights of ecstasy and glory. Nok-jhoks which would make a rose blush!
It all started with a complaint filed against former Supreme
Court judge and West Bengal Human Rights Commission Chairman AK Ganguly by an
ex-intern. Taking cognizance, the Chief Justice of
India P Sathasivam appointed a
three-judge panel to probe the incident which concluded there was merit in the
woman's allegations.
Yet it expressed helplessness in taking action against
Ganguly as the “sexapade” had taken place after his retirement and the woman
wasn't attached to the Apex Court.
Subsequently, of course, thanks to public pressure Ganguly quit as head of the
human rights panel last week. And the Court heaved a sigh of relief.
Till another scandalous saga came tumbling out about one
more ex-Supreme Court judge and Chairman of the
National Green Tribunal Swatanter Kumar. In her complaint to Chief Justice Sathasivam
the former student of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
(NUJS), Kolkata has accused Kumar of sexual harassment when she interned with
him while he was an Apex Court
judge. Like his predecessor Ganguly, Justice Kumar too has denied the
allegations are false and totally incorrect.
Sic.
Predictably, this deadly highball of sex and power has sent shockwaves
across the hoi polloi and powers-that-be. Primarily as this is the first time
that the sacrosanct third pillar of our democracy, judiciary has been tarnished
by im-moral turpitude.
Specially against the backdrop that the judiciary is
considered the last bastion of morality and probity. Of ‘Your Lordships’ who
are considered a notch above ordinary mortals for us to look up to and respect.
People who will not easily succumb to human weaknesses and foibles.
Till date we have become accustomed to our desi Adams and Eves in the political
Garden of Eden, an ongoing saga of the rulers paarde-ke-piche-choli-ke-neeche antics caught with their pyjamas, dhotis or lungis down
literally. That promises to take one to even greater heights of ecstasy and
glory.
In fact, many who thrive on the latter wonder how in the land of Vatsayan’s Kamasutra and Khajurao, both
Ganguly and Swatantra Kumar stand indicted. Such is the state of affairs that
political residences are the subject of juicy, salacious gossip! Haven’t we all
enjoyed the defence‘less’ Tehelka, judicial Vrindavan, political Jalgaon and
Alwar video-tapes which were so deliciously educating about affairs of the
heart!
Recall, the delicious indiscretions of a honey gone sour in Ahmadabad when two Punjab
Ministers and a Delhi MLA sought to brew a heady cocktail of business and
pleasure. Or the poetic justice meted out by a UP Minister to his Madhumita. A
former CM and four MPs enjoying their ‘pegs and legs’ and three ex- Union
Ministers relishing their latest “hot night” dish.
Who can deny that the political casting couch is worse or
better (depending on how one looks at it) than Bollywood’s casting couch. A
spicy tale dripping sex to the panting of politicians asking for more. What to
speak of women being crucial comrades-in-arms for scaling the heights of
various political Everests'.
What to say of a former PM and his “foster” family, a gay
Chief Minister, Union Ministers who are chronic womanizers, a ex-Dy CM bigamous
marriage and another’s involvement in an ice-cream parlour sex scandal in
Kerala. Who doesn’t remember the “hot tandoori
night,” which spotlighted for the first time the antics of our lower polity
via Naina Sahni and Sushil Sharma?
We too boast of our Christine Keelers and our desi Marilyn Monroes. Besides aren’t the
netas today pastmasters in top-pling.
Nor are we squeamish when it comes to a romp in the haystack. We are secular
socialists – willing to share and vow with one and all.
Notably, most claim that given our traditionally open society
sex is a part of our heritage and needs to be guarded with all the vigour at our
command. Consequently, the question of
privacy has never arisen. The reason why the Constitution does not have any
provision for privacy, unlike other countries.
Questionably, raising a moot point: What is the line between
a judge, politician, and bureaucrat’s public and personal life? Can he be
ethical in public if he is unethical in private? Is his private life any
concern of the people? Has politics become too personal or should our Lordships
and Right Honourables expect intense media scrutiny of their affairs? Do we
have unrealistic expectations of our leaders? Is private life of publicmen a
concern of the public?
Some strongly feel that the private life of a public person
necessarily needs transparency. They stand for the strong Gandhian view that a
public man has no private parts to shield. That would be a reflection on his
character, integrity and values. The Mahatma was clear that a man’s public life
could never be clean if his private life was not. The two were indivisible.
Most of our netagan
disagree and argue: “Gandhian values were given a quiet burial long time ago.
We ritually pay lip service to him, but we have bastardised his values.” Not a
few prefer to follow Nehru who believed that leaders were entitled to some
space and relaxation. He often quoted Kemal Ataturk, who modernized Turkey, in
support. Wine, women and song were the Ataturk’s staple diet after dusk.
However, this never came in the way of his great work and achievements.
Sadly, this approach flung open the doors for corruption,
licentiousness and immorality. Wherein not only have scams become passé over decades, worse is our rulers’
blasé attitude. It is their birthright to free-load, grab and indulge at our
expense. Accustomed as we are to our law makers being law breakers and ruling by law.
The new Carpetbaggers. Who will ply whatever you want. Lay
down any law, bend any rule, change any order, transfer any person and fudge
figures. All for a song and the sexiest of two-legged sizzlers. Today,
entertainment and all the goodies (!) are viewed as perks of the job they
handle.
India today is at the moral crossroads.
We are in an era where our powers-that-be are pulverizing society. Worse, devoid
of an effective vetting process of the real chaal,
charitra & chehra of our rulers have made matters worse. Time to cry a
halt to increasing degradation, else we lay the foundation for a weak and
pliable leadership. Pegs and legs be damned! -----INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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