With literacy comes social
progress…with more literacy comes ever greater shame as proven by the honourable
members of the legislative assembly of the most literate state in the country!
They took us to the rock
bottom of democracy with the budget session of a lifetime. Had I not
re-confirmed that this was indeed live streaming from the ‘real’ assembly I
would have definitely mistook the images from one of the regular ‘Suresh-Gopi’
kind of political cleansing movie where the politicians are painted as a ‘ruthless’
clan of animals.
And to attempt to describe
the bedlam created in the middle of the state’s highest governance office is a
truly difficult task – what was not done that could not be imagined?? The ‘men
in white’ on a mission that went beyond all words & actions that could be
termed parliamentarian – demolition of expensive computer equipment, scuffling
and manhandling of a barbaric nature and utter disregard for the rules and the
notions of simple civilized society let alone democracy! Interestingly the
budget sessions could not be ‘chaired’ by the speaker as the physical chair
itself was the first point of destruction of the parliamentarians….and the
budget could definitely not be ‘tabled’ either thanks to the stomping and
stampede of the ‘elected members’ on the tables of the assembly.
The poor and helpless
electorate watched in horror and sheer despair as the trusted lieutenants of
each constituency joined in the petty personal circus… probably that is what
now redefines the working of our democracy better than the tenets of the
Constitution or the laws of the land! As the lawmakers made merry breaking
public and government infrastructure, what they also successfully broke were
the laws of the land! As the assembly members engaged in an endless brawl, what
they also successfully thrashed were the simple rules of governance! So much
for inspiration and guiding light for the next generation!
AS the curtains are down
over that shameful multi-act play, I await with equal curiosity and angst on
what would be next steps taken by the State – How do we compensate for the
destruction of government property? How is
the belief in democracy to be restored? How do we teach that important lesson
to the honourable members that we are not a banana republic? If there are no
answers to these questions and if indeed these members are invited back to the assembly
then we must perform the last rites for the democratic system and bury whatever
remains of it can be salvaged from the wreckage!
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