Desperate times call for desperate measures and desperate politicians resort to desperate means. The elected representatives want to enjoy the power and glory but always blame others, from global factors to local actors, for the ills afflicting the nation. They abhor rule of law while at the same try create law so that they can rule over others. Accountability is at a premium today. Ashutosh Misra finds out
Finance minister P Chidambaram is an example of the powerful suffering from this malaise. Replying to a debate on the economic crisis in the Indian lower house of Parliament, Lok Sabha, on August 28, Chidambaram faulted judicial orders which either bar or enforce an elaborate process for mining, environmental clearance and land acquisition. Judicial restraint on natural resources and land acquisition have put a spoke in the growth wheel, he lamented.
The Indian political parties dislike for judiciary was aggravated in July 2013 when the Supreme Court ruled that in future elected representatives with criminal records would stand disqualified immediately. Politicians across the political spectrum opposed the decision. Their excuse was that it could be misused by rivals.
The minister criticised the system of the government having to seek green nod from Supreme Court empowered panels. What he fails to realise is that the courts had to step in because the government either miserably failed to enforce the law or by its inaction partnered the crooks ravaging the country. Despite being a lawyer and a minister he has shown little respect for the rule of law. Though he always wants others to follow the rules strictly else be ready to face the music. This includes officers in his ministry who should come to office on time and give biometric attendance or the tax payers.
The double standards don’t end here. Chidambaram has been all at sea in handling the economic crisis. Not happy with blaming the outgoing governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Duvvuri Subbarao, he vented his ire at his predecessor and now the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. Speaking on rupee depreciation in Rajya Sabha on August 28, Chidambaram blamed domestic factors such as allowing the fiscal deficit to be breached and allowing current account deficit to swell because of decisions taken between 2009 and 2011. This was the period when Pranab was at helm. After taking over as the finance minister, Chidambaram had been using his friends in the media to create an atmosphere where he could shift blame on Mukherjee in case the economy failed to revive. He wants to paint himself as a saint and others as sinners.
In 2011, the same minister had called the judiciary overambitious. The lawyer-politician’s disdain for the judges is a reflection of the ruling class’s resistance to play the game by the book. The elite always find ways to circumvent the law. If they are uncomfortable with a particular law, they will threaten or even promulgate an Ordinance.
The Indian political parties dislike for judiciary was aggravated in July 2013 when the Supreme Court ruled that in future elected representatives with criminal records would stand disqualified immediately. Politicians across the political spectrum opposed the decision. Their excuse was that it could be misused by rivals. Today, out of 4,835 members of Parliament, state legislative assemblies and state legislative councils, 1,448 stand accused in criminal cases. The figure includes 162 out of 543 members of the Indian lower house of Parliament, Lok Sabha.
It does not end here, the political class is eager to overturn the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) order bringing six major political parties under the right to information (RTI) ambit. The excuse is that opponents would file malicious RTIs to hamper their smooth internal functioning. The only section whom this ruling would affect is smooth operators, read all politicians. Hence they are ganging up on this even while abusing each other on slightest of pretext otherwise.
This is not the first time the government has tried to browbeat institution essential for upholding democracy. The government had tried to clip the Election Commission’s wings in March 2013. It had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in Ashok Chavan’s case stating that the Election Commission is not empowered to disqualify a candidate on grounds of correctness or otherwise of election accounts. This went against a judgement by the full bench of the Supreme Court way back in 1999.
Chinese political activist and contemporary artist Ai Weiwei had warned: “China has not established the rule of law and if there is a power above the law there is no social justice. Everybody can be subjected to harm.”
This is a universal truth absence of rule of law is the first step in creation of a terrorist. Indian politicians will do well to remember the line: “The King is under the Law for it is the Law that maketh him a King.”
Ashutosh Misra
