SHANTONU SEN : Let our #Parliament members , not be the cause of the death of our parliamentary democracy.
The Deccan Herald ,25th August issue published Renee Singh’s article ‘ Quit Fooling All the Time’. The writer is described as an educator by the paper. Narendra Modi , the Prime Minister is her target. The first charge is that he controls flow of information and marginalizes dissent.This has intimidated those who do not think like him and it has curbed free expression. Next Modi’s desire to be a no-nonsense Prime Minister unlike Manmohan Singh has failed. Also, he is surrounded by sycophants and they have shown him as peddling half truths as reality. The writer concludes that by not changing his ways of operations from his Gujarat days he has failed to Govern India. Quoting Abraham Lincoln’s famous observation “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time but you cannot fool all the people all the time” the article ends.
The writer has made these observations in the background of a few instances. On control of information, treatment of dissenters and intimidating those who do not buckle he harks to the fate of the striking students of the Film Institute Pune, Teesta Setalvad and Ford Foundation. His firmness has faltered in the face of the united opposition opposing his main planks in the land acquisition bill. The charge of sycophants surrounding him is based on his crowing over the” successes “of the Jan Dhan Yojana , surrendering of subsidy on gas cylinders and Bharat swachya Mission. He has relied on sycophants who hid from him the actual position of these schemes. Apparently there is nothing worth writing home yet.
Yet for governing well control over information, being no-nonsense and relying on a dedicated team reporting directly are essential. Democracy cannot mean being held to ransom by those who oppose you. Since two wrongs do not make one right the present opposition must cease to obstruct the functioning of the Parliament just because it was so done in the past. On matters that are criminal acts like the action of the present Foreign Minister I believe is, as well as that of Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan definitely are, action must shift to courts and it is through them that their suspension resignation etc should be sought. Other acts that are thought improper the people can judge and the opposition must bide its time. All democratic methods to oppose are welcome but methods that are undemocratic and normally adopted during strikes, gheraoh , slogan-mongering ,placards hoisting must not take place. Let our Parliament members both, those that rule and those that oppose, not be the cause of the death of our parliamentary democracy.
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