Dr Smita Pandey
Politics has become a byword for venality. Every party is unethical in its trajectory, looting and duping the gullible hapless public and enriching itself constantly. Apna vikas is the sole agenda and defines the dominant political leaders of our nation today. Every politico and his family has advanced materially in life, conspicuously, while professing that they are cowherds, chaiwalas and the like-humble , garib ka beta/beti, and from the ranks of the downtrodden -whose mission is to liberate the lives of their brethren after capturing political power.
The discourse changes immediately after winning power .The loot begins. It is manifested in the new found assets of those in power, their financial status miraculously catapults them into the ranks of the wealthy elite- minority of our nation .Their wheeling dealing results in their acquiring immense property, flaunting palatial homes and adopting the jet-setting lifestyles of the rich and famous . Benami transactions, shell companies ,overseas investments and gigantic real estate transactions are the common routes taken by this ill-gotten wealth. The public continues to wallow in poverty, devoid of even the most basic amenities of civilized existence.
The propaganda changes deviously. It is not looting which is the issue. Chanakya is remembered . Politics is Expediency. There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel .Our leaders have thought beyond Lenin. Hence the mafia don has been accommodated along with murderers, criminals, rapists, thugs and smugglers in their ministry. Why? They have contributed generously to the party and individual coffers of the powers concerned .They have organized rallies for the leaders in their strongholds and intimidated opposition into submission whenever required. They have to be repaid for their multifarious services. A cabinet berth -a suitably lucrative department -is the quid pro quo. The Vikas of the downtrodden is the first casualty .Vikas of bahubalis is legitimized. A mafia don, who has killed the vulnerable at will and whose name is a byword for terror now is made Mantriji . Hail Democracy!
Justice, liberty, equality, fraternity are all nullified simultaneously. Wrong is made right by politics .We are not murdering democracy. We are strengthening it. We are serving national interest by doing so. How? The innocent bewildered public is told that only are we upholding the most critical of all our national ideals, we are safeguarding the very constitutional base of our polity-secularism. Hence being unethical, brazenly corrupt, characterless, violators of every creed is made immaterial. Banner of Secularism subsumes all evils and becomes epitome of good governance in our country -repeatedly.
The ‘other’, in politics, is no less devious. Communal polarization in the garb of pseudo secularism is used to lure the electorate. They will attain and enjoy Ram Rajya only when they elect a government to build a magnificent temple for Lord Rama. Their sufferings, their poverty, unemployment, backwardness, ill health , illiteracy and multifarious problems will disappear along with the minorities who are made the hapless target- the root of all prevalent evil in our country. Religion is administered as opiate to the masses Divisive agendas by aggravating casteism, communalism are tactics to divert and capture public attention. Drug smugglers, bootlegggers, Mafia dons, murderers and goons are all enlisted to win over the electorate.
Results of the electoral battle are fore ordained. Sabka vikas by garibi hatao is foredoomed in this nefarious agenda. It is a template of the false hollow promises that every government has made, irrespective of its political color. Every leader has brazenly promised development and then promoted his own. While their assets soar magically after gaining power, the populace continue to wallow in extreme poverty and deprived of nutritious food, drinking water, basic education, elementary health necessities- the minimum requirements of a civilized life. Rule of law is kept in abeyance. Gangsters c the roost. Horse trading is the norm. This immorality is justified across our political spectrum simply by “Everybody does it.” That is the politics of the lowest common denominator- secular or communal, it promotes its subversive agenda as a virtue. Absence of morality has created this vacuum. Virtue signaling- secularism/pseudo secularism -propaganda, hypocritical lip service to ideals are failing to fill this political hollowness. India awaits freedom from unethical and corrupt politics.
(Urban Mirror thanks cartoonist Aseem Trivedi for the image)
