Whatever happened at the Makar Dwar (Fish Gate) of the Parliament a day before the conclusion of the winter session is unbelievable. The ruling party alleges that Rahul Gandhi and the Congressmen accompanying him pushed and shoved two of their members who got injured and had to be admitted to the hospital.
The Congress, on the other hand, contends the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Members of Parliament (MPs) obstructed them and pushed Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. In the melee, 82-year-old Kharge sustained injuries in his leg. Both parties have lodged complaints. The matter is with the Lok Sabha Speaker and registered in the Parliament police station.
The issue is going to drag on. Both parties are trying to cash in on Babasaheb Ambedkar as his name guarantees votes from a section of society. Before going into details, let me give you a summary of the incident.
On Wednesday, Union home minister Amit Shah mentioned Ambedkar in his Rajya Sabha address. Kharge complained that Shah’s comments on Ambedkar were demeaning. His tweet went viral and stoked a political fire. Within no time every Opposition leader started interpreting Shah’s comments. Delhi’s former chief minister dashed off a letter to the Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo Chandrababu Naidu urging them to part ways with those who disrespect Ambedkar.
It all happened at a time when Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi made their positions amply clear. Those days are over in politics when a leader would say something and leave it open to interpretation from others. Today those who are creating a ruckus in the name of Ambedkar are unaware of the fact that he was a picture of grace and fortitude. Had it not been the case, he would have left for the United States the day he was kicked out of the Parsi Inn in Baroda for being a Dalit despite the maharaja making him an officer in the Accountant General’s office.
Despite the prestigious post and the monarch’s backing, no one in the city was ready to offer him a residence. He was staying at the Parsi Inn concealing his identity. However, his disguise was uncovered and a group of Parsis armed with clubs and staff attacked the Inn. Ambedkar had to take his belongings and spend the rest of the night in a park. His books were littered around the bench he was sitting on.
Even after such humiliation, instead of nursing a grudge against the Parsi community, he fought against the system that created divisions among humans. It’s been 68 years since he left us, and the politicians are busy trying to appropriate his legacy according to their political compulsions. But they overlook the simple fact that if Babasaheb was alive today, he wouldn’t have condoned their conduct.
These leaders forget the voters didn’t elect them to behave in such an unparliamentary manner. When the electorate votes, the only consideration driving their action is their well-being and progress. Are they getting what they wished for? Have you heard any serious debate in Parliament recently on the issues of employment, environment protection, internal security, dignity for women, and equal opportunity of development for all?
There was a time when I would listen to the televised debates of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Even in those days, seniors would lament the lack of gravitas in parliamentary debates. However, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Chandra Shekhar, Lalu Yadav, Sushma Swaraj, Javed Akhtar, and others would articulate the issues of the common man.
The trend has changed in the last few years. Instead of witnessing the high art of the political process, we are watching a movie with raging, monotonous, and senseless hate. What amazes me is while the Opposition keeps accusing the Treasury bench as is the norm, the ruling party too indulges in counter-accusations. No one knows when this competitive accusatory behavior will end.
It costs nine crore rupees to conduct a day’s proceedings in Parliament. It’s enough to complete all pending public projects in a village or an urban locality. Our politicians should spare some time to ponder their irresponsible behavior and its cost to the nation.
We should keep in mind another important issue. Whether it is Lord Shri Ram, Mahatma Gandhi, or Babasaheb Ambedkar, any incarnation or a personality, who can secure votes in the elections, is condemned to be the target of raucous and emotionally charged debates in Parliament. Has any parliamentarian ever thought of following in the footsteps of these greats?
For example, there were differences between Ambedkar and Gandhi. However, both Gandhi and Nehru had the foresight to reach out to him and request him to chair the drafting committee of the Constitution.
Last but not the least, let me mention a story about the eternal hero of the Indian psyche – Lord Ram. Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, an epic tale of Lord Ram, gives an elaborate description of his coronation. Before assuming the throne of Ayodhya, Ram tells the citizens of the city that if ever they find any fault in his actions and decisions, they had the right to question him. As the citizens of a modern democracy, do any one of us have any right to question and hold our parliamentarians accountable?
Why is our democracy so timid and constrained?
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal
