This is a juicy one :-).
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Goa - a Symbol of Wider Malaise Inder Malhotra
What has gone on in Goa over the last few days is a shame not only on that tiny and
notoriously unstable State but also on the country as a whole, especially on its political class. To say this does not absolve the actors in the sordid drama in Panaji from blame, but the depressing fact remains that the Goa goings-on are a symbol of a wider and deeper disease afflicting the entire polity. Sadly, the way things are going the chronic malaise looks like becoming incurable.
To put the matter bluntly, every political party, big or small, without any exception whatsoever, has become the perpetrator of a twofold perversion of the democratic system. In the first place, all political parties have conspired to destroy any respect for rule of law, constitutional niceties and political proprieties. The objective of each one of them is to win the election, by hook or by crook, and having done so to hold on to power any way it can. Consequently, by a cruel quirk of irony, the ruling doctrine of the world's largest democracy has boiled down to the monstrosity that, as in love and war, everything is fair in the struggle for power.
The second element in the political perversity is the unfailing adherence by every political formation to double standards. When in the Opposition, every party pretends to be high-minded about democratic norms and their inevitable violation by the ruling party or combination. But when in office and power, the same party or set of parties does exactly the opposite of what it preaches during its years in the wilderness.
Witness the loud protests by the BJP leaders, headed by the party president, Mr LK Advani, against the "murder of democracy" in Goa and their exhortation to the people across the country to rise against this "crime." Equally remarkably, the Congress that had raised hell against similar actions by the BJP-led Government in New Delhi in the past is busy justifying its ugly action in Goa. Indeed, it is cursing the Goa BJP for having "thrown to the winds" all democratic values and conventions.
This having been said, it must be added that the scandalous developments in Goa are not without a specific flavour of their own. For one thing, Goa has disproved as complete nonsense the widespread belief that the phenomenon of aya Rams and gaya Rams or the brisk sale and purchase of legislators is confined to States like Haryana, Bihar or UP that are illiterate, caste-ridden, poor and known for cosy partnership between criminals and politicians. Here is Goa, with 98 per cent rate of literacy and a relatively high standard of living, and yet its political record is as abysmal as that of BIMARU States.
Indeed, in some respects the performance of Goa's politicians is worse. In Bihar, for instance, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav has ruled for 15 years either directly or by proxy from behind his wife's Chief Ministerial chair. In Goa, during the same period, there have been 15 different ministries. The underlying reason is the precarious balance between the two principal parties - the Congress and the BJP - compounded by the proclivities of splinter parties and Independents to make hay while the sun shines. As so many have already underscored, the previous Ministry was brought down by the self-same Mr Manohar Parrikar, the dismissed Chief Minister who is busy decrying his unfair removal. An IIT graduate, he had a rather good reputation so far, especially compared to the newly appointed Chief Minister, Mr Pratap Singh Rane, but no longer. For, Mr Parrikar has been an unabashed accomplice in the gross political and constitutional wrong committed by the Speaker, Mr Vishwas Satwarkar. To say that the manner in which Mr Satwarkar first threw out an MLA and then so manipulated the proceedings as to reduce the "floor test" of Mr Parrikar's majority to a farce would be the understatement of the decade.
So far, so bad, and one can even understand the Congress party's indignation against Mr Satwarkar. But nothing can be more ridiculous than the Congress' absurd claim that after the Speaker had committed the "original sin," the Goa Governor, Mr SC Jamir, only "did his duty" in instantly sacking Mr Parrikar and swearing in the Congress party's Mr Rane as Chief Minister. The period of a whole month given to new CM to cobble a majority seems rather generous, compared with the Governor's earlier insistence that Mr Parrikar could not be given 72 hours to prove his majority in the legislature and that this exercise should be completed within 48 hours.
The role of the Central leadership of the Congress and that of the Union Government has also been dubious and deplorable. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that at every step the Goa Governor appeared to be acting at New Delhi's dictates, as always in the past whenever the ruling party at the Centre has chosen to oust a State government of a different party or combination. The presence of the Union Minister, Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi at the Raj Bhavan in Panaji all through the Goa vaudeville speaks for itself.
It is also obvious that some legal brains were hard at work in devising the plan to remove Mr Parrikar. For had Mr Jamir taken recourse to Article 356 to get rid of the BJP-led Goa Ministry, the Union Government and the Congress would almost certainly have courted double trouble. One, to get the proclamation under this Article approved by the Rajya Sabha could have been problematic. Secondly, and more importantly, the Supreme Court would have immediately invalidated the Governor's action because it runs palpably counter to the apex court's long-standing judgement in the Bommai case.
The Governor's invocation of Article 164 of the Constitution and withdrawal of his "pleasure" from the Parrikar Ministry is also an arbitrary violation of the Constitution. But so far the higher judiciary has had no occasion to adjudicate this kind of misuse of the Governor's powers. The Congress is thus smug in the belief that litigation over the BJP's writ petition in the Bombay High Court would drag on for years during which it would be time for fresh elections in Goa. This is something that should disturb the conscience of the Supreme Court and all those legitimately clamouring for judicial reforms with a view to ending unconscionable judicial delays.
Too many Governors have debased and defiled their exalted office as Mr Jamir has done now, and too many Speakers have disgraced their high and supposedly impartial office. The question is whether there would ever be an end to this disgusting state of affairs. The altogether tragic situation in Goa is not without its comic side. Having got rid of the BJP-led Ministry, the Congress is finding it hard to muster a ministry of its own, notwithstanding Mr Rane's long experience in shoddy political manoeuvring. Ironically, it is the enemy within that might scuttle the Congress game plan, not the enemy without. As Mr Rane had to admit ruefully at one stage, too many of his MLAs were demanding ministerial office and it was impossible to accommodate them all. Especially when a berth is reserved for an MLA who had to be eased out of the previous Ministry because of the Congress party's charges of corruption and worse against him. He has now changed sides and without his vote the Congress cannot hope to have even a wafer-thin majority in the legislature! (Manuj Features)
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