Public perceptions and the public opinion!
The Prime Minister completes four years in office. The Prime Minister’s office (the PMO) is perhaps
the most powerful political office under our Constitution. Our laws are also very different from those of the US government and the US Constitutional practices. See there the role of the law officers. Can we have such powerful law officers? We can’t. Also, only now we have a very different sort of political change. After almost 70 long years we have elected an Opposition party into a ruling party. So, too the very ideology of the BJP party if very radical in the sense it has no history before some thirty or forty years ago.
Our very ideological thinking for long was derived from the British Constitutional history and the two party system of Britain. Also, we have the judicial system. Also, the very Constitutional principles and practices.
It is unfortunate that in the last twenty or more days of our last Parliament session we have completely lost our Constitutional balance or went off track and we find, to the surprise and shock of the enlightened sections of public opinion that our elected representatives failed the people. This is for the first time, it seems. We don’t know for sure what the future holds for us.
The public perception is that our MLAS and MPs, our elected representatives in general seem to become a section of selfish men and women, much like perhaps the rest of the society, one that is cringing for more salaries and no intent to work dedicated manner to make people realise they are for the service of the people. None of the Parliamentary questions were answered, the House was disrupted continuously, and we all know who the disruptors are and who are the triggers of such disruptions to hold the House to ransom.
Of course, there are many more serious issues, many issues can’t be discussed freely for the simple reason the atmosphere in country is no conducive for freer debate.
The media is fearful of the authority. The judiciary is in some distress as people see from a distance.
Is this a very positive situation? We don’t know for sure.
What the future holds for the country, for our democracy and for much of the high institutions that are all seem to be in some confusion.
Of course, the ruling party has much role to play in the days to come.
So too the top leaders of the ruling party. No less is the responsibility of the Opposition party and parties.
The most seniors among the Opposition parties have a special role.
The state level leaders also have much responsibility.
The country looks to such veterans like Chandrababu Naidu, Deve Gowda and others to play some pro-active and pro-democracy role.
Democracy can easily derail and we might be caught in some unpredictable course.
There are many warnings from the past.
There are some distressing histories.
A.J.P.Taylor, the famous Oxford historian, an authority on the two world wars had shown how even such extremes like Hitler’s rise and also Lenin’s capture of power took place under extremely well-established democratic governments! This is not the place for further elaboration on the historic situations.
Surely, our current leaders, on both sides of the political spectrum, we say with a heavy heart and a heavy sense of personal responsibility, are playing with fire and with, if we can say so, a sense of not fully understanding the grave issues.
In politics, more so than in any other sphere, it is very risky to predict the future. So, we would urge all concerned to realise what is at stake now.
There is a sense of widespread disappointment and pessimism of sorts.
We urge everyone to show restrain in speech and acts.