Periscope When politics stooped to a new low By C Uday Bhaskar

This percentage of MPs with criminal cases against them has increased from 34% in 2014 to its current 43%. This augurs poorly on the ‘corruptionfree’ promises made by the BJP in its campaign

The roller-coaster sequence of ignoble events relating to the formation of a government in Maharashtra that houses Mumbai, the financial capital of India, marks a new low in Indian political life. The distinctive departures include an unprecedented revocation of President’s rule in the state at 5.47 am on a Saturday, without even convening the mandatory cabinet meeting! While breathless 24/7 TV coverage has dwelt on the audacious BJP coup in turning the tables on its one-time ally, the Shiv Sena, and fissures within the state’s influential Pawar family, the sequence of events has proved the adage that truth about Indian politics is stranger - and more sordid - than fiction.

This entire episode marks an unabashed assault on normative democratic norms and spirit of the Constitution. It is being hailed as a manifestation of Chanakyan tenets – reference to the astuteness of the political guru to the BC-era Mauryan emperor. Expressing grave concern at this ‘betrayal’ of democratic norms by the highest constitutional offices, a major daily noted: “In one stroke, the President, the Prime Minister and the Governor, all appear to be not as guardians of the constitutional order but collaborators in a clandestine, nocturnal scheme.”

Who are the guardians of the constitutional ethos in a democracy and what has been their track record and the institutional trend in India over the last decade? Robust and healthy democracies are predicated on the will of the people expressed through free and fair elections. The elected representative is the primary guardian of the democratic ethos. Fidelity to law as derived from the Constitution and enacted by the legislature is enshrined and implemented through institutional credibility, professional competence and individual rectitude. Theoretically, checks and balances between the legislature, executive, judiciary and media ensure the nurturing of an enabling and equitable ecosystem that allows for the welfare and safety of the citizen.

What is the empirical record over the last five years after the BJP-led NDA assumed office, having defeated the Congress-led UPA government over charges of corruption and constitutional malfeasance? As per a study by the

Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) of the newly-elected Lok Sabha members, as many as 233 or 43% of the 539 winning candidates have criminal cases against them. The ruling BJP has 116 such MPs, almost 40% of its successful candidates, while the Congress has 29 tainted MPs or 57% of their winning candidates.

This percentage of MPs with criminal cases against them has increased from 34% in 2014 to its current 43%. This augurs poorly on the ‘corruption-free’ promises made by the BJP in its campaign. In the 2009 election, the corresponding figure was 30%. The deduction that follows is that, progressively, the Lok Sabha, that epitomizes the aspirations of the one billion-plus Indian population, is becoming more ‘tainted’. These are the primary guardians of the democratic ethos. The ADR report notes that in the current Lok Sabha, nearly 29% of the cases are related to rape, murder, attempt to murder or crime against women. It gravely adds that there is an increase of 109% (in 2019) in MPs with declared serious criminal cases since 2009.

To add to the discomfiture of the BJP-led NDA government, a recent RTI (right to information) report has revealed uncomfortable facts about electoral bonds introduced by this government. Overruling reservations of the Election Commission and the Reserve Bank of India, an opaque modus of anonymous donors was introduced in 2017, making India the only democracy in the world to have such a scheme.

RTI disclosures and other documents have revealed that the ruling BJP has been the principal beneficiary of these electoral bonds. Even well-wishers of the BJP are disappointed that the Modi-led government has reneged on its highoctane promise of eradicating black money, or illicit wealth, in the Indian electoral process.

Little surprise that cynicism has increased about the integrity of the guardians of democracy and their commitment to the spirit of the Constitution. The Maharashtra venality is illustrative of what ails Indian democracy and this, alas, is not the bottom of the barrel.