Politics touches a new low in Gujarat

It is a shocking travesty of democracy that the Congress party has kept 44 Gujarat legislators in virtual captivity for days to prevent ‘poaching’ by the BJP to bolster its numbers for the Rajya Sabha election on August 8. That parts of Gujarat are under water and as their representatives it is the bounden duty of those legislators to visit their constituencies and help the people in relief and rehabilitation is of little concern to these elected representatives of the people or to their party. Early on Monday (August 7) these legislators were herded into buses in Bengaluru and whisked away to the airport from the resort where they were lodged as virtual prisoners, flown to Ahmedabad and herded into buses again there to be whisked away to another resort in Anand. Monday was the day of Rakshabandhan which Gujaratis celebrate with gusto but not one of these legislators was allowed to go home to be with the families after they landed at 5 am at the international airport. It is a moot question as to how these people can be relied upon to protect and serve their constituencies when they cannot even put their foot down and ensure their own freedom of movement from their own party.

That six Congress legislators had quit the party before the MLAs were moved to Bengaluru was indeed a signal that the rest of them could not be trusted not to switch sides if they were left to their ways in Gujarat. So strong is the lack of trust of the party in them that though there was just a day left for the voting for the Rajya Sabha the legislators are not being allowed to meet with potential BJP leaders who may try to lure them away. The Congress party is defending its action of moving them to resorts first in Bengaluru and now in Anand near Ahmedabad by saying that this is nothing new. Even in the past such tactics have been resorted to. But in the process, not only is it a grave mockery of democracy but it also amounts to taking the people for a ride. Whoever wins the Rajya Sabha high-stakes battle on Tuesday–Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s closest aide Ahmed Patel is a candidate–the murky goings-on have tarnished the image of Indian politics and politicians irreparably. Wheeling-dealing is all that counts in today’s brand of politics. That is precisely why people at large are losing faith in democracy per se. It would be foolhardy to absolve the BJP of blame too. Rumours that the six legislators who left the Congress were lured with monetary baits may or may not be true. But so low is the credibility of public representatives that people tend to believe the worst.