Sanctity of Criminals

 

From DDA Park, INA, Delhi

Half of our rulers in the Lok Sabha are notorious criminals. 233 of them are facing serious charges like murder, rape, and kidnapping. The case in the Rajya Sabha is not very encouraging either. One-fourth of them are deadly criminals.

It is in that house of criminals that Venkaiah Naidu wept the other day saying that the opposition protests had sullied the sanctity of the house. My impulsive reaction as I listened to the news and watched Mr Naidu sobbing like an innocent girl was a mirthful laugh. I had never laughed so heartily for a long time.

“Sacredness destroyed,” I repeat his words and cannot control my loud amusement. “If they are sacred, then what are we?” I ask Maggie who is watching the TV too. “Gods?” Maggie is silent. She is an ideal citizen unlike me.

The number of criminals in the Parliament went on increasing election after election. It was 162 in the 2009 Lok Sabha and 185 in 2014. 233 now. And remember that these numbers refer to the recorded cases. There are far more unrecorded ones. In short, most of them are criminals sitting in those “sacred” spaces.

A century ago – 1922, to be precise – Rajagopalachari wrote in his diary that “elections and their corruption, injustice and tyranny of wealth, and inefficiency of administration, will make a hell of life as soon as freedom is given to us.” Rajaji was not particularly optimistic about his country, it seems. Nor did he seem to place much trust in Indians’ potential for goodness. Our politicians have proved him right. We now have all of what Rajaji had predicted: corrupt elections, injustice, tyranny of wealth, and inefficient administration. And a lot more.

Both Rajendra Prasad and Ambedkar had given warnings too. Without honest men at the top, the Constitution is a useless book, the first President of India had warned. Today the Constitution has not only become a useless book but also faces the threat of being discarded altogether.

It’s a tragic situation. My laughter was a psychological stunt for concealing my pain. Where have we as a nation reached in 75 years from that stroke of the midnight hour?

One of the topics I suggested to my class 12 students for their annual project in my subject is Nehru’s freedom speech. Assess India’s journey from 1947 to 2021 vis-a-vis Nehru’s dreams “to wipe every tear from every eye”.

Coming back to our honourable vice president’s tears, I know his tears are more genuine than his master’s. Just imagine Mr Modi standing up in the Lok Sabha with tears in his eyes and a whimper in his throat and moaning the death of the House’s sanctity while the diaphanous wings of Pegasus flap behind him eerily. That would be his most hilarious contribution to history.

Seventy-five years of independence. Where have we reached? Fake tears from histrionic leaders. What more? Let me turn a prophet. We are heading towards dictatorship. You can see that future too if you care to look into the glaring hubris in one man’s eyes, the only man who matters today in India.

PS. This post is the last part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.