CEC Lyngdoh once spoke the truth about ‘cancerous’ politicians, now OP Rawat warns us
Delivering the keynote address at the “Consultation on Electoral and Political Reforms” organised by the Association of Democratic Reforms, Election Commissioner OP Rawat spoke out against the degradation of politics in India.
He said: “Democracy thrives when elections are free, fair and transparent. However, it appears to a cynical common man that we have been scripting a narrative that places maximum premium on winning at all costs - to the exclusion of ethical considerations.”
“In this narrative, poaching of legislators is extolled as smart political management; strategic introduction of money for allurement, tough-minded use of state machinery for intimidation etc., are all commended as resourcefulness.”
He didn’t stop there and went on to say:
“The winner can commit no sin; a defector crossing over to the ruling camp stands cleansed of all the guilt as also possible criminality. It is this creeping ‘new normal’ of political morality that should be the target for exemplary action by all political parties, politicians, media, civil society organisations, constitutional authorities and all those having faith in democratic polity for a better election, a better tomorrow.”
This statement from the Election Commissioner comes days after the BJP lost a high profile Rajya Sabha seat in Gujarat. The Election Commission too used its special powers to reject votes cast by two rebel Congress MLAs, which led to the defeat of the BJP candidate.
The opposition Congress alleged that the ruling BJP had used every weapon - ethical and unethical - which was available in its arsenal. But it is not as if the Congress is a political saint. They too were charged with the same offences when they were in power.
This sharp and strident indictment of the existing political and electoral system in India by an Election Commissioner reminds me of the legendary Chief Election Commissioner James Michael Lyngdoh.
I was the producer of BBC World's programme HARDtalk India and Karan Thapar was the host. In December 2003, we invited Mr Lyngdoh on the show.
Known for his tough-talk, CEC Lyngdoh had called politicians a "cancer" for which there was "no cure at the moment". He said if people were "exposed" to too much of politicians, they might get "cancer" too.
When asked whether it was a stinging indictment of Indian democracy, he said it was because democracy meant a lot of other things.
He said: "It is not merely going through the motions of an election. Democracy means basically individual freedom and that you respect individual freedom to the uttermost extent. I can't think of anybody around now."
Mr Lyngdoh compared politicians to zamindars. Elaborating further, he said: "Basically it is exploiting the potential, the resources of a particular state. That is how many of them look upon it. There are exceptions, but by and large this is so in the present circumstances."
Hitting politicians further, the then CEC had said: "There are very few who talk to you on equal terms as a human being. Either they have their noses stuck in the air or they prostrate at somebody's feet. There is nothing in between."
Asked about the term "cheating" that he had used against politicians, Lyngdoh said it was his duty to do that because no one else was going to do it. He also sought to correct the impression that India was a "marvellous democracy", saying it was "all self-flattery, self-blandishment".
"We are all gloating over this when we ought not to and it is about time somebody speaks the truth," he pointed out.
As many as 14 years after James Michael Lyngdoh called politicians a “cancer” and asked people to be wary of them, the situation has turned from bad to worse. Now one of his successors, Election Commissioner OP Rawat, is raising similar concerns, as he exhorted all right thinking people to target the creeping “new normal” of political morality.
But sadly, while a CEC like Lyngdoh or an Election Commissioner like Rawat can only warn people, they have very little power to rectify the rotten system.
Ironically, those who really have the power to rectify, i.e. the legislators themselves, they are thriving on the rottenness that gives them the additional power of making a wrong seem right.
The need of the hour for Indian democracy is urgent surgery of cancerous cells - done now there might still be hope for democracy righting itself, else the future for India, as it was envisaged by the founding fathers, looks bleak from where we currently stand.