We all have noticed the trees standing at a distance from each-other. It may have never occurred to many of us that while they look apart and distant, their roots remain intermingled beneath the ground. Doesn’t the same hold good for our political parties and their leaders? When it comes to corruption, all parties are in cahoots with each-other. However seemingly different they may try to appear by virtue of their names and colours, the fact of the matter is that they are all hand in gloves with each-other – chor-chor mausere bhai!
The Indian politics has all through remained in a state of dilemma. When it comes to the Indian soil, even the Communist Parties tend to become liberal and democratic, and the moralist parties shun their values at the drop of a hat. The parties in Indian political system are not identified as much by their principles and ideologies, as they are by their caste and regional base. So if we had NT Ramarao representing the Telugu pride, we have Mayavati sitting pretty on the support of the dalits.
Thus, if we saw the Bhartiya Janata Party inducting a stained Kushwaha leader into its fold, how does it matter, so far as it gets them some votes from the backward class!
It is perhaps another story that till recently, the same Bhartiya Janta Party was going great guns against corruption and its crusader Lal Krishna Advani was travelling through the length and breadth of the country to mobilize the masses against the corrupt practices of the ruling party at the centre. Perhaps he can still go back to the masses without an iota of embarrassment! People too would willing buy any-which argument or forget about such conducts so long as they are provided with victuals.
The BJP leaders can still justify this inclusion, and in fact they are already doing so. It is being said that the former minster in Mayavati cabinet does not face any serious charges. They ask, has he been charged of murder? As if he was, he would not have been inducted! There can never be any dearth of arguments: Does graft mean any serious charge? Has it been proved? so on and so forth. What I fail to understand is that how do the same people react differently when the ball is in other’s court? I am sure that they will definitely have an explanation if someone asked them, ‘Was Lalu Prasad a killer?’ ‘Were the charges proved against him?’
So long as Shibu Soren was a member of the Man Mohan Singh’s Cabinet, the BJP leaders looked at him as a killer and a corrupt leader, but as soon as he decided to align with them, the same person acquired a clean image overnight. I am sure that if Lalu was to get them the seat of power, they would have given him a clean chit too! Till recently, Babu Singh Kushwaha was an epitome of corruption for them. They charged him even of murder of some medical officers. Now it would be said that he is unnecessarily being harassed – he is politically being harassed!
What is true of the BJP is equally true of the Congress or the JD(U) or the SP or any other party for that matter. The Indian politics has in deed become a game of conveniences! While we cry foul at the people on the other side of the fence, we don’t ever bother to look at the malfeasance on our own side. None of them is squeaky clean and they all know it! Who says that there cannot be two yardsticks? The Indian Political System apparently has several!
So long as there would be debate for the sake of debate, so long as there would be opposition for the sake of opposition; so long as there would be agitation for the sake of agitation, things are unlikely to improve in Indian politics. We all know that bad is bad, what may. It is high time that this is realized by our political leaders too.