Exemplary Netas

Our netas are truly great. They lead by example, their leadership skills being constantly on public display, which common people ought to emulate. Take our fundamental duties, for instance. The first duty, among ten others, that every citizen of India is obliged to fulfil is to “abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem”.

Our neta’s allegiance to our constitution is complete. Whenever there is any difficulty in following our constitution, it is suitably amended so that it can truly be followed in letter and spirit. 

Staging walk outs and stalling the functioning of the houses of parliament and state assemblies are but a few ways our netas use to express their respect for the ideals of our constitution. Towards this end our MLAs - particularly those belonging to the northern and eastern states – who frequently hurl shoes, mikes and abuses; as well as damage property, tear up documents and manhandle their adversaries inside state assemblies, are way ahead of their national counterparts.

Bills are frequently passed with little or no debate. Keeping this in mind, the UPA government recently allotted just 36 hours of time for discussion on 30 bills in the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament. Whenever legislation pertaining to granting reservation based on caste or increasing their own perks and privileges are tabled, our leaders cut across party lines and exhibit great camaraderie to pass such laws unanimously. That the likes of Women’s Reservation Bill, which can benefit half of our population in one go, are never passed is quite another matter.

Recent Supreme Court judgement prohibiting criminals from contesting elections and unseating MPs and MLAs on being sentenced to two years or more in prison in a criminal case; or the Central Information Commission’s edict bringing political parties under the ambit of the Right to Information Act 2005, that seek to cleanse our system and restrain the supreme authority of our leaders has not gone down well with them. Predictably, they are resolutely against both these orders and are exhibiting exemplary unity in their endeavour to supersede them with legislation and amendments.

Our netas also show their respect for constitutional institutions from time to time. The Central Bureau of Investigation, for example, is frequently used to settle political scores while the Central Vigilance Commission is deployed for cornering uncompromising bureaucracy.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), which exposes scam after scam committed by our ministers and their associates, is perhaps the only constitutional establishment which is functioning independently without any political interference.

If our national netas have accomplished so much, our Uttarakhandi ones can do still better. On 15 August this year MLA Ganesh Joshi of the BJP and Mussoorie Municipal Chairman Manmohan Singh Malla of the Congress argued, roughed each other up and almost came to blows on the podium in their bid to unfurl the tricolor to mark the 67^th Independence Day in Mussoorie, thereby exhibiting a unique way of respecting our National Flag.

Our netas will, hopefully, not keep us waiting for long to show us how we can respect our National Anthem!

(Published in Garhwal Post on 23/08/2013)