Open Letter To Congress Party
Dear Congress Party,
Dear Congress Party,
This is a piece of news we shouldn’t give a miss. According to Times Of India, an independent international watchdog organization named Global Financial Integrity (GFI) in their reports have jolted few numbers, which might very well blast the living day lights out of half of our population.
Looking at the chaos and TuTu-MainMain around Lokpal bill, one wonders if it is time that we have a pan India open debate to set things straight once-and-for-all. 
Call it an irony or the faulty framework of our democracy. The whole fight against corruption and the formulation of a Lokpal bill boiled down to the mercy of the very crooks against whom such a bill is proposed. People against whom this movement was staged have now become the authorizer and approver of it. How fair and effective they would be to stamp their own death warrant is anybody’s guess.Bravo!! As if without the utterances of the Prime-Minister the populace at large wouldn’t have realized how badly we need a strong Lokpal bill. In nutshell, the entire all-party meet was a complete failure and yet another wastage of public money.
This raises a very concerning question. Can we really allow people to be the judge of their own crimes and then expect a fair verdict? Our democratic framework mandates the involvement of both houses of the parliament for new legislation to pass. While the procedures holds fine for other such legislations, it looks a little illogical and out of tune when we try to follow the same process in the case of a strong legislation like the Jan Lokpal. We all know it is formulated looking at the enormous amount of corruption in the country; 90% of which have some direct or indirect involvement of a politician.
The clear lack of conviction and will to allow such bill to come into existence was evident among all the political parties at yesterday’s all-party meet. Everyone was busy blaming the other, conveniently brushing the Asli Mudda under the carpet. If this is what the outcome at an all-party meet then one doesn’t need the IQ of a Nobel laureate to guess what the fate of the proposed bill would be when it goes to parliament for approval. Rather being in praise for Anna Hazare who took the pain to bring the Lokpal into public ambit, majority of the political parties were seen bashing his method of revolt which they feel is nothing but blackmailing the present day government and taking nation to ransom. All this farce in the name of an all-party meet doesn’t give much confidence to the common populace that the bill they are eagerly waiting to see getting passed would ever be materialized.
Now where this leads us to? When the very framework dictates the involvement of both the houses in matter like passing new legislations, how in earth one can bypass this? Is there any clause available in our constitution which can be used to keep away the crooks to decide the fate of a bill which is designed against the very same crooks? How about a referendum? Can we for once let the people of India decide what they want in which form when it comes to some sensitive bill like the Jan-Lokpal? Many European nations exercise this clause in issues which largely affects the people of the country directly.
In India corruption is something which each and every citizen must have suffered and continues to suffer. From production of Baby food to our Moon mission, each of it is marred with high degree of corruption. The level to which this malaise has spread into, that it has already started to suffocate us in our day-to-day life. When the phenomenon is hitting the common-man so badly, shouldn’t the same common-man be allowed to decide the nature of cure he wants to see? Why a bunch of elected representatives must always decide what is best for the nation?
But in India, it is always easier said than done. The first thing that been told to the nation every time there is a demand for referendum is the non-availability of any such clause in our constitution. The politicians always carry the constitution baton whenever it suits their need. This is where I dearly love to ask the political mass, does the constitution allows the rampant corruption that most of their brethren seem to be engulfed in? If they are so duty-bound to follow the constitution till the last letter, it makes one wonder where the same vigor vaporizes while getting corrupt? There are so many things the constitution doesn’t agree to or elaborates on. Constitution doesn’t mention anything on the funny first-come first-serve mechanism while dealing with mercy petitions either. So why this love for constitution and its respect when things suites your interest? Why not for once go a little wayward and ask the citizens what they want and decide on it; more so when our political class has failed to take any decision in last four decades after seventeen rounds of discussion.
The points of dispute which includes having the PM under the Lokpal along with grade C & D employees and formulation of citizen charters and making CBI as an independent investigative organization didn’t get any kind of consensus in the all-party meet. The final decision on these points still remains as volatile and fragile as it used to be when Anna started his agitation a year back. While there are few parties who agree to accommodate first three points of the demand the last one doesn’t find many credential buyers. As a middle path a bifurcation of CBI is proposed instead, where the CBI will do only investigate the financial crimes as an independent body whereas for others it would pretty much remain as it is now. I don’t know if it is too dangerous for our political parties to let go CBI of their clutches or it is plain ego which is stopping the political parties to make CBI an independent institution?
Won’t it be further messy if CBI is broken down to such micro level of operational expanse? Won’t it be a farce when CBI would wait for the CVC’s nod to start working on any particular scam? This proposal not only looks rubbish on the face of it but also explains the IQ level of our representatives.
Smelling the mess no wonder Anna has already decided to start afresh with his hunger strike from 27th if things don’t get through by then. Many may term such acts as an act of blackmailing, but truth be told, you require some strong arm tactics to set right the highway robbers. Hope things won’t deteriorate to such proportion that we have start all over again from 27th and would feel ashamed in front of the world that not only our politicians are the most corrupt lot but also are cheats of highest degree.
I am now entirely convinced that Congress is a party of swindlers and thugs and would conveniently sell the nation and national interest for personal gain. And there are more than just good enough reasons for me to come to this conclusion. A quick glance at the history of Congress and their rubbish acts and actions which has time and again harmed the nation and the populace speaks volume of the grand old party which are and were always a colony of crooks and on any given day can ashamed even the highway robbers.
In last one week I have developed some strong feelings for us as a nation. That, we deserve to remain poor, illiterate, slaves and with all probability be under some kind of dictatorship than the current pseudo democracy. First it was the strange decision of holding back the justified approach of 51% FDI in retail sector and as recently as yesterday when Kapil Sibal hurriedly called a press meet and announced the installation of a new ministry called the ‘MINISTRY OF SOCIAL WATCHDOGS’ with him being the perpetual head of it. Both these actions are for sure going to get into the history books as ‘ridiculous idiocy marvels’ with Kapil being conferred with the ‘Nishan-E-Taliban’ khitab by the Neanderthal species hebetating the Khyber and Postun regions of Pakistan.
It all started when Kapil Sibal looked more serious than Murulitharan while bowling when he told the gathered press people that henceforth there would be some kind of gag order on what one should or shouldn’t publish on cyber world as a freehand till today has created enough problems for one and all with denting and hurting many individuals and religions. To make sure that none henceforth is allowed to vent their anger and self-maligned goals on cyber world without going unpunished, he himself would readily act as the chief sniffer dog, he added.
Let me not waste any time in congratulating Kapil for this path breaking decision. That said; even though I am a strong believer that there should be some kind of self-regulation and self-moderation before one puts something on the cyber space, the introduction of a gag order seems more scary and damaging than the so called hate work of the cyber world. Isn’t this an effort to snatch away the most important fundamental rights of a democratic framework – that is ‘The Freedom Of Expression’? The Social Networking sites which came under the ire of Kapil are largely being used by the young mass of our population where they feel free to discuss, debate, elaborate, contempt, argue and even out rightly malign an individual or a religion in the process; which in a way gives perspective to one’s wisdom about the happenings around him or her. While this could at times be a little erratic and out of track and too personal for someone’s comfort; but seeing it as a threat to national fabrics and national security so much so that the government of India has to take the task of setting things right on priority is way more exaggerated and a direct attack on individual’s privacy. To say that the effort is to protect people of different religions from the so called hate mongrels, as the main reason for such absurd step is out rightly childish, gibberish and hypocritical to say the least.
Even though the argument could still be accepted on its face value at this juncture, it would be mighty nice of Kapil if he can let all of us know his views on M.F.Hussain painting nude portraits of Hindu Goddesses; if he feels he is the so called custodian of religious sentiments. When half of India was aggrieved by such nonsense art work of Hussain and demanded for some strict action, the same Congress government which now seems to be so serious about religious sentiments went ahead and conferred Hussain with some national award instead. So Kapil either you people were wrong when you never acted on Hussain under the false pretext of ‘Freedom Of Expression’ back then or yesterday when you strangely thought of gagging one and all from free expression as it is hurting religious sentiments. As it seems you have the cake and planning to eat it too, it is highly required to let all of us know which one of your actions is wrong – Hussain being left scot free or the plan to put people behind bars just because they thought of venting something that is genuine.
And for God’s sake stop blaming BJP of being hypocritical as they hound out Hussain out of the country without showing respect to his fundamental rights back then but cry foul if Congress plans to do something of similar nature. In the case of Hussain there was a genuine reason which was supported by Article 153 of our constitution to book him under the law; but for some strange reasons you and your party conveniently looked the other way and gave us that ‘Freedom Of Expression’ nonsense and now when it comes to protect the non-existing image of few of your party carders and more precisely the members of that one family you come up with yet another nonsense.
While you might hide under the false concern of national fabric and only project yourself as a messiah for the same, but truth has a strange phenomenon of coming out of its own. I know where you are coming from Kapil. I know how you want to stop people from writing in length about the amount of scam the current government has accomplished and yet how conveniently you guys have brushed the truth under the carpet. I know you want to stop people from voicing about your vote bank politics and how your latest jingoism is meant to woo a particular community which forms a large vote constituent of the coming UP election. I know you don’t want people to discuss your government’s failure in governance and how you guys have made every government machinery as your personal property. I know you don’t want people to write against that one family which barely has produced any graduate and yet capable enough to have rest of you as their slaves. You don’t want people to discuss on the capability and caliber of the heir apparent.
So why act funny Kapil when the real agenda behind such outrageous attempt at sabotaging one’s fundamental rights is completely different from what you wanted us to believe? We are a mature nation and we all are mature people and can very well understand the real motive behind each of your sabbatical attempt at fooling the masses under the guise of National harmony and National security. Thanks to the enormous number clowns those who have ruled us for last so many years since independence, we now can very well understand each of the dirty tricks from the banks of dirty trick department of Congress.
Isn’t it for last 9 days that we fail to see even an hour’s work being performed in our parliament? Isn’t it that the partisan politics and personal benefits have taken a new low and virtually stagnated the current parliament session to some unachievable paralysis? The session in which the government promised to accomplish much more than they possibly have done in their last half a dozen year of misrule is in shambles again. No work done and looking at the proceedings, things don’t seem to change in near future either. The session for which the entire nation waited with bated breath as it is supposed to be the session where the Jan Lokpal was planned to be legislated is being ruined by some unnecessary Halla Gulla of BJP and an equally unnecessary and ill-timed announcement of 51% FDI nonsense in retail sector by the Congress to begin with. At this juncture, when it is alleged that the tax payers are losing a whopping 2 crore for every nonfunctional day at the parliament and issues like Jan Lokpal are waiting to be discussed; shouldn’t our politicians be putting their efforts to break the unnecessary logjam? But alas, that is what far from being happening. Rather being concerned about the nonfunctioning of the parliament, our able politicians are busy convincing through their privilege committee to amend laws in the Motor Vehicle Act to allow member of parliaments to sport red light atop their official vehicles.
Now before we get outraged by such nonchalant behavior of our politicians towards us and our interest, I prefer to take a pause and rethink over the option of mine; if I should swear at them or be rational for a change and accept the facts?
We all love status cou. Don’t we? The pan India phenomenon where almost all of us are seen busy showing one upmanship in our immediate circle all the bloody time, why blame the politicians if they follow the same suite where sporting a red light atop their vehicles is just one avenue to flaunt their status cou? We love to act, enact, flaunt our so called contacts to one and all and demand respect for having a distant relative who happens to be a biggie in political circle. Doesn’t matter if we have met the relative in question in person ever or the last time we met was when Dinosaurs used to roam around this planet; but we love to flaunt as if we don’t have our breakfast without seeing each other’s face.
How many times you have seen that there are poor souls like you and many others who are made to stand in a queue under scorching sun while there are privileged few who were allowed to jump the queue? If that is not good enough, the privileged ones are seen flaunting their achievement and try their best to let all who are still standing in the queue know who the boss is. Breaking the rule with help of cronies from the power circle is what we all of us Indians love. We conveniently get our train tickets confirmed by using politician quota while easily neglecting the genuinely deserving ticket holders, just because they don’t know anyone who can flash his/her status cou for them.
We love to be different and superior from the crowd, even if it means breaking few laws here and there. We feel ashamed if we have to stand in a queue along with sweaty average man to get our things done. We get angry if somebody doesn’t bow down his head after hearing us say – ‘ Jaanta Hai Mera Baap Kaun Hai’. If we love the joy and power of being different and superior and are capable to break the law and yet be unquestioned and shameless enough to flaunt it then why not the politicians for whom status cou is all but their very existence in this planet?
As it is questioning about logic to our beloved politicians is as fruitful as sending Ravindra Jadeja in the power play overs and dangerous too. A current Chief Minister serving his second stint is an example of what can happen when you start asking uncomfortable questions to our politicians and start looking for logic in their actions. No sooner he took oath for the first time B.C.Khanduri of Uttaranchal had to step down because his own MLAs seemed grossly disappointed with him as he urged them to shed away that red light and start behaving like a common man so that they can be closer to the realty. I am sure people like Mr. Khanduri are far and few. A genuine and applauding statement got the flack of its life from his own men just because it interfered with the status cou of the undeserving lot.
And honestly I don’t see a reason why our MPs shouldn’t have the red light on their cars. We all love some show of strength, so does our politicians, which in a way proves another point – they are still human beings. The red light becomes a more paramount issue for them when they see various government employees (much junior in ranks to them) flaunting the same for ages in their vehicle and yet are equally corrupt and useless for the nation.
For once I would cringe to see us shedding our typical Indian mentality of politician bashing and admit the demand of our MPs for the red light is genuine, if not logical or deserving. We all love the status cou and so as our elected representatives. Won’t all of us would love to put the same on our cars, bikes, cycles, provided we are allowed to?


