Our Parliament Turned 60 During My Vacation

I am not a vacation man. When I say vacation man, I no way wanted to highlight the luxury our incumbent president is enjoying where she was found vacationing around the globe for the better part of the four years of her five year stint. It just happened for me on the go and all of a sudden I found myself relaxing for last ten days, pretty much ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’. Thanks to the astounding service quality of Idea Cellular, my Net connection behaved more erratically than A. Raja while I was roaming, almost forcing me to stay away from any internet activity since the speed of the connection always made Venkatesh Prasad look like a tear-away fast bowler in comparison. And let me assure you – that experience was never refreshing.

Anyway, coming back to the topic. A hell lot seem to have happened all these days when I was enjoying a complete Mama’s boy status. While the unnecessary cat fight on whom to appoint as our next president continued with full swing the current president quite unceremoniously agreed to get rid of the land she almost managed to grab without anyone noticing it. While Hilary Clinton honored all of us with her visit with a sole agenda of giving a tip or two to Abhisekh Manu Singvi’s wife on how to tackle the situation through which she and her husband were going, a fat and foodie little boy from Nagpur did it the second time when he conveniently back kicked many in the race while on top the RSS horse. Hell, even the irrational Didi didn’t make much noise to scare the shit out of the current Government. While there were exemplary instances, which also includes but not limited to B.S. Yeddyurappa praising Sonia Gandhi for reasons best known to him only; the thing that is most interesting of the lot was the occasion when our Parliament turned 60 years old.

A lot of hot air was blown leading up to this momentous occasion. The typical flag bearers of secularism or rather the fondly addressed ‘Pseudo Seculars’ were all over the place howling and hailing our so called vibrant democracy and its success in being the largest in the world of its kind. But all this while when all were going Gaga, in toto I was keeping myself reminded of entities like N.D.Tiwari, A.Raja, Kalmadi, Sukhram and many more. The question that I was intentionally asking myself is, aren’t these fine gentlemen are a byproduct of our democracy? Shouldn’t we in the time of this proud celebration must pay our heartfelt appreciations to these guys, even if that means visiting the Tihar Jail to say ‘Thank You’?

Highlight of the day was our Prime-Minister and his momentous speech to the congregation. As if he was in a mission to prove the age old saying “Politics is the last resort of the scoundrels”, he came equipped with a hell lot of lies. His lies were broadcasted live across the world and Tweeted through his official account to let know how great an institution like our Parliament is. Best was when he said ‘our politicians over the decades have always tried with all honesty for the betterment of the nation and its citizens’. Really? And all this while we were only accusing Zardari for being the biggest rascal and a Walmart of lies.

Let’s pause for a second and analyze what we have gained from this Parliament or the occupants of it in last 60 years. Can you list at least 10 benefits? Can you in one go? Nothing cynical; not sure of others but I would rather prefer watching a Mohanlal starrer dubbed Tamil movie than preparing such a list. In collective loot that is going inside this parliament for last 60 years, we as a nation have already lost more than what we have earned. Politicians cutting across party lines have time-and-again hoodwinked and exploited the nation by either on religious or cast or region ground. Sycophants lurking all over the place with a mission to project few worthless individuals of a family with a larger than life image. Criminals covering two third of the entire population of our parliament and yet we call it a successful and vibrant democracy. Dirty trick masters are always more than eager to fool the nation with their tricks and stop people who ask uncomfortable questions with bizarre statements like ‘Elected And Electable’. Half of our parliamentarians are languishing in Tihar and jails elsewhere and yet we fart like dinosaurs while calling ourselves the largest democracy of the world. Where is the gain that we have got from our politicians, parliament and democracy?

Scams after scams are accomplished and billions of public money was stashed in foreign banks while a third of our nation struggle to arrange a descent square meal per day. Absolute useless individuals were send abroad for higher studies and return back as Harvard graduates even after failing the first semester examination while 20% of our kids beg on the streets. Honest people like Shanmughan Manjunath and Satyendra Dube lose their lives in defending clean practice while seasoned scoundrels and history shitters like Raja Bhaya were made jail ministers. People like Kalmadi who in all probability have screwed the sporting culture of the nation go to their banks laughing while the Government at center is busy in hogwashing. Kith and Kins of the politicians are Teflon coated from any kind of official or police action, even against gruesome acts of crime like rape and murder while poor people were thrown behind bars for stealing a kilo of rice since the pain of seeing own kids starving to death was backbreaking. Rs 300/- slapped as fine for wrong parking but none seems too interested to take stocks of the loot money lying in Swiss banks. Public servants are manhandled and suspended for doing their duty and not allowing Son-In-Laws to break the rules while the politicians who are corrupt and criminal from head to toe look like being answerable to none. So among all these nuisance where is the bloody gain in this farce of 60 years that we should celebrate the way Rajdeep Sardesai wishes all of us to do?

Go to any place in this country, you would have examples self-explaining the atrocity of our political class. From village Panchayat to Parliament house, it is only a colony of looters, criminals and rapists who rule the roots of our democracy. From production baby foods to our moon mission, everything is systematically brought into the corruption web by our political class. Nothing is spared from loot extravaganza, not even our Polio eradication mission. From community toilets to cattle food; everything is gulped down by our political class without showing any signs of remorse or guilt. And still we were told by none other than our Prime-Minister that we are a successful, vibrant and would you believe? honest democracy. For a change I want to rather believe Shayed Ali Shah Gilani when he says there is not enough evidence to nail down Hafeez Saeed.

By the way, did I forget to mention the famous Gas leaking Saga of Rajya Sabha? How dare I can? Can I? On the joyous confirmation that at least one sensing organ of our politicians still working I replied to my friend’s Tweet – “Gas or no Gas, both our houses, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha stink like a swine in a pool of mud”.