Crime with fundamentalist face makes picture complex Threats to democracy come from many quarters. In some countries, it is the well-entrenched and ambitious junta which have tried, time and again, to grab power stifling the democratic system. In Pakistan, military coups repeatedly overthrew elected governments impeding democracy’s growth. In certain societies, powerful feudal elements sought to subvert democracy. Look at Nepal.
In parts of central America, resourceful drug cartels threatened popularly-elected governments in the past when their interests were hurt. The latest such threat to democracy in our vicinity is from a combination of religious fundamentalism, terror networks and armed forces. We do not have to look beyond Swat valley to know how such a deadly cocktail encroaches upon democratic territory and makes an elected government look irrelevant.
India has paid a heavy price for its commitment to a plural, tolerant polity. But our nation has never succumbed to any of these forces nor allowed them to gain ground.
Pursuing the democratic ideology is difficult because it does not promise any spectacular return. Think of Rajiv Gandhi’s initiatives to settle India’s many festering issues. He put an end to some of the most intractable ethnic problems in India, with the Mizo insurgents, the student leadership of Assam and with Sant Longowal in Punjab.
He was criticised for ceding the Congress’s political territory and allowing regional groups to capture power. It was because of his initiative that India now does not face the kind of ethnic crisis that has been buffeting Sri Lanka.
Criminal elements often take shelter within the political system. The crime-politics nexus at certain levels is a reality.
Underworld dons, gangsters, extortionists seek political patronage by offering muscle power to their mentors. This needs to be urgently addressed. What has made the picture complex is the growth of criminal activity with a fundamentalist face.
Those who demolished the Ayodhya shrine or caused blasts
in Malegaon are perhaps a bigger threat to democracy than members of local criminal gangs.
They also have strong political links. Infiltration of criminal elements into the political space ensures the exclusion and marginalisation of the common man. This indicates a dangerous trend, for democracy primarily is the forum for the ordinary, otherwise voiceless, people. Congress has always fought for the empowerment of the aam aadmi.
Party general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s recent proposal to open the doors of the organisation to the young men and women from ordinary homes is a far-sighted step in that direction.
Treat political protest cases differently from heinous offence
Indian democracy is now more than 60 years old. The people of the country now know that they can unseat any political leader, howsoever popular, and any political party, howsoever powerful, through their ballot. They also reward genuine performers. The Indian democracy today is widely appreciated world over and it also becomes our collective responsibility to free it from various ills.
Criminalisation of politics is a serious scourge, which needs to be addressed. Earlier, we used to witness only MPs and MLAs with serious criminal antecedents. The present UPA government surpassed all norms of political propriety as many tainted persons involved in serious cases of crime, ranging from murder to misappropriation of public fund, were inducted into the Cabinet. Against many of them, even trial at advanced stage was pending. We witnessed the bizarre spectacle of ministers of the Union Cabinet running away from court warrants. It was a shocking case of criminalisation of government itself.
Compulsion of coalition politics cannot be stretched to subvert Constitutional propriety. During the government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, after the 1998 election, the NDA did not command a very comfortable majority. Yet Vajpayee removed the then independent MP Buta Singh from the Cabinet when criminal proceedings of serious impropriety were initiated against him.
I remember, as the minister of state for law during the Vajpayee government, we had proposed legislation that anyone against whom charges have been framed in two independent proceedings (habitual offender) in heinous offences like murder, rape, kidnapping for ransom, narco-terror, Prevention of Corruption Act etc. should not be allowed to contest. There was serious opposition from many political parties, including the Congress and most of its present allies. The Left parties, too, opposed this proposal.
It is assuring that it is now obligatory to disclose pending criminal cases by a candidate along with the nomination paper. The political parties would have to take initiative not to give tickets to candidates with criminal antecedents. Obviously, cases which are lodged during bonafide political protest movements would have to be treated differently from heinous offences. Otherwise, in view of the repeated abuse of prosecuting agencies, political opponents would always be thrown out of election. We would have to ensure speedy trial of offences, so that those who are guilty are punished and innocent are not harassed for long.
The BJP is keen to seriously look into these issues to ensure that criminals do not abuse political process to gain respectability. In many states, particularly in Bihar, many sitting MPs and MLAs have been convicted for serious criminal offences including murder and kidnapping which is a very positive development. The larger issue remains for voters as well. How is it that some of these elements win even in a fair election?
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