In the midst of a raging pandemic, Rajasthan finds itself in a political crisis that has once again shown how little political leaders care for constitutional norms and niceties. The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government has been destabilized by a group of Congress members of legislative assembly (MLAs) led by former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot who have refused to attend legislature party meetings and have holed themselves up in a resort. Depending on who one listens to, the source of troubles is either Pilot’s reckless ambition for the top post or Gehlot’s maneuvering to sideline Pilot and his coterie of MLAs. Either way, it is the last thing any state attempting to address a pandemic and economic crisis needs.
If the governor has been turned into an “agent” of the union government at the state level, the speaker has proven to be an “agent” of the ruling party in helping create majorities and break oppositions at will. No political party in power has covered itself in glory on either of these matters, doing the very things in power it complained about when out of it.
The events in Rajasthan have played out in some way or the other as they did in Manipur, Goa, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. It is quite likely that irrespective of the outcome in Rajasthan, the public at large is unlikely to come away with the belief that constitutional institutions in India work as they are supposed to.
Time has come for the people of India to think about what is the root cause of the problem. The stage of drama may change from one location to the other, one state to the other, but the drama epic remains the same. Actors may change but the character is the same. All these symptoms are the effects of parliamentary system failure.
Alternatively had it been presidential system is in place, the CM’s and PMs would have been elected directly by the people. The once elected candidate will be able to focus on the execution of promises made and stay focused on the development and problems of the state for the entire tenure.
Who are the culprits for these unstable governments? People? Politicians? The political system itself? Let’s start thinking out of the box.
Join the hands with Badloindia and let’s debate.
Let’s build better India.
Panduranga Pamidimukkala
Badloindia.org
This article has perfectly analysed the present political scenario and is thought provoking. It invokes an individual to think how he as a citizen can contribute to improve the situation by debating within himself how he wants his country to be led and governed and in which way.