Blackout
India is a complex country. Shashi
Tharoor once said ,“Everything you can say about India, the
opposite is also true”. We're a country of contradictions and there
is no denying that. The Telangana debate is certainly one of the best
examples to illustrate that point. There have been passionate appeals
from both sides and no matter what the final decision, protest from
the other side is inevitable. Still, a bill was introduced in
parliament, a move that was instantly met with extreme resistance.
There was ruckus in the house with microphones being broken and
pepper spray being used by some of the MPs who weren't in support of
the bill. For obvious reasons, they were suspended from the house.
That episode, most people thought, was one of the lowest points of
our parliamentary history. But what came after, was unanticipated and
outright undemocratic.
The 18th of February 2014
will go down as the day when the lights were turned off on Indian
democracy. And that is not an over reaction. Yes, the emergency wins
that competition hands down. But this, takes an uneasy second place.
With the bill on the separation of Andhra Pradesh tabled and a number
of protesting MPs suspended, nobody had predicted smooth sailing of
the bill in parliament. But the beauty of our democracy for many
years prior to this, was in its ability to debate and discuss and
present points of view so that everyone involved could make informed
decisions. We've seen some lovely debates in parliament. We've seen
the passage of historic legislations after such informed debates.
We've seen the house break into uncontrollable bouts of laughter
after an MP's funny speech. We've seen the house work till very late
in the night to pass some key legislations. We've also seen frequent
disruptions of parliament. We've seen terrible behaviour from our
MPs. We've seen them sleeping during debates. We've seen them make
terrible speeches. We've seen them pass laws that not everybody
agrees with. But we've seen all those things happen. For roughly a
decade now, India has been witness to the proceedings in parliament,
both good and bad. In the true spirit of transparent democracy, every
single move of our elected representatives in parliament is telecast
live for everyone to see. LokSabha TV does not garner the TRPs that
Colours or MTV does.But the importance of the fact that every Indian
can keep an eye on the proceedings of the temple of democracy cannot
be understated. It is the right of every citizen to see for himself
what is happening inside parliament, for it directly influences his
life. Dear Somnath Chaterjee, thank you for recognising that right
and televising the proceedings of the house.
Today, his successor as the speaker of
the Lok sabha decided, in her wisdom, that it was best not to
telecast the proceedings of the house, for reasons yet unknown. The
bill on Telangana was passed, reportedly, amidst great din. Like I
mentioned earlier, no matter what the decision on Telangana, that din
was inevitable. What was absolutely shocking, was that the people of
India weren't allowed see what was happening. Censorship at its
absolute worst. Ms Meira Kumar, all these years, came across as a
gentle, polite speaker who did her best to keep the house in order.
It would've been for history to judge if she had succeeded at that or
not. After this episode though, that becomes irrelevant, for she'll
be known as the one who ordered the cameras to be turned off and
effectively blinded democracy.
Undoubtedly, she has the right to do it
under the law. But she shouldn't have exercised that right. Not
today. Not ever.
The people of an entire state was
waiting to see their fates unfold in parliament. The people of an
entire nation wanted to see who was shaming their country with cheap
antics that undermined democracy. But thanks to a blatant subversion
of that very democracy, they were all blindfolded. The last session
of the 15th Lok sabha of India will be remembered forever.
For all the wrong reasons.
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constructive criticism welcome !