It is true there is no place for ethics
in the politics of the day.
Had it been so, Sushma Swara,
Vasundhara Raje Schindia, Smriti Irani, Vinod Tawde and some more BJP members would
have resigned or would have apologised for their roles in the alleged
controversies related to them.
Had it been so, Congress would
have come clean on Robert Vadra and other scams and controversies related to
the party leaders.
Had it been so, some politicians
would not go so berserk in different Indian states including Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal among others.
Had it not been so, we would not
be talking about the 'practical norms' of the politics of the day where ethics
have no space left, where every political outfit is seen on the same platform
when it comes to follow the value-system.
Had it not been so, the elector
would not have gone with a new political entity, the Aam Aadmi Party, with no
history and credentials. Unfortunately, that experiment has started losing its
steam within few months only and the deterioration looks 'planned' and
irreversible. Before the assembly polls this February, the BJP had eight months
to deliver but couldn't gauge the mood.
Had it not been so, the dynasty
politics would not be a debatable issue in Indian politics.
Had it not been so, family-bias, nepotism
and political corruption would not have become so routine, like it has become
now.
Had it not been so, politicians
would not consider themselves in a different, higher class than us. Had it not
been so, we would not have such a common VIP culture.
So, unless and until it becomes
too impossible to ignore, unless and until it becomes too corrosive to hurt
electoral prospects, the leaders named in the Lalit Modi controversy would not
step down. Yes, the BJP is at the receiving end this time, but it knows it is
in the government and even the opposition has many weak spots and it knows next
parliamentary elections are four years away. The BJP strategists know the
political opposition is trying to squeeze in the maximum political mileage from
the ongoing episode and they are 'focused' at minimizing it.
So, Arvind Kejriwal didn't ask
Jitendra Singh Tomar to step down when questions were first raised about 'fake
degrees' of the law minister. Ideally, Arvind should not have made him minister
because the row around his degrees precedes his electoral victory. Probably, he
feels he is safely home for at least five years.
So, Indian politics is dominated by personality cults around political parties
and political parties evolving and revolving around a person or a family.
So, a norm sans 'ethics' - in the
name of being practical - has become the political pragmatism of the day.
