We have had good governments and bad
governments since independence. This is the first time we are having a
government suspended in midair, unable to go up to heaven or come down to
earth. In modernistic terms, it is comparable to the weightlessness astronauts
experience inside space shuttles, a sort of floating, drifting existence.
Is democracy punishing us for playing tricks
with it? We pretend, and tell the world, that the Manmohan Singh Government is
in power in our country. But it is the Sonia Gandhi Government that is really
in power and – here comes another trick – Sonia Gandhi is neither accessible
nor accountable. The result is confusion about where, what, which is the
Government.
According to insiders, the
Government is made up of advisers. And
they come in different shapes with different ideas. One version is that Sonia
Gandhi heeded the advice of her trusted A.K.Antony and took a stand against
reforms like FDI. So the Manmohan Singh Government took a stand against
reforms. Then a new Minister took over the Finance portfolio. Now Sonia Gandhi
heeded the advice of her trusted P. Chidambaram and took a stand in favour of
reforms like FDI. So the Manmohan Singh Government took a stand in favour of
reforms. Half of India cheered, the other half took to the streets.
Now one ally has left the
Government in a huff. In normal circumstances, this should
have been a relief to the Government because Mamata Banerji is not meant to be
a democrat, let alone an ally. She is a banyan tree under which nothing else
can grow. But these are not normal times, so politicians are out with their
calculators to play addition and subtraction games.
This is the tragedy of our lives.
After 65 years of adult franchise, politics has been reduced to a game of
calculators, of pluses and minuses. Sonia minus Mamata plus Mulayam plus
Mayawati minus Patnaik plus three gas cylinders minus Walmart equals democracy.
The tragedy becomes farce when we realise that one set of permutations is as
cynical as another set of combinations. Mayawati against whom charges are
pending, becomes the saviour of the Union Government. What charges will matter
in such a situation? What justice will prevail?
The BJP cries hoarse about the
omissions and commissions of the UPA Government. Quite right. But what about
its own omissions and commissions when it was in power? Today it calls for a
nation-wide hartal against FDI in retail. What was its position on FDI when it
was leading the NDA Government? Do the country's interests change depending on
which party is in power? Democracy fails when there is no real choice before
voters.
One advantage of the Government
suddenly becoming reformist – FDI in retail is to be followed by FDI in
pharmaceuticals, which is another can of
worms – is that headline writers have forgotten the so-called Coalgate.
This confirms ruling politicians' view
that the fuss about corruption will go away if you ignore it long enough. The
economy is slowing? The desperate are turning to crime on the one hand and
communalism on the other? The borders are restless? Ignore them all, they’ll go
away.
The attention of all the players is
now elsewhere. The BJP's focus is on
whether a no-confidence motion would be more effective than a vote on the FDI
bill in Parliament. Mamata Banerji's sole focus is how to keep the Communists away in West Bengal whatever
happens to the country. Mayawati's focus is on avoiding an election until the
euphoria over Mulayam's victory in UP passes off. Mulayam Singh’s focus is on
having a general election immediately.
In the midst of this merrygoround,
prices of everyday necessities rise to record levels in direct response to
petroleum price increases. Voters and taxpayers are caught in a pincer movement
– between self-serving politicians and the unalterable laws of economics. When privations mix with frustrations of this
kind, explosive situations develop in
normal societies. Are we a normal society?