Maharashtra: The Same Old Story
The India Commentary view
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-07-04 06:06:43
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The India Commentary view
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The events in Maharashtra over the weekend reinforce the fact that Indian democracy is not moving ahead on the correct path. There is no doubt that politicians are entitled to change parties or form a separate bloc in the same party (by being on the right side of the anti-defection law) if they find that the party they are in is either moving away from what they believe in or is not giving them opportunities to do the work they think they are capable of. But if such changing of party or forming of separate bloc is for instant gratification (as was the case in Maharashtra when many of those who broke away from the NCP got ministerial berths in the state cabinet instantly), then it raises many questions whose answers are critical for smooth functioning of democracy and have immense bearing on the democratic process.
It was well known since the last few years that Ajit Pawar was not happy in the NCP and would move on sooner rather than later. But what was not known was the fact that he would manage to get the support of such die-hard Sharad Pawar loyalists as Praful Patel and Dilip Walse Patil, among others. Pawar senior has been trying to quell the rebellion by taking many decisions but it is clear that he has failed in keeping the flock together.
The role of the BJP - it has been targeting opposition politicians by charging them with corruption and harassing them with summons from multiple Central investigating agencies - is also questionable. It had engineered a split in the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, brought down the MVA government and formed the government with Eknath Shinde. Before that, it had done similar Operation Lotuses in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Goa. It failed in Bengal where it also split the TMC. These actions are undemocratic and while they seem to yield short-term benefits for the BJP, they also anger loyalists in respective states and might boomerang in the long-term. The worst part is that those the party accuses of being corrupt are cleansed of all charges once they join or ally with the BJP.
The time has come to introduce a section in the anti-defection law that mandates that any person changing party or forming a separate bloc in the same party be disqualified to hold any public office for a specified length of time. That would make the anti-defection law stronger and prevent such 'defections' for instant gratification.
