So finally, two corrupt parties will get to join hands to
form government in Karnataka. This is such a sigh of relief for all those who
took part in their success; directly or indirectly. Here are some observations
from the messy few days:
If you noticed, the moment news broke that no party had got
majority, BJP was the biggest one and just fell short of majority; it was
assumed by media that the BJP would be able to make a government there. People
followed the cue and immediately assumed that BJP will be able to form
government there. This was due to two factors: more than confidence in Amit's
Shah's skills, this was a vote of confidence in Congress' lack of skills.
Media started spreading news of horse trading. What is wrong
in BJP talking to the MLAs of other parties asking their support to form a
stable government? Defection is part of democracy. Every MLA should have right
to decide to quit its party or switch sides or resign or abstain from voting;
as per his or her own free will. There is nothing wrong in it per se. But media
told us that if the MLAs of Congress do it and if it benefits BJP, it is wrong.
Rumors were spread that BJP was trying to “buy” MLAs from
other parties. This is such a joke if you think about it. Any MLA who can be “bought”
by money would be corrupt. Then, ask yourself: which party is a better place
for corrupt politicians: Congress or BJP? For a corrupt MLA, Congress and JDS
were a “natural choice”. So, if the BJP had to try to break them away, they won’t
use “money” as bait. They would use other facts as baits; like being part of a
stable govt; being part of govt with pro-development image; benefits in being
away from dynasty-driven parties etc. If some conscientious MLAs had been able
to help BJP win trust vote; that would have been beneficial for the state. But
in the mess that was made out of the news-space thanks to media, no one got to
do any real thinking. We just followed the lead shown on TV screens.
And suddenly, the act of smuggling MLAs into 5 star resorts and
hotels till the confidence vote is casted got a positive validation. Thanks to
perception spread by media, this was considered a "necessary
precaution" to avoid poaching attempts by BJP. How can keeping MLAs
confined where they can't use their “free will” be called good democracy? But
no questions were asked by media. This was a “perception war” and media had won
it for Congress.
When Congress reached Supreme Court against governor's
decision, the SC rushed to address the matter in the “mid-night” as if it was a
matter of national security and of greatest importance to nation. It appeared
that if BJP remained in power for 15 days, it will be such a sin that it must
be stopped at all costs; even if it means setting up hearing during whole night.
As per constitution, the Governor had full rights to decide and call the
largest political party to form government and prove majority. Court knew clearly
that it had no right to meddle in the affairs, but like it does in many other
cases, it still tried to prove that "I am the boss"; by shrinking the
15 days’ notice period to 1. What is wrong in giving 15 days’ time to MLAs to
think which side to take?
Due to the whole drama played by media and innocent public
forming their opinions on what was being shown on the screen, the BJP CM could
not even put up a fight and had to resign even before voting. That is sad for
democracy.
Now that the drama and show-time is over for media; people
would realize what they have lost and what they gained in the process. A party
which was thrown out by people; a CM who lost his own seat by 36000 votes and
managed to win another seat by 1600 votes; will come back in power. Two “Dynasty”
driven corrupt parties will join hands making democracy a matter of arithmetic.
And a party which emerged as largest party; gained massively from last time and
was just short by 7 seats to reach the majority mark will sit in opposition.
Mind it that BJP lost 10 seats with margin of less than
merely 3000 seats! Had it won those, it would have got simple majority. Everyone
knows that the BJP deserved to form the government. And everyone knows that the
last government deserved to be in opposition. But thanks to the way news
traders played the tune and the innocent people followed their cue forming
casual opinions; this event will be painted as if democracy has won in
Karnataka today.
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