Everywhere a taint

To begin with, here are some things that the Uma Bharti resignation drama is not about. It is not about the Indian tricolour and patriotism, as the lady and her colleagues paint it to be. The non bailable arrest warrant, apparently the 19th in the last three years, that finally got too close for comfort, pertains to the completely unedifying attempt to instigate a mob to violence at the Idgah maidan at Hubli in 1994. This is not another bout between 8216;8216;nationalism8217;8217; and 8216;8216;pseudo secularism8217;8217; 8212; those tired slogans have anyway lost all meaning from political over-use. The Madhya Pradesh chief minister is not setting any standards of ethical political conduct by putting in her papers. Uma Bharti, remember, is also chargesheeted in the far more serious Ayodhya demolition case and that didn8217;t restrain her, or her colleagues, from becoming and remaining a minister in the NDA government. No, as the 19th non bailable arrest warrant finally homes in on its target, Bharti or the BJP cannot mount the moral high ground. But the question is: on this matter, can her political opponents? Can anyone?

If the resignation-and-after is not the stuff of soft-focus martyrdom for Bharti and her party, it is certainly no occasion for point-scoring for the Congress-led UPA either. If the Dharam Singh-led Congress government in Karnataka withdrew the state government8217;s petition for withdrawal of the case against Bharti hoping for possible political gain, it8217;s horribly out of touch with the political reality. Manmohan Singh8217;s government at the Centre continues to be hobbled by the likes of Taslimuddin in its council of ministers. Congress leaders8217; loud indignation at Bharti8217;s alleged wrongdoing 10 years ago at Hubli rings as false as Bharti8217;s attempts to grow a halo. The sad fact is this: in the political climate that prevails, chargesheets for serious offences and non bailable warrants against those in public life, and even in high office, are becoming wearyingly routine. They are no longer scandalous. When the mud flies, it sticks to everyone and to no one.

Here8217;s a suggestion. Parliament is in session. Instead of the predictable round of walkouts and adjournments that have already begun on Monday, let8217;s have a discussion, honest and participatory, on the issue of the 8216;8216;tainted8217;8217; in politics. Let senior leaders in both rival formations put aside their short-term strategies. What can be done to cleanse politics from the criminal and the corrupt? Does it require us to turn the legal screws tighter on the politician, by enacting yet another law? Or does it need a change in political culture? A code of conduct for parties, sincerely observed, and alertly monitored? We need all the wise men and women to address these questions on the floor of the House.

Because, in the end, this is about preventing the people8217;s alienation from democratic politics.