No, Speaker

Somnath Chatterjee is a man in perpetual fear of compromising the dignity of his high constitutional office of speaker of the Lok Sabha. This summer he took on the formidable might of the CPM Politburo and remained in his post to emphasise the neutrality and autonomy of his office. He refused to step down as speaker, thereby resisting partisan pressures, after his comrades withdrew support to the UPA government and forced a vote of confidence in the House. The CPM expelled him from the party, but Chatterjee won a larger gratitude for safeguarding a key institution in our democracy. More recently, however, he has been seeing other, more external and absolutely imaginary, threats. And, alas, now we fear for the dignity of his office.

As reported in this newspaper, Chatterjee was all set to take off for Geneva to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly when he was told of the possibility that awaited him when he8217;d transit through London. At the airport he would be subject to a security frisk. The prospect was evidently so outrageous that extreme action was warranted. In the precise words of the Lok Sabha secretary general, the speaker 8220;cancelled the visit because he did not wish to compromise the dignity of the high constitutional office he holds8221;.

Really, Hon8217;ble Speaker? The dignity of this high constitutional office draws from the democratic foundations of the Republic. That dignity is diminished irreparably when holders of high constitutional offices refuse to submit themselves to being treated on par with ordinary citizens, as they must be in a thriving democracy. The kind of VIP exceptionalism that Chatterjee is seeking in London is repugnantly visible at Indian airports where lists are put up of the assorted office-holders who do not have to pass through a security check. Nobody likes to pass through a security check. But given the circumstances we live in, people do submit to them, some on a daily basis and not just at the airport. They submit to checks, also, when they may want to call on the speaker in his majestic office in Parliament House. And it is not just they who will find the speaker8217;s objections extremely churlish.