Read their lips

Going strictly by the soundbites emanating from the debate during the confidence motion in favour of the Samajwadi Party-led government in U...

Going strictly by the soundbites emanating from the debate during the confidence motion in favour of the Samajwadi Party-led government in Uttar Pradesh, it would appear that there isn’t a tribe more committed to ensuring “corruption-free”, “transparent” “good governance” than the legislators of this state.

The Bahujan Samaj Party — whatever left of it that is after its recent mauling — maintained stoutly that now with Behenji gone, the people of the state will have to suffer a “goonda raj”, overlooking the fact that the earlier government had a goodly number of goondas to its credit, too. The Bharatiya Janata Party, anxious to save face and skin in a moment of acute discomfiture, let it be known that it withdrew its support from the Mayawati government expressly in order to spare the state from the devastations of BSP rule, forgetting that it was a coalition partner in that very government these many months.

The Congress hailed the fact that the “black spot” on Indian democracy that the BSP-BJP government represented was removed without mentioning the party’s covert attempts to get the BSP on its side for the forthcoming assembly elections.

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As for Pehalwan Mulayam Singh Yadav, he let it be known that he would end the extravagant practices of the Mayawati government by reducing the number of vehicles in his official entourage from 12 to seven and fight the earlier moral degeneration by withdrawing the Pota case against mafia don and crocodile pond owner, Raja Bhaiyya.

So what are the people of Uttar Pradesh to make of these pieties and platitudes, this great show of convenient outrage, this cynical pretense of morality? That governments may come and governments may go, but the goondas ensure that they are in power forever? That political promises are made only in order to be smashed silly? That it may be useful to keep some footwear handy, the next time this lot lands up at their doors? That the more things change, the more they remain the same?

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