The twin duties

People get the government they deserve! This is not a mere cliché but a central belief.

People get the government they deserve! This is not a mere cliché but a central belief. Given that,there can certainly be no doubt that we,the people of India deserve a clean government run only by our true representatives,who are free from any taint as the people themselves are. These forthcoming general elections are a golden opportunity for the people of India to achieve this happy result: the making of a correct choice of our true representatives. But that needs Indias political parties to choose proper candidates,to deny tickets to the tainted; as well as for,of course,Indias voters to deny their votes to any tainted candidate on their ballot sheet. These are not theoretical issues: corruption and criminalisation of politics are the bane of our polity,and they must be eschewed for the survival of our secular democratic republic. History teaches us that these factors are fatal even to a mighty republic; the lessons we can draw from the experiences of Indias neighbourhood can be ignored only at our own peril.

I have previously on these very pages,almost a decade ago,discussed the decay in our polity due to avoidable factors factors which include those that I am currently scrutinising. The situation a decade later is grimmer,with further decline. Our political leaders,even those of unquestionable probity in public life,appear to be unable or unwilling to stem the rot. There is a clear disconnect between the yearnings of we,the people of India for clean and accountable governance and the manner in which the political process is actually being conducted. Yet there is clear,palpable public anger: the people are no longer prepared to tolerate the corruption and criminalisation that have come to characterise our instruments of governance. Given this groundswell of anger,these elections are a momentous opportunity to stem the rot rather than to fail now to perform our sacred duty and while later bemoaning lost opportunity.

Thus both duties that of political parties,to ensure that they deny their tickets to all tainted persons; and of the people,to deny such candidates their votes even if any political party were to choose them are essential. Unfortunately,some party choices of candidates,at least of the set declared so far,are disappointing for those who care about probity in public life. It remains for the voters to decide whether these choices,whether already declared or chosen later,deserve to be treated as their true representatives,and are suitable to govern them.

On my behalf,and on behalf of many concerned citizens,I made an appeal recently through the Internet to speak out against these twin evils of corruption and criminalisation of politics,which are corroding our republic from within. That appeal has received an overwhelming response,and one that is universally positive. This is a fact that reaffirms my faith that Indias people are no longer prepared to accept the status quo merely because it is the status quo,and that a change for the better is long overdue. Hence,this general appeal.

It is our duty to realise Mahatma Gandhis vision for a free India as reflected in Dr Rajendra Prasads speech to the Constituent Assembly on 15 August 1947 and the exhortation of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the freedom at midnight speech to keep our nations tryst with destiny and to redeem our forefathers pledge substantially. That overarching duty can only be performed if the consequent duties are: if political parties discharge their responsibilities with dignity,and the electorate with wisdom,exercising their franchise on behalf only of the untainted.

This is,thus,a humble attempt to awaken the political parties from their slumber,motivating them to honour the sacred covenant made by our forebears to which we are bound as trustees,and to remind we,the people of India of our sacred duty to choose at this critical juncture only representatives of the quality that ensures that we get the government that we truly deserve.

The writer is a former Chief Justice of India expressexpressindia.com