DailyPost 2722
OPAQUENESS OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY?
The well calibrated and well-orchestrated opaqueness of our democracy is the biggest strength of the ruling elite and by its extension, all stakeholders; direct or indirect. The name of game is to swear by transparency, making it as a cover for black box democracy and black box life of the different actors in the democratic game. The aim is that people should feel that they are being provided transparency and clean ecosystem, while the real world of democracy continues to remain under garbs. If this has been meticulously created and successfully so, by every dispensation, then for sure there is complete unison of political and democratic power elite mind.
All transfers and postings in this country are made in public interest, while till today nobody has been able to either define public interest or give the parameters /ingredients of it. If public were really to know as what all happens on the backstage of Indian democracy, it will be difficult to say as to what percentage of the voters, would even be interested in voting. All this is being talked about after giving complete exemption to duplicity, hypocrisy and white lies. If those are also made a part of opaqueness, what are we left with. Unfortunately, this has become an open part of our functional and semi-operational democracy.
Does anybody have an idea as to how elected representatives improve financially in an exponential manner which are performing as the duly elected representatives of the masses? Is anybody interested? The perpetual jamborees as politicians houses to endless political activities; how are those accounted for? Which electorate has any idea of the how these expenses happen? We have reached a level where we are forced to treat all these as a matter of fact. How many of us would believe that the election expenditure of a candidate as submitted to the ECI and what actually happens on the ground are one and the same thing.
What has been the fate of Right to Information? Some odd successes are made to look like game changers. The efforts to water it down to making it nearly impact less has been on, even before it was legislated. If there has been one cattle fodder case, how many such cases go scot-free? The democratic system that has emerged in last 75 years works with a single minded focus of making its functioning as opaque as possible? Are our procurements gone the transparent way, with data being put it the public domain, with reference points which common man can understand. The funding of political parties and lengths traversed to make it “anonymous” is a shining example of black box democracy. The stance taken by SBI on a Supreme Court’s constitutional bench verdict is an icing on the democratic cake we have baked for decades.
THE SUCCESS OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY HAS BEEN TO KEEP THE ELECTORATE IN PITCH DARK, WHILE CAMOUFLAGED DEMOCRATIC LIGHTS ARE ON.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.