DailyPost 1706
POLITICAL CEASEFIRE
Whatever might be the situation in this country, this does not end. This is an unending war of attrition. It is the Power War, if outside of it, the battle is to reach there, if you are there, the fight is to stick around. The political personas, we call leaders, conduct through political parties. They vitiate the atmosphere. And as they say everything is fair in love, war and politics. Love apart, the other two have got enmeshed into an ugly spectacle, which the Indian electorate is finding difficult to digest any further. Whatever may be, the party or government, nobody has come out tall in this crisis. They treat COVID-19 as numbers first and disease later, not realising that the grit, determination and mental health of this country has already been compromised.
Elections as a democratic tool lost its value for the masses on the 2nd of May 2021, when the last assembly election elections were declared but for the political parties. In the midst of the gloom, only they can be so audacious to keep the fight on. The intriguing part is that the battle is not for the people of this country. The second surge drove home this realization of the true nature and response of politicians and governments. Being still in the midst of these horrendous times, the country wants political ceasefire. National emergency was not declared in this humanitarian crisis of gigantic proportions. Political ceasefire should be declared to provide the much-needed respite for the country. They deserve it in this hour of individual, family, societal and national crisis.
In the political minefield people have been the natural casualties. They have suffered collateral damage. The beauty of this game is that the warring parties don’t suffer any damage, they strategize in a way to come out triumphant. Ascent to power. That is the reason for people’s desperation for a political ceasefire. What is a political ceasefire? It means the cessation of political activities in any form or variety, directly, indirectly or surreptitiously, for one year or till the end the COVID-19 whichever is earlier. No elections would be held and assemblies can be extended wherever required as an emergency measure.
The second face of politics is the media. They literally live by it. Not even one COVID-19 debate can happen without the renowned party spokespersons. In the political ceasefire, they should be kept off TV or any form of mass media. The mass media would not run political programs and invest all its energies into the humanitarian crisis. Ground zero reporting, creating and becoming the eyes and ears of the government, is what would be expected out of them. Govt. and political parties’ advertisements should be stopped. The country is in no mood to watch those. Well informed and well-reasoned decisions should be attempted, so that judicial adjudication is not required. When the political executives become professionals because of the political ceasefire, the administrative leadership will have time and the energy to deliver. Experts should be liberally used. A small poll can give you the real mood of the nation.
POLITICAL CEASEFIRE CAN BE AN EXTRAORDINARY STEP IN THESE EXTRAORDINARY TIMES. WE WILL BE ABLE TO HEAL OUR NATION.
Sanjay Sahay