Jharkhand Dilemmas
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Five years ago, the BJP had strongly opposed inclusion of Shibu Soren as a minister in the UPA government as he had several criminal charges pending against him. Today, the same BJP joined Shibu and his JMM to form a government in the state of Jharkhand.
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These two sentences may appear to make a “full story” until I shout objection!
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One, the BJP now is not the BJP that was 5 years back. How? The BJP, until some time back used to believe that issues like corruption, terrorism and food price hike can make “election issues”. And hence, the party would oppose inclusion of criminal and corrupt politicians in the UPA govt (there were plenty of such faces). What the last general election has proven without doubt is in contrast to any such hint. This has also been proven in many other election results, e.g. the recent one in Maharashtra. Indian voters have accepted the most hitting issues like corruption, terrorism and price-rise as a 'fact of life' and they just don’t make their voting decisions on these apparently real issues. The issues that they have in mind while voting can be touching cords of casteism, regionalism, favourism, groupism, mutual-beneficiating, and some more things which definitely would be too far away from issues like corruption or terrorism. And the most heartening was to find that our main opposition party has leart this lesson! (though we can debate if it came too late)
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Today BJP chief Nitin Gadkari says, 'There was no option for us. People in Jharkhand have elected Shibu Soren. In politics you have to do such things'. So true. People of Jharkhand have elected Shibu Soren; very well knowing that he has been accused (and proven in perception) of charges as cruel as murder. Yet, if they have sent him to assembly and his party has got so many seats (equal to maximum in the state) it does tell that people are ok with him becoming even as a CM. Parties like Congress would have grabbed this opportunity to team up with Soren and his party to form a government. But as it turned out, the BJP has learnt lessons and came as the 'winner'. Doesn't winning in politics also mean defeating the opponent?
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It may not be ‘ethically’ correct for a person with blemished records be made the head of a state (I am sure it is not correct) - but we can’t have our cake and eat it too. We can’t have a functioning democracy and yet we trying to filter public opinion on basis of our definitions of ethics and morality.
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In democracy, we get what the majority of population deserves.
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- Rahul
Five years ago, the BJP had strongly opposed inclusion of Shibu Soren as a minister in the UPA government as he had several criminal charges pending against him. Today, the same BJP joined Shibu and his JMM to form a government in the state of Jharkhand.
.
These two sentences may appear to make a “full story” until I shout objection!
.
One, the BJP now is not the BJP that was 5 years back. How? The BJP, until some time back used to believe that issues like corruption, terrorism and food price hike can make “election issues”. And hence, the party would oppose inclusion of criminal and corrupt politicians in the UPA govt (there were plenty of such faces). What the last general election has proven without doubt is in contrast to any such hint. This has also been proven in many other election results, e.g. the recent one in Maharashtra. Indian voters have accepted the most hitting issues like corruption, terrorism and price-rise as a 'fact of life' and they just don’t make their voting decisions on these apparently real issues. The issues that they have in mind while voting can be touching cords of casteism, regionalism, favourism, groupism, mutual-beneficiating, and some more things which definitely would be too far away from issues like corruption or terrorism. And the most heartening was to find that our main opposition party has leart this lesson! (though we can debate if it came too late)
.
Today BJP chief Nitin Gadkari says, 'There was no option for us. People in Jharkhand have elected Shibu Soren. In politics you have to do such things'. So true. People of Jharkhand have elected Shibu Soren; very well knowing that he has been accused (and proven in perception) of charges as cruel as murder. Yet, if they have sent him to assembly and his party has got so many seats (equal to maximum in the state) it does tell that people are ok with him becoming even as a CM. Parties like Congress would have grabbed this opportunity to team up with Soren and his party to form a government. But as it turned out, the BJP has learnt lessons and came as the 'winner'. Doesn't winning in politics also mean defeating the opponent?
.
It may not be ‘ethically’ correct for a person with blemished records be made the head of a state (I am sure it is not correct) - but we can’t have our cake and eat it too. We can’t have a functioning democracy and yet we trying to filter public opinion on basis of our definitions of ethics and morality.
.
In democracy, we get what the majority of population deserves.
.
- Rahul
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