Soliloquy

The Bharatiya Janta Party has wreaked havoc and played with the voter’s emotions in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The saffron unit’s latest coup has come after the incumbent chief minister of the state Kamal Nath resigned on Thursday before the scheduled floor test was about to take place. Mr Nath stated that he was hurt by the ongoing turmoil in the state and how the democratic values that he stands for have been utterly compromised and left to rot in broad daylight.

The BJP, earlier, had abducted sixteen Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from Madhya Pradesh and ensconced them at a resort in the outskirts of Bengaluru. Calls for kidnapping were made but these voices were easily quietened, perhaps with gifts or other measures of accommodation. These MLAs, who were elected to the state assembly, were forced to resign from their positions. This came on the back of Congress’ blue-eyed boy Jyotiraditya Scindia defecting to the BJP only days ago. The abducted MLAs were supporters of the former. A few days later, their resignation letters found their way to the Speaker of the Assembly N.P.Prajapati, who dismissed them by stating that they were composed under duress.

However, the BJP, led by the former chief minister of the state Shivraj Singh Chouhan, began dissenting and insisted that the Speaker accept these resignation letters. Now sensing that their devious plan to topple the government had hit a roadblock, Chouhan and his cronies went to the Supreme Court to request for a floor test in the Assembly.

Days after dilly-dallying followed and Mr Nath, realising that his ship was sinking, applied several delaying tactics, including bringing Governor Lalji Tandon in the fray. This earned him a sharp reprieve from the latter, who later accepted that the resignation letters of the rebel MLAs must be accepted as they had failed to turn up even after they had been told to do so. The BJP now had a majority of 105 in the 204-member Assembly, which ensured that Mr Nath had to either resign or face the mocking of a floor test.

The BJP has sunk to another low after this complete disregard for the voter’s right. They have upturned democratic ideals and compromised on the lines of decency that one normally associates with politics and politicians. The common public will begin to lose faith in their elected representatives after such an episode. How will those MLAs face their constituents once they go back? The BJP has once again shown that it is not the opinion of the majority that counts in a democracy, but necessary arm-twisting behind closed doors and a lack of ethics that do.

If the BJP were to believe, as Chouhan says now, that the people of Madhya Pradesh had lost their faith in the Kamal Nath-led Congress government, then why not allow them to choose better in the next elections? Unable to come to terms with being in Opposition, they decided to use unconstitutional measures. The Supreme Court, having allowed the floor test, must now look deeply into this issue.