What is the Role of the Democratically Elected
Head (Prime Minister) of the Country?
Down the centuries, we have seen political
parties, whether national or regional party giving Prime Minister to our
country from the time of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru till the present Prime Minister
Shri. Narendra Modi.
Unfortunately, we have been seeing and
experiencing the Prime Minister continue to project himself or herself as a
person or leader belonging to one particular party/caste/community and go on addressing
political gatherings/campaigns saying my party, my government, my party
leaders, my achievements, my government has done it, etc., thus degrade the
position of the Democratic Chair given by the vast majority and invite negative
criticisms from different walks of life. The real picture of a Prime Minister
till date is that he/she belongs to a particular party or group. Is it the
mistake of people or the way the Prime Minister functions? Why does the Prime
Minister not get due respect from other parties and groups?
The Prime Minister who is elected by the
people and chosen by the party is the ‘key-stone of the Cabinet-arch’ and a sun
around whom ministers revolve like planet. The Prime Minister, who forms the
government and allocates portfolios to the elected/nominated leaders and makes
them ministers, is not only the leader of the majority party or the head of the
government, but he/she is also the Leader of the Nation. He/she is to shape the
destiny of the nation. It is well said that “when the Prime Minister speaks,
the nation has spoken”. According to K.R.Srinivasan Iyengar, writing on “Prime
Minister”, I quote, said “when he enters the Assembly, be it a Select Committee
or a mass rally, the effect is invariably the same. All eyes converge towards him,
all hands clap in eager affectionate welcome as if to a preordained tune, and
in hushed expectancy watch his intrepid movements and strain to catch his words
and whispers. The men are a little out of breath, the women are almost
overwhelmed”. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and
Atal Bihari Vajpayee proved mirror of public opinion by their speeches. The
nation listened to them with rapt attention and accepted them as their
favourite national leaders.
Whenever any elected leader from a particular
political party is appointed as a Prime Minister, he/she must keep in mind
first of all, he/she is above this party line. His/her party may not have taken
a root in a particular state or region, but that leader is for the entire nation.
Some people may not know him/her, but he/she is chosen to look into their
needs. Some communities might not have given him/her their votes, but he/she is
their prime minister too. Some people and sections of society may not like that
leader, but he/she needs to like them. Minorities want their right to life
protected, he/she has to guarantee for it.
On the contrary, if a Prime Minister holds on
to a particular political party or community and tries to please a particular
section of people, or visiting only a particular religious place or a
particular caste, then how can it is justified that he/she is the Prime
Minister of the country. If he/she is busy giving only speeches/addressing
gatherings/political campaigns/foreign trips and does not fulfil the basic
needs of the masses and electoral promises, how can he/she hold on to that
Chair which is provided by Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains
and other brothers and sisters of our country. If he/she is not taking quick
action to calm down storms of various anti-life incidents, how can we admit
that he/she is morally fit to administer. If any person in the country dies of
starvation, poverty, loan-debt and harassment, the Prime Minister has to think
very deeply, if it is my own brother or sister would I allow that person to die
in that state of life? How can I feast
and throw away crores of rupees for my party’s public gatherings,
advertisements, processions/yatras and hoardings from the public money (collected
from the daily sweat and hard struggle of Indian masses) when the poor people
of our country go empty stomach to sleep, when people are sleeping on the foot
path / railway platforms, when patients are lying down on the floor in
government hospitals? Why are people dying of cancer due to contaminated
drinking water? What is the need of opening cancer hospitals when life
threatening products such as cigarette, tobacco, alcohol and other harmful
drugs have not been banned? Why are people still living without electricity in
remote villages? Why
has the water scarcity not yet been solved?
Why are the students still walking miles to go to schools? The reality is that
the vast majority of the present generation, living especially in remote and
backward villages, has been denied of basic human necessities.
Young generation today wants jobs/employment.
People in remote villages wait for proper road connectivity for the further
education of their children. Anxious parents want safety and security for their
daughters. Innocent people locked up in jails long for justice. Poor farmers
who commit suicide have been pleading for waving off their loans and
implementation of MSP. People who are denied of their daily livelihood due to
imposition of certain ideology want alternative livelihood to manage their
families. People, especially the minority want safety of their life for they
are unsure of when and from where the next assault will come. People as a whole
do not expect political leaders to show them the path of salvation by building
Temples, Mosques, Churches and Gurudwaras for them, rather they are waiting in
hope for a peaceful, progressive, prosperous and united India. When people give
the mandate, first of all they are very clear that they place their trust in
that leader and they want the promises to be fulfilled. People expect good
governance and their voices to be heard. The people of our country are generous
and they do not even ask the government for accountability of the taxes that
they pay through their hard earnings, but they want that tax money to be used
for making India a better and inclusive nation.
Take the example of a small
country Israel (an advanced nation). In a group of 10 scientists when 9
scientists agree on a particular point, but one scientist disagrees, all the 9
scientists give up their collective opinion, show respect to that one scientist
and go with that scientist in search of a better research. It is an inclusive
approach which brings out better results and unity taking the nation to the
path of progress.
Take Gulf countries, with
only the income from oil, are advancing and providing even jobs to thousands of
foreigners. Is India lacking in natural resources? Are we not blessed more than
many other countries? Is it not a country which is truly gifted with natural
and human resources? Why is there still poverty & unemployment? Why is
there corruption?
In some countries, the
winning political party consults the opposition party and even picks up leaders
from the opposition party to work together and take the nation towards the path
of economic, social, cultural and integrated growth. There is harmony in
society and people are law-abiding. They respect each other and live together.
Why is there political, economic, social, religious, cultural and regional
revenge and conflicts
in India?
I am
reminded of the famous quote by the Hindu Mahasabha leader Pandit Madan Mohan
Malviya, “India does not belong to Hindus alone. There are Sikhs, Parsis,
Muslims and Christians. It belongs to all of them. And only if people from
different faiths live together will the country be strengthened.” In other
words, according to me, in reality, religion divides but spirituality unites.
The spirituality of universal brotherhood and forgiveness taught, preached and
lived by great Indian spiritual Gurus, social reformers and genuine political
leaders, in fact unites.
“They alone live,
who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive,”
says Swami
Vivekananda.
It is the opportune time
now to rise above the vote bank politics. We can definitely live together if we
give up blame game and hold on to principles for, “
Politics
without Principle is a sin” according to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our
Nation.
In this regard, the Prime minister has to have
a Third Eye, which is an eye of Knowledge, Truth and Light. An all-inclusive
and all-pervasive Eye. An Eye that protects and guards the Constitution. An Eye
that is quick to take corrective measures whenever and wherever the law is
broken. An Eye that sees everything; that understands the innermost thoughts
and feelings of every citizen; an Eye that rises above narrow party lines and
embraces all the citizens of this country, irrespective of caste, language,
religion, region, etc. An Eye that can be trusted, gives life and prosperity to
all.
Let all the leaders of
various political parties sit together and arrive at a point of making a
provision of law/amendment to the Constitution that would make the Prime
Minister “set apart” above his/her party/community line and not use him/her for
a political gain of that particular party/community only (to which he/she
belongs) as long as he/she is the Prime Minister of the Country. The Prime
Minister must be a person of Approachability, Transparency and Accountability
to the Nation. Let the Prime Minister reach out and celebrate major religious
festivals of our country with the people of all the religions and castes. The
Prime Minister has to keep the country ahead of loyalty, respect, love and
relationship with a particular party or group to which he/she belongs because
Mother India is much bigger than a particular party or group or community.
Prime Minister should have a strong political-will and ensure time-bound
execution and completion of the promises made to the common people. Let it be
clear that he/she is the Prime Minister of India and not the Prime Minister of
BJP, Congress, Left Front, Third Front, NDA, UPA, or any particular political
party or community. In other words, the idea of being a leader of a particular
party or community must go and the opposition should play its role as a
constructive, collaborative and contributing opponent to the ruling govt.
Give a push – for, even the Eagles need a push – towards a new inclusive
India.
