At a time
when the opposition political parties are grossly failing from fulfilling their
democratic responsibilities, the judiciary is continually shying away from its
bounden duty of protecting the freedom of individuals and the constitutional
values, and a large segment of people are drugged with a religion and politics
mixed ideology, the bold stand of Prashant Bhushan gives hope to Indians.
Indeed he is lighting a lamp in the midst of darkness.
The socio-
political and economic scenario in the country is really worrying. India
continues to be the country that has the highest number of Covid 19 infections
in a day. But the Prime Minister who promised to defeat the virus within 21
days seems to be clueless and often silent on the issue. Millions of Indians
lost their jobs and are struggling for their livelihood and the government has
no credible plan to create jobs except sermonizing about the
atmanirbhar Bharat. At this crucial juncture the priority of the
ruling party seems to be toppling opposition ruled State governments and
communally polarizing the people of India. While most of the worship centres are
either closed or poorly attended by the devotees, why is the government in a
hurry to build a new worship centre? It seems that the priorities of the Union
government seem to be in reverse gear.
In spite of
a series of failures from the part of the PM Modi and his government his
popularity remains the same. Well known journalist Pratap Bhanu Mehta in his
article in The Indian Express on 26th August has briefly analysed
the politics in India. He says what India is witnessing today is “politics of
Vishwas†in the place of politics of accountability. It is the belief in a highly centralized
charismatic leader who promotes Hindu nationalism. The characteristics of the ‘politics of
Vishwas’, according to PB Mehta, are ‘immunity to accountability’, ‘continual
feeding of ethno-nationalism, moving from one issue or one enemy to the other’
and control of media. “You can preside over poor economic performance, suffer a
military setback, inflict suffering through failed schemes like demonetisation,
and yet the trust does not declineâ€, writes P B Mehta.
The
ineffective and confused opposition parties remain helpless in the face of the
‘politics of Vishwas’. In a democracy the opposition parties have to keep the
ruling party on its toes by pointing out the failures and wrong policies of the
government. In the present context of India the opposition parties, including
the Congress, have failed the people. They have become def and dump. The
leaders of the regional parties seem to be either frightened of being haunted
by the investigation agencies for corruption cases or being bought with the
promises of crumbs of power. The Congress
party refuses to get out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The push to take the
party out of the moribund condition by 23 prominent leaders appears to be thwarted
by the supporters of the high command. The Congress party has been headless for
more than a year. During this period the party lost its government in Madhya
Pradesh and its government in Rajasthan was on the brink of collapse. Many
workers and leaders have left the party, as they do not find light at the end
of the tunnel. Because of its refusal to reinvent itself the Congress party
appears to be willingly collaborating with the BJP and P M Modi who is
determined to make a
Congress mukth
Bharat. The Congress party is doing
a great injustice to the people of India because of its indecision and
lethargy.
Against this
near hopeless situation Prashant Bhushan’s courageous stand symbolizes hope. He
has refused to apologize for his tweets criticizing the omissions and
commissions of the judges of the Apex court. "Retracting the statement or
offering insincere apology would amount to contempt of my conscience,"
Prashant Bhushan said on 24th August to the three-judge bench
hearing the case. The power of the soul is reflected in this daring statement
when many politicians and bureaucrats in our country are ready to sell their
souls either because of fear or because of lust for power and money. Prashant
Bhushan has proved to be a person who does not compromise on principles and the
core constitutional values. He had already told the Highest Court of India on 20th
August that he would not apologize for the two tweets on Chief Justice S A
Bobde and the Supreme Court that the apex court found offensive. “I do not ask
for mercy. I do not appeal to magnanimity. I am here, therefore, to cheerfully
submit to any penalty that can be lawfully inflicted upon me for what the Court
has determined to be an offence, and what appears to me to be the highest duty
of a citizen, had told the court.â€
The boldness
and determination of the Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi is reflected in
the statement of Prashant Bhusan. Only a person of integrity and courage can
say that he is ready to undergo punishment. Eminent persons belonging to the legal
fraternity, retired justices, renowned social activists and prominent retired
civil servants have expressed solidarity with Prashant Bhushan and held that
contempt proceedings are wrong. Even the Attorney General K K Venugopal
requested the bench not to punish Bhushan. The Supreme Court finds itself in a
tricky situation. Since the court has already held Bhushan guilty, it
cannot go back on its verdict, as it would only reinforce
the impression that the court was ‘going after’ the lawyer for raising relevant
but uncomfortable questions about the judiciary. If the SC punishes Bhushan, it
would enormously increase the public support to him.
Many
intellectuals and activists have rallied around Prashant Bhushan in favour of
safeguarding the freedom of the individuals and the constitution of India. Public
support to Bhushan can force the Apex Court
to rethink its go-slow
approach towards many crucial cases related to the
constitution and freedom of the citizens pending in the Supreme Court. For example India continued to lead
with the largest number of internet shutdowns globally as authorities resorted
to blanket shutdowns either to prevent social unrest or to respond to an
ongoing law and order problem. According
to the Software Freedom Law Centre, by November 2019, there were
85 shutdowns, out of which 55 were in
Jammu and Kashmir.
Gautam
Bhattia in an article, ‘The Troubling Legacy of Justice Ranjan Gogoi’ in
The Wire has described the shift that
has taken place in the functioning of the Supreme Court during the tenure of
ex-Chief Justice Gogoi. He “oversaw a drift from a Rights Court to an Executive
Courtâ€. In other words the SC which is expected to be committed to the protection
of individual rights began to speak the language of the executive. Prashant
Bhushan seems to have reminded the Supreme Court through his tweets about the
continuing drift from “a Rights Court to an Executive Courtâ€.
As the opposition
political parties continue to fail the people of India by their silence and
inactions and the judiciary continues a go-slow process regarding crucial cases
of violation of individual freedoms, time has come for the civil society and
people’s organizations to take up the role of the opposition to question the
actions of the Executive that violate the fundamental rights of the citizens.
The prophetic stand of Prashant Bhushan can infuse courage and confidence in
individuals and organizations that are committed to safeguard individual
freedoms and the constitution of India, and instil hope in them.
(E-mail:jacobpt48@gmail.com
)
