{"id":179882,"date":"2021-12-21T00:55:08","date_gmt":"2021-12-20T19:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/?p=179882"},"modified":"2021-12-21T00:55:08","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T19:25:08","slug":"main-vip-hoon-tum-kaun-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/2021\/12\/21\/main-vip-hoon-tum-kaun-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Main vip hoon, tum kaun?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arrogance Of Power<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\nBy Poonam I Kaushish<\/strong><\/p>\n

The more things change the more they remain the same. Daily we are treated to some mindless antics, inane tantrums, silly shenanigans by our leaders. For whom politics translates in to conduct of public affairs for private advantage with two sets of laws: rule of law for us where innocents are jailed for trivial crimes and rule by law for them read \u2018follow-no-rules\u2019. God forbid, if anyone questions their misdemeanor, be prepared for open fury, \u201cMain VIP hoon, tum kaun?\u201d
\nWelcome to the world of VIPs arrogance of power. Last week we were treated to two high jinxes by our Very Important Persons. BJP\u2019s Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra \u2018Teni\u2019\u2019s furious reaction as he snatched a mike and phones of journalists when they sought his comment on the UP Police SIT holding his jailed son Ashish guilty of murder and hatching conspiracy against farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri which mowed down eight. \u201cDimag kharab hai kya? Aise jo tumhare media waale hain na, yahi choron ne ek nirdosh aadmi ke liye bataya. Sharam nahi aati hai? Bewakofi ke sawaal mat kara karo\u2026\u201d
\nIf this was appalling a BJP MP was caught on camera slapping a wrestler during a national championship event in Ranchi underscoring an environment, wherein our netas times out of number behave like Bahubalis with the State maintaining a deafening silence. Not for it that Mishra\u2019s continuance as Minister is untenable Constitutionally, ethically, politically, and morally despite the Government stating the matter is \u201csub judice\u201d and a father could not be punished for his son\u2019s sins.
\nAlas, these latest high jinx of our \u2018don\u2019t-you-know-I-am-a-VIP\u2019 underscores the vestige of 19th century India, colonial mindset and feudal intent still lingers whereby our neo-Maharajas MPs and MLAs are afflicted by two diseases: Acute Orwellian disorders of \u201cI am more equal than you\u201d and \u201calways asking for more\u201d with in-your-face boorishness sans accountability being their trademark. Immortalised by Mumbai mafia don-turned MLA Arun Gawli: \u201cAb mere pas bullet-proof jacket hai!.\u201d
\nRemember Shiv Sena MP who assaulted an Air India manager because he was denied a Business Class seat on an economy Pune-Delhi flight. \u201cI hit him 25 times with my sandals, tore his clothes, broke his specs\u2026.I have no regrets\u2026I have many criminal cases against me\u2026.I am an MP and will not tolerate any insult.\u201d Or BJP\u2019s Indore MLA assaulting a municipal corporation officer with a cricket bat for going against his diktat and carrying out demolition of an \u2018unsafe\u2019 building.
\nAnd Maharashtra\u2019s Congress MLA assaulting an engineer, parading him and tying him to a pillar pouring buckets of dirt and mud on him. Questioned, said he, \u201cI was merely acting on public complaints against inaction by the authorities and to ensure it does not happen again\u201d. Sic.
\nWorse, instead of feeling remorse our netas strut and preen like peacocks. Accentuating an inherent mindset of Hum Khaas Hain, which translates to living life king-size and nauseatingly flaunting it. Showcasing their power via elaborate power trappings: retinue of chamchas who applaud even the inane and ludicrous.
\nUndeniably, we seem to live in an India where only VVIPs matter, living life in the slim strip called \u2018official\u2019 in a race for privilege. Wherein there is a wide chasm between the aam aadmi and our khaas aadmis. Add to this the high octane decibels of Saada Haq whereby, just about everybody, who\u2019s anybody abuses power and public resources topped by being protected all at our expense.
\nBig deal if this leaves a bitter taste in people\u2019s mouth, increasing frustration, disconnect and contempt for the rulers which results in defiance by people at large. Raising a moot point: Do our leaders actually deserve this extra importance? Aren\u2019t symbols of authority contrary to the basic feature of republicanism enshrined in our Constitution?
\nCan our poor country afford braggarts as legislators? Haven\u2019t we had enough? Whatever happened to democracy by the people, of the people, for the people? Considering, most rulers barely discharge their responsibilities honestly and honourably. Do our leaders know the reality of Asli Bharat which they ad nauseum vow to protect? Where over 700 millions live below the poverty? Succinctly, they don\u2019t give a damn.
\nNot for our neo-Maharajas the fact there\u2019s something demeaning about the idea of VIPs, something inherently undemocratic. As it militates against the idea of equality, for the simple reason that it makes citizens inferior to rulers. When \u2018black cats\u2019 and police protection become status differentiators which come at the cost of dignity of the ordinary citizen, there\u2019s reason enough to challenge the idea and rip it apart.
\nHowever, not a few aver that politics is all about perception. That there\u2019s justifiably a strong element of symbolism and show associated with an elected public office. There can be no argument that leaders deserve special treatment. However, it\u2019s conveniently forgotten that the handling is reserved only for offices they hold, not for the individuals per se. The President, Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers, Speakers etc are protected across the world.
\nAt the same time, a fundamental precept of democratic governance is equality of all citizens before the law regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religious or political beliefs and affiliations, caste, class or economic status. Unlike a colonial, feudal or totalitarian regime, in a democracy the rule of law applies equally to all citizens. No public servant, not even the President or Prime Minister, is above the law.
\nThere are many challenging moments in democracy where hard decisions have to be taken.\u00a0 Indian democracy is not so fragile that over one billion people should be beholden and subservient to their undaata does not hold.
\nPlainly, the don\u2019t-you-know-who-I-am\u2019 VIP term is outdated in a democracy. It is ironic that those elected to serve the people deny the very people they serve access to themselves. They need to dispense with the jo hukam sarkar culture and dismantle their privileged fortresses if we have to survive as a nation. This would force them to experience the pathetic state of affairs in Mera Bharat Mahan and understand how democracy is undermined when VVIPs break all rules.
\nIn sum our rulers need to understand Parliamentary majorities are not immortal. The right to remain in power is not immortal. It gets shaken by\u00a0their arrogance of power. As a new generation comes of age our rulers need to remember a home-truth: Democracy is based on the fundamental premise of equality for all. Gone are the days when leaders were revered, today they symbolise everything that plagues India, warts and all.
\nThus, in a milieu where simplicity and austerity is Utopian to our polity, it is time our high and mighty wake up to the danger lurking round the corner and smell the coffee. If they don\u2019t change they will become increasingly irrelevant. We do not need gestures which total zilch. It remains to be seen whether our polity will continue to behave like Bahubalis and live life Maharaja-size and reduce hum-toh-janata-ke-sevak-hain to mere tokenism? \u2014 INFA<\/p>\n

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Arrogance Of Power By Poonam I Kaushish The more things change the more they remain the same. Daily we are treated to some mindless antics, inane tantrums, silly shenanigans by our leaders. For whom politics translates in to conduct of public affairs for private advantage with two sets of laws: rule of law for us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-179882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-features"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179882\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}