New year resolution - Respect the constitution

We the people should never forget that those who govern us and those whom we elect as law makers are all grownups. Hence, we should learn to expect them to behave as our parents and grandparents behave at their homes – with a sense of responsibility towards all family members

‘We the people’ is a call, trust and an oath. This spirit of the constitution is the spirit of India, that has been the mother of democracy in the world. - Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

As we begin the new year, let me play with a straight bat with something that is not very new. It is high time all the four pillars of democracy started respecting the Constitution, Manasa, Vacha, Karmana.

One may wonder what is the occasion to discuss the Constitution now, but my justification is that the values that the supreme law of India tells us must be imbibed by all – from the powers that be to the powerless. The powerless must begin to demand for their constitutional rights. Generalisation? Absolutely not!

Chief Justice of India Dhananjay Chandrachud had himself said: The Constitution is a social contract between those who are in power historically and those who are oppressed and sought to change the power hegemony and chose to govern themselves, as the Indian Express reported.

“There is a need for us to introspect on our actions and decisions and to question our own prejudices and preconceptions. For until we open our minds to multiple views of persons with varied lived experiences, we would be lacking in our role as judges,” he said, adding that an institution thrives with time only when it functions democratically, Express reported.

Over the past 73 years, enough has been spoken and written about the Constitution right from the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India to journalists.

Modi himself said during the Constitution Day event in 2022 that in the modern time, the Constitution has embraced all the cultural and moral emotions of the nation. But when it comes to implementation it has remained on paper, to a large extent.

Modi also refers to the Amrit Kaal as ‘Kartavya Kaal’. Actually, this should be read as Kartavya Call – the call of duty.

All those who take the oath of power vow by the Constitution but they go by it? Experience that they give it a go-bye.

The Constitution guarantees equality before law, mutual respect and justice for all. It is high time we did some introspection and went for course correction. At the risk of some readers dismissing this column as a school child’s essay, let me recall what the CJI had said: an institution thrives with time only when it functions democratically. Right. This is applicable to all the four institutions – judiciary, executive, legislature and the media.

Now, let us start contextualising this. The tu-tu-main-main or whataboutery has been a part of our political system. The BJP blamed the Congress government, shouted in Parliament, jumped in front of the presiding officers and even showed placards. When the then government objected, BJP leaders justified saying protests in Parliament were part of democracy. The Manmohan Singh Government did not expel the opposition members for their behaviour. But when the Congress pays back the BJP government in the same coin, the opposition gets expelled. That is undemocratic as the opposition termed it: Murder of democracy. On top of that the government gets major bills including the vital criminal laws in the absence of 146 opposition members in both the Houses. By no stretch of imagination this can be called a democratic process because democracy essentially involves deliberation, consultation and consensus.

We the people should never forget that those who govern us and those whom we elect as law makers are all grownups. Hence, we should learn to expect them to behave as our parents and grandparents behave at their homes – with a sense of responsibility towards all family members. Our elders do not throw us out of our homes even if they do not agree with us on certain things, nor do we walk out of our homes if we disagree with our elders.

This example may sound a bit far-fetched but you will agree with me that the discipline of mutual respect begins at home and leads to the House. In this new year, therefore, it won’t be a far-fetched idea to expect a sense of mutual respect between the government and the opposition, the government and the judiciary, the government and the media.

If TMC MP Mahua Moitra committed a blunder by giving her login-password details of her Parliament email account, BJP MP Pratap Simha was irresponsible in giving Lok Sabha entry passes to two youths who jumped from the visitor’ gallery and fired smoke canisters. Moitra was punished and disciplinary action should have been taken against Simha as well.

BJP MP Brijbhushan Singh has been accused of sexual harassment of women wrestlers and the Delhi Police filed a 1,000-page chargesheet way back in June 2022 after a prolonged agitation by the victims and their supporters.

The chargesheet, which was filed on June 13, also states that his harassment was 'repeated and continuing', OutlookIndia.com reported. More than 100 witnesses had testified during the time of filing the chargesheet, which included referees, coaches and wrestlers, the website said.

The ruling party is yet to act against its MP. Would the BJP have kept quiet if any opposition MP was involved in a similar case? Not just the Parliament, the BJP would have turned the nation upside down.

Peace is yet to return to Manipur that has been witnessing trouble for the past eight months. After suspected militants fired several rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) in the border town of Moreh in Manipur injuring three commandos, the situation has remained tense, reported PTI. And the Prime Minister is yet to visit the State or make a comprehensive statement except for his whataboutery on then Congress ruled Rajasthan.

In the case of disrobing and sexually assaulting an IIT student in Varanasi (Yes, PM Modi’s constituency), the UP police have taken two months to arrest three youths who are allegedly associated with the BJP’s IT cell. The accused were caught on CCTV camera but not by the police. Critics say the delay in the action was because the government was apparently trying to avoid such controversy during the last elections to the five legislative assemblies.

Remember the Bilkis Bano gangrape during the infamous Gujarat riots? The Gujarat government prematurely released the 11 convicts and BJP machinery felicitated them.

At the height of the infamous Gujarat Riots in February 2002, Ms. Bilkis Bano and her family fled from their home in Randhikpur village, supremecourtobserver.com reported. On March 3rd, 2002, they reached Chappawrwad village but were ambushed by an armed mob. The men gangraped Ms. Bano and, reportedly, murdered seven members of her family including her infant daughter. She approached the local police to file a complaint. However, the police initially refused to lodge an FIR. When they finally decided to do so, the police omitted several important details including the names of many of the assailants, SCO said.

These are just a few of the reported cases and there could be many more similar instances that violate the constitutional principle of equality before law.

The Congress is not free of such violations. Recently, the Income Tax department discovered over Rs 300 crores of wads of cash at Congress MP Dheeraj Sahu, but the party chose to leave it to him to explain the case. Couldn’t the Congress high command take some disciplinary action against him and ask him to remain out of the party till his innocence is proved?

The misuse of ‘caged parrots’, the investigation agencies, happened during the UPA rule and is continuing even now. If the BJP vows to undo the injustice of the Congress era, the present ruling dispensation has no business to continue to use the ED-IT-CBI machinery as part of its opposition-mukt Bharat.

Finally, let me recall what CJI Chandrachud had said about the judiciary: “There is a need for us to introspect on our actions and decisions and to question our own prejudices and preconceptions. For until we open our minds to multiple views of persons with varied lived experiences, we would be lacking in our role as judges.” This introspection is a must for all the four key pillars of democracy.

(The columnist is a Mumbai-based author and independent media veteran, running websites and a youtube channel known for his thought-provoking messaging.)