BY SWAPAN DASGUPTA

Kleptocratic Mockery

If coalitions are the norm, let the people say so.

There are times when outrage and plain common sense demand that the entire political class be clapped in chains and banished to some god-forsaken Devil's Island. The past three weeks have been one of those moments. The people of India -- those who elect our MPs and pay for their lavish upkeep -- have witnessed with mute stupefaction and exasperation a grotesque exercise in black humour being enacted in Lutyens' Delhi. It has even ceased to be funny. Three weeks ago, India was a semi-functioning anarchy; today it is well into an experiment in what can innovatively be described as kleptocracy -- a system where even short-changing has transcended the profit motive.

To blame any one individual or political group for this descent into ignominy is to beg the point. Of course, Justice M.C. Jain owes his fraternity an explanation for a report that insults both the English language and the principles of jurisprudence. Of course, the Congress owes somebody an explanation for first demanding the death penalty for the DMK and then inexplicably suggesting that it would be ready to settle for a suspended sentence. Of course, the United Front (UF) Government owes India a grovelling apology for wilfully prolonging the uncertainty and using the confusion to inveigle superannuation benefits for the charmed friends of the prime minister.

The bitter truth is that India's political classes have got accustomed to brazen non-accountability. The Congress doesn't feel it necessary to explain to the voters why it should have a stake in governance despite being soundly thrashed in 1996. The UF constituents don't feel obliged to explain the rationale behind recklessly disregarding the anti-Congress thrust of last year's fractured mandate. And even the BJP feels it can take its supporters for granted by inviting into its ranks a bunch of opportunists and time-servers. What Kanshi Ram has elevated into a principle has been put into practice by the others with a gloss of sophistry. Anti-communalism and realignment are not just vacuous slogans, they are symptoms of the Great Indian Kleptocracy.

What makes the wanton disregard of all norms that much uglier is the fact that it is done in the name of that great amorphous entity -- the people. Too many elections, it is said, are bad for the people's soul and must be avoided. Claiming exceptional privileges, a body of parliamentary freshers petition the President against the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. We will be inconvenienced, they say, and, in any case, the people don't want to be burdened with the responsibility of going to the polling station, marking their preference and getting ink stains on a finger. Says who? Have the people been asked? How is it that every credible opinion poll since the final days of H.D. Deve Gowda shows a clamour for fresh elections?

These questions leave the votaries of realignment and consensus gasping for answers. The fact is there are no answers. India has deemed itself to be a parliamentary democracy. In such a system, sovereignty ultimately vests in the people. If there is uncertainty, if governance breaks down and if a mandate needs renewal, only the people can provide it. If coalitions have indeed become a norm, it is best to pose the question frontally to the people and await the answer. It could be revealing.

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