“When it Rains, it Pours”

Deepak Sinha

There’s an old English adage that goes, “when it rains, it pours”, and pouring it is, not just literally, but figuratively as well. Mr. Modi could be excused for believing that the Gods are conspiring against him, as the perfect storm- domestic, geopolitical and economic, that is gathering, may well cost him heavily, if not turn out to be his nemesis. And all this without the Marg Darshak issue that he so cleverly used to come to power and which has now resurfaced as he reaches “retirement” age.

We still do not know which direction the Trump Tariff Cyclone will take, and won’t till the 21^st of the month, but Trump’s actions have now given Mr. Modi the ideal excuse, if he needed one, to genuflect in front of the Xi-Putin combine, his default position in any case. In his ambition to become the Vishwa Guru, he has ignored the fact that cosying up to the likes of Trump, Xi and Putin can be extremely costly as often best friends make the worst enemies.

However, whether it be the tariffs, Chinese perfidy or threats of nuclear annihilation from Field Marshal Munir, these are but passing fancies, and like always, we will somehow get through them relatively unscathed. We are on the ascent once again, and nothing can keep us down, except, ofcourse, our own foolhardiness. The true existential crises that we face are unfortunately purely homegrown. One, our inability to synchronise our economic progress in tandem with environmental well-being, primarily due to greed, misgovernance and the absence of a long-term vision. Secondly, and even more dangerous, has been the attack on our democratic institutions, values, and way of life. It appears a section of our people has come to believe that reaching the destination is more important than the road travelled. There is little point in reaching ones destination by leaving fellow travellers behind.

Let me start with what havoc the monsoon has wreaked this year, just as it did the last year, and the year before. Our metros have been turned into unplanned urban sprawls, overrun with garbage choking open sewers, and turning parts of all our cities, large and small, into stinking hell holes every time there is a downpour. Even worse off are the small towns and hamlets that dot the Himalayan range. Unchecked tourism, not least of the religious variety, has led to an uncontrolled construction boom with hotels, guest houses and highways mushrooming up with little heed to either planned development or the inherent fragility of the Himalayan ecology in the face of climate change. Climate adaption and resilience, it seems, does not exist in our vocabulary.

As was to be expected, nature has struck back. The horror we witnessed in Dharali and parts of Himachal Pradesh, are wholly symptomatic of our political leadership’s lack of vision, accountability and the overwhelming greed that guides every action, of not just the politico-corporate -bureaucrat nexus, but also local inhabitants unwilling to miss the chance to make a fast buck. The fact of the matter is that Uttarakhand would be much better served with a Chief Minister, not at the forefront of rescue efforts in Dharali, however commendable that seems, but combating the extensive corruption that has seeped into every sinew of government. Sadly, the people are now paying a very heavy price for their acts of commission and omission. Let us also not be naïve, because this cancer gnawing at our vitals is not just restricted to Uttarakhand or Himachal, but has metasised into every state and UT.

Also now, something even more dangerous than climate change has struck at the heart of our democracy. As is fairly common knowledge, in pre-British India, the Sub-Continent, was a complex tapestry of independent and semi-independent states, that numbered around six hundred, when the British finally departed. At the time our forefathers had the choice of either reverting to our traditional feudal systems or embracing liberty and freedom for which they had fought and sacrificed much.

In their wisdom they chose the latter, and adopted a constitution that gave us all, irrespective of caste, class or religion, some degree of control and freedom over our futures, through our elected representatives. Thus, among all the constitutional institutions that we established, the Election Commission of India (ECI), became the lynchpin of our democratic system of governance. It’s only task, to ensure free and fair elections so that the voice of the majority has a say in how we are governed.

Therefore, the extremely serious accusations made against its functioning by Mr. Rahul Gandhi, along with documentary proof, some of which has already been shown to be correct, clearly suggests that all is not well with the Election Commission. The BJP’s vocal support for it, only adds to suspicions that it may well be compromised, as it is not the job of the party in government to defend the actions of an independent and autonomous ECI, capable of tackling such allegations on its own. We are presently unaware as to how deep this rot runs, and whether these lapses are due to a systems failure, incompetence or a deliberate intervention to favour one side. Whatever be the reason its credibility stands seriously damaged.

Moreover, the ECI’s response to these allegations clearly suggests they are in denial and thus incapable of undertaking a fair investigation and initiating the necessary corrective actions required to bring it back on track. In fact, over the past year or so, many of its actions have greatly shown an increasing lack of transparency in its functioning. Orders, such as destruction of videos after 45 days of polling, and a refusal to provide documents in public domain have only added to its loss of credibility and raised suspicions as to its motive for doing so.

These suspicions have also been further fuelled by the manner in which the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is being carried out in Bihar. As per media reports over 56 Lakh names have been deleted from voter rolls that had last been revised just six months back. This is also raising hackles within the opposition parties and the Muslim community that finds itself at the raw end of the stick.

Despite being a constitutional body, its members and staff are neither above the law, nor can they function as they please, changing rules and procedures as it suits them. Any acts of omission or commission by them must be dealt with quickly and harshly so that it acts as a deterrent for others. At the end of the day, any deliberate attempt to sway elections one way or the other is a perfidious attack on our democracy, way of life, and on the citizens freedom to choose who represents him. It must be called out for what it is, an act of treason which deserves to be punished.

Under the circumstances it is absolutely crucial that the Supreme Court take suo moto cognisance of the accusations made by Mr Gandhi, convert them into a criminal complaint and direct a court supervised investigation of the same. Those responsible for lapses must be held accountable. Simultaneously, it should also direct the ECI to provide all electronic data available in its records pertaining to the last general/state election, across the country, for political parties and civil society to examine if lapses that have been highlighted by Mr. Gandhi have occurred elsewhere.

Clearly the stakes here are far too high, especially if any investigation brings out widespread lapses led to the BJP’s victory. That would be unprecedented and could very well greatly damage internal cohesion within our country. Over the past few years, the Supreme Court has not exactly covered itself with glory in its handling of complex constitutional matters, be they the issue of Article 370 or Babri Masjid etc. However, one can only hope that they will rise to the occasion this time, otherwise the very idea of India, that our forefathers sacrificed so much for, would be reduced to ashes. That would be a tragic end to an experiment that is on the verge of succeeding, despite every obstacle the British put in the way.