A Glimpse on Our Rotting Political System

Finally we needed the Supreme court of this country to shout at the top of its voice that the Common Wealth Games (CWC-Corrupt Working Group as the press freely refers) arrangements(?) is reeking of corruption involving a whopping sum of Rs 70,000 crores! We, ie., you and me living in this country, are so stupid and lazy idiots that we read all these corruption stories(!) with top entertainment values almost on daily basis. If by chance there is no corruption story, big or small in the dailies, we straight away turn to our favorite page - sports, fun & games or filmy glitter. Personally, if I do not see any brain picking news in the front page - the latest trend in print media is a half page advertisement on the front page! - I turn to Editorial page and before reading any editorial article, usually smacked of biases, I first read "Letter to the Editor". The highest value for money I pay for newspapers  is here in these letters. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with joy from these letters because of the sense I get renewed that this wretched country still has highly concerned people about the fast deteriorating values in public life. But they also are equally stupid idiots like me, because, except barking in excellent language what else can they do? Who reads these letters except the likes of me?

The other day I laughed heartily. Our respected prime minister dared to show its place to the judiciary by telling the supreme court that courts have no mandate to interfere with legislation. That was when the food and agriculture minister said the supreme court suggested the ministry to distribute the rotting food grains callously stored in open fields covered by tarpaulins in this monsoon rains, to the starving poor, and the supreme court was quick to respond that it was not a suggestion but was an order! Well, technically, or better constitutionally our prime minister could well be right in putting the judiciary in place. But on the other hand what does it suggest? Is the prime minister happy with the callousness of Food and Agriculture Ministry and the bureaucrats who stored 50,000 metric tonnes of food grains in open fields covered with just tarpaulins and plastic sheets, left to rot in the torrential monsoon rains? Or, is he insensitive to the hunger of the poor by telling the Supreme Court to mind its own business when it showed its anger towards the callousness of the people in power?

Today, the Allahabad High Court's verdict on the Ram Janma Bhumi - Babri Masjid litigation came out. People were waiting for the verdict on a sixty year old litigation with bated breath. Many had expected widespread violence as soon as the verdict - either way - was made public. But no! Our courts have once again shown impeccable sanity in studying the facts in micro details. I am yet to see the full text of the judgement in newspapers tomorrow. But I can clearly see that the courts have shown to the concerned parties that there really was a very simple solution to the issue which could well have been arrived at long ago, without the help from the county's legal authority, if only not for political interference. Many fundamental elements on both sides must have been thoroughly disappointed with the verdict and I am sure, these intelligent religious people will go on appealing the Supreme Court trying to prove that what has been said by the High Court is not just!

By writing so about Supreme Court and our judiciary, I am certainly not of the opinion that our judicial system is fine. Sure, the rot is deep in our judiciary too. Just look at the valour of Shanti Bhushan, ex Union Law Minister and retired Supreme court lawyer. When his son, a Supreme Court lawyer too, was pulled away by the Supreme Court slapping Contempt of Court charges against him for having said that half of the previous Chief Justices were corrupt, the old man simply signed an affidavit in court not only declaring 8 out of the 16 previous Chief Justices of India were corrupt but also has named the corrupt ones, virtually inviting the Supreme Court to initiate Contempt  of Court charges or any other legal proceedings against him. So far, as my knowledge goes the Judiciary is keeping mum on this issue!

Be proud of Mother India that is Mera Bharat Mahaan!