Hema Malini's Mathura fiasco shows we must do away with celeb MPs

Mathura is burning and it's not due to the scorching summer.

Over 24 people (including an SP and SHO) have died in the clashes between the police and the encroachers. The entire nation is anxious and worried about the disturbing developments unfolding at present in Mathura. But the Mathura MP - Hema Malini - seems to be living in a different world altogether.

Leave alone reaching Mathura and being with the people who entrusted her with the responsibility to represent them, Malini has been uploading the pictures of her ongoing film shoot. For all she cares, the Mathura disturbance could have been happening in Mars. Only after an outrage, did Hema Malini delete her insensitive tweets and care to express her concerns about the regrettable happenings in her constituency.

BJP MP (Mathura) Hema Malini uploads shoot pictures on her Twitter even as death toll from Mathura incident rises. pic.twitter.com/CCilzxReCZ

— ANI (@ANI_news) June 3, 2016

#MathuraViolence MP @dreamgirlhema Ist tweets abt her film shooting.Srcs say party was upset & askd them 2 b removd pic.twitter.com/Aj8T4GgbWC

— Kirandeep IBN7 (@raydeep) June 3, 2016

While everyone's sad about horrific events in #Mathura, BJP #Mathura MP busy promoting her movie @dreamgirlhema pic.twitter.com/yzHjpnIHI6

— Sir Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhaqat) June 3, 2016

But this particular irresponsible conduct apart, the celebrity MPs in general have been a problematic lot. From Govinda to Hema Malini to Amitabh Bachchan to Sachin Tendulkar, India had bad experiences with celebrity MPs.

Poor parliamentary record

These celebrities, due to their lucrative professions, spend much of the time on their highly paid jobs, working round the clock to maintain the saleability of their own brand names. So they ignore their parliamentary duties. They often miss out on Parliament sessions. Most of the celebrity MPs have poor attendance in Parliament. In fact, among the MPs with the lowest attendance, the celebrities are conspicuous by their presence.

Inaccessibility

Politics is no laughing matter. In an overpopulated country like India, the representatives carry huge responsibility on their shoulders. They have constituencies the size of countries like Bhutan. So politics cannot be for those who are occupied with things such as making films or playing cricket all year round.

Most of the time, these celebrities have to be out of their constituencies for their professional engagements. Thus they are inaccessible to the voters who elected them in the first place.

Heartfelt condolences to families of SP City Mukul Dwivedi & SHO Santosh Kumar who laid down their lives in the line of duty.

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) June 3, 2016

I fervently appeal to the people of Mathura to remain calm & not get misguided by violent elements ????

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) June 3, 2016

I am a very sensitive person.I am deeply pained on the Mathura incident but Law & Order of U.P is the core issue. Let's not divert.

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) June 3, 2016

Celebrity status trumping performance

Being celebrities, people like Hema Malini get a huge leeway in elections. They often win the polls due to an electorate that is enamoured with their celebrity status rather than on merit of their performance or agenda for their constituency. This defeats the very purpose of election and democracy, which should ideally choose representatives for their performance and/or promises.

These MPs, also being aware of the peculiar Indian fixation with celebrities, exploit the craze to the fullest extent. They milk the fans for as long as possible without caring about doing any actual work, as the fans blinded by their craze are unconcerned about the performances.

Aloof and haughty

Unlike the MPs with core voter base, who come from the rough and tumble of grassroots politics, these celebrity MPs are disconnected from the problems of the real people they represent as they get elected without having had to live and work on the ground for even a day.

Also, most celebrities are aloof and distant from their people as living the celeb life, they get fed up of the crowd that follows them everywhere. While one can appreciate their irritation at the loss of privacy, still due to this aloofness it becomes more difficult for the populace they represent to get their issues addressed through these MPs.

Even then, among the stars themselves, many stand out for being particularly insensitive and haughty. Take Hema Malini. Last July, in an accident, a child acme under her car and died. Instead of consoling the bereaved father, Hema indulged in blame games.

Wider problem

Also it was alleged that the child could have been saved, had she been also taken to a good hospital along with Hema. But, being a star, Hema was properly attended to, while the child was not.

It is more than obvious that celebrity MPs are a burden on the Indian democracy. They are reflective of a system that is not yet mature. Let's hope the outrage over Hema Malini goes beyond herself and addresses this wider problem