Tamil Nadu Assembly: How our Constitution is being taken for a ride
On September 18, Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal disqualified 18 AIADMK MLAs owing allegiance to "removed" party leader TTV Dhinakaran. The action against the 18 MLAs, who had revolted against chief minister Edappadi K Palanisamy last month, was taken under anti-defection and disqualification rules of 1986 formed in accordance with the tenth schedule of the Constitution, said a statement from Assembly secretary K Bhoopathy. Chief government whip S Rajendran had urged the Speaker to disqualify the said MLAs for "anti-party activities" following their revolt against the chief minister. Though the Speaker had issued notices to all the dissident MLAs seeking their individual presence, they had, however, not turned up. It is in pursuance of this notice that the orders disqualifying the 18 have been passed.
Honestly, ever since the demise of the Iron Lady - J Jayalalithaa - Tamil Nadu politics has been mired in one constitutional shame after another and no party has covered itself with glory or dignity. May be it's time to let We the People decide all over again - even if we may be compelled to choose again from among this very lot, who have not distinguished themselves except in ignominy.
Earlier, it was Sasikala, who, even after her conviction and before her incarceration, held her supporters under Mission Koovathur and the whole nation was witness to the shenanigans on vulgar display.
She anointed Edappadi Palanisamy as chief minister - who has now bolted - and the Opposition DMK did not help the cause by indulging in violence in the Assembly during the floor test called for.
The Opposition was marshalled out lock, stock and barrel and the sanctity and constitutionality of the said vote, which the Palanisamy government got over with, is under challenge before the Madras High Court.
Then we had the spectacle of the EPS and OPS camps sparring over the party symbol. Of course, who can forget the cancellation of RK Nagar Assembly elections at the eleventh hour for the taint of money flowing to voters to purchase their franchise. The Election Commission is actively pursuing charges against those responsible for compromising the election and cases are pending to the effect.
Soon after, we had the spectacle of TTV Dinakaran being arrested for trying to influence a decision before the Election Commission through some "power brokers" - that case too is pending.
In the meanwhile, repeated visits were made to the acting governor of Tamil Nadu's office to order a floor test in the Assembly on the premise that Palanisamy government had lost its "majority". There was talk of the Opposition moving the high court seeking directions to the Speaker to summon the House for a majority test. One more litigation? Indeed.
Then 21 DMK MLAs - including leader of the Opposition M K Stalin - against whom the Privileges Committee of the Tamil Nadu Assembly had issued show cause notices (SCNs) seeking explanation for their act of waving packets of gutka, which was banned in the state, in the Assembly on July 19, have moved the Madras High Court challenging the notices.
The Speaker unilaterally referred the matter to the Privileges Committee the same day without giving any opportunity to the DMK members to address the House on the allegation of breach of privilege. The committee took no action on this issue for almost 40 days until 19 legislators in the Dhinakaran camp expressed their lack of confidence in the present chief minister on August 28.
In the course of these proceedings, the Madras High Court has granted directions to stay any floor test before September 20 - an unheard-of order by one constitutional authority injuncting another. This despite the learned advocate general vehemently opposing it.
While this constitutional issue is still under consideration, we now have the further development of disqualification of 18 MLAs belonging to the TTV camp for "anti-party activities".
Going by the verdict of the Supreme Court in the BS Yeddyurappa episode, in similar circumstances, the "disqualified" MLAs may have a fair case to question the vires of the order.
It is not for us to prejudge the issue as many a nuance and turnarounds may be up and coming. The fact remains that even this imbroglio is bound to go to the Madras High Court.
One wonders how many more twists and turns we would be witnessing less than 12 months since Jayalalitha's demise on December 5, 2016.
The Madras High Court has been sucked into the vortex of the political thicket as "constitutional issues" of several hues and genres have arisen. Justice Vivian Bose called our Constitution "sublime". The sublimation lies in each pillar of democracy - be it legislature, executive or judiciary - functioning with decency, decorum and dignity.
In Tamil Nadu, we have seen the executive and legislature not adhering to the norms that our founding fathers envisaged for them.
It is utterly regrettable that the sublime Constitution is embraced to sustain the machinations of these politicos and, ultimately, We the People are being taken for a ride.
On the moral plane and compass, with other institutions failing them miserably, we, the ordinary citizens are again looking up to the judiciary for delivering us from this mess that we do not deserve.
India is a young democracy - just more than 70 years old - compared to United States - which is more than 240 years old.
If the "practice" in the US during the recent elections, which led to Donald J Trump as the president, was demeaning and shameful, we have a long way to go.
So, it would be no big deal if we had another shot at the hustings instead of camouflaging these ideological food/street fights to corner pelf and power as "constitutional issues".
They are not at the brass-tacks. They are far from it in reality.
Read what Babasaheb Ambedkar, pitamaha of our Constitution said on the last day of Constituent Assembly before the Constitution was adopted:
"However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot. Working of a Constitution does not depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution. The Constitution can provide only the organs of State such as the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. The factors on which the workings of those organs of the State depend are the people and the political parties they will set up as their instruments to carry out their wishes and their politics."
It does seem as if Ambedkar saab was prescient when he said what he said which is a message to We The People.
Also read: Despite OPS-EPS merger, AIADMK is caught in a game of snakes and ladders