Why Delhi must vote for the Congress today….

One simple reason. Over the last 15 years, the city has been totally transformed. It is much closer to being a world city today than it was 15 years ago when Sheila Dixit stepped in. It boasts of world class infrastructure – a global standards metro, India’s best airport, wide roads, airconditioned buses, well kept parks, uninterrupted power supply, large number of jobs…..need we go further?

Are there problems the city faces? Of course there are. But the kind of problems that are listed by the BJP and AAP are themselves an acknowledgment of the progress that Delhi has achieved. The power bills are too high say both….but neither says that power cuts are a problem (something that was a perpetual problem in Delhi). There is too much traffic they say, acknowledging that economic prosperity has led to a surfeit of cars (and this in spite of the metro ferreting more than 2 million passengers every day). It takes 2 hours to go from Gurgaon to Noida, they cry, accepting that the city/NCR has grown so much that it has made the entire NCR come to life.

And what is driving all this growth? A solid economy. Over the last 10 years, the Delhi government has delivered a near (or over) 10% annual GSDP growth. This is probably the highest amongst major states (Yes, Delhi is a major state considering its economy is more than Punjab’s and Haryana’s), definitely better than the APCO-propped Gujarat’s. Today, the most job creation happens in the NCR, thanks to booming IT/BPO/Manufacturing/Hospitality/Construction sectors. Today, most MNCs prefer to settle in Delhi, not Mumbai. Today, most construction happens in Delhi, not Mumbai or Pune. Since the last census in 2001, Delhi’s population has also soared past Mumbai’s. Delhi is today the most buzzing of all cities in India….

What is the AAP promising really? That it will cut electricity bills by 50%. Does it have a plan for this? No. It does have a lot of rhetoric though. The party acknowledges that electricity wastage (T&D losses) has been cut from 40%+ fifteen years back to barely 15% now. In fact, it uses this achievement to demand that the savings that have so accrued be passed on to the people. Well, this presumes that the savings are not getting used effectively; that maybe someone is pocketing them. Do they have anything to support this? Nada. Will the AAP reduce prices if elected. It will have to, considering it is their main poll plank, but what it will do to Delhi’s power situation is obvious. A look Goa, where the BJP reduced petrol prices to Rs 50 odd levels, should be evidence of that. With drastically reduced tax collections, the state’s economy has been devastated.

The AAP also promises that the Rs 400 crore surplus in Delhi Jal Board will be distributed amongst the people in the form of free water. Who will tell the AAP that if all profits are distributed, there will be nothing left for investments? Does he not know what problems the Indian Railways faces because of the exact same reason (prices were not increased for nearly 10 years…..).

What are the other issues the AAP stands for? A highly unconvicing position on the Lokpal (actually Lok Ayukta). Unconvincing because most knowledgeable commentators today acknowledge that another watchdog in the form of a Lok Ayukta will not curb corruption. Better systems, less discretionary powers, more realistic laws, more usage of technology and more competition will. But is there a plan for all this? At least I haven’t heard so. For anything on corruption, there is just one mantra. Lok Ayukta. Bizarre.

The BJP is a complete write-off in Delhi. The party that chooses to anoint its leaders before the elections could finalize its leader only a few days before the elections. Was this delay because the party has a huge number of eligible leaders? Nah….because if that was the case, it wouldn’t have relied on its national leaders to campaign on its behalf. The reality is that the BJP is a badly divided house in Delhi.

The BJP clearly looks like the B-team of the AAP. If there is a strong opponent of the Congress, it has to be the AAP. The only advantage that the BJP has over the AAP is that it is perhaps better organized, being a much older party. The party cadres also appear to have been energized by Modi. Will this swing the vote towards the BJP? I doubt it.

If performance should be rewarded, then the Congress deserves to win. But are there other issues that will harm its chances? It’s possible, but its surely not a certainty. On corruption, the BJP’s double standards on the Lokpal issue are well known. Its corruption standards are comparable to the Congress’s. On women’s issues, if Delhi is the rape capital amongst the metros, BJP ruled MP is at the national level. Is anyone saying that the BJP will lose MP because of this? Also, considering most rapes take place inside homes, and by people known to the victim, is it really possible to lay the blame on the government? In other words, can a change of government help reduce rapes? I’m not sure. What can reduce this shame drastically is stronger laws (which the Congress has enacted), an alert media (which we have a lot of!), and a huge change in the mindsets of people (which is bound to happen given the previous two points).

What the Congress really suffers from is poor communications. The Congress has no match for Modi when it comes to delivering speeches (even though those speeches are full of errors, lies and more!). Most people I have discussed the 2G scam with for instance agree that the CAG report was vastly exaggerated; but they also say that the Congress did little to defend its position. Ditto on the coal scam. In politics, a party that cannot communicate suffers. If the Congress loses Delhi, it will not be for a poor performance record; it will be for a really poor communications record.

The real truth is that the Congress has done wonders for Delhi, making it India’s numero uno in development, infrastructure, jobs creation, education…..and much more. It has set a benchmark for other cities to follow. No other government could have achieved as much. I hope the people of Delhi remember this when they go to vote today….

Tejpal issue heaviliy politicized by BJP….

Not for a moment am I passing judgment on Tarun Tejpal. Not for a moment am I suggeseting that the girl who complained is lying. Not for a moment am I saying that we should go light on Tejpal. Given the lynch mob conditions that exist in the country today, how dare I? But may I please suggest that the first principle of justice in any civilized society – that one is presumed innocent unless proven guilty – be adhered to? I know the elections are around, and the BJP desperately wants to prop up its image, but can the party please follow at least this basic principle of justice?

For it appears that the BJP’s interest in the Tejpal case is more political than anything else. There could be several reasons for this. The most obvious one of course is that Tejpal’s outfit, Tehalka, had made life quite a mess for the NDA government back in the days when Bangaru Laxman was party president and George Fernandes the Defence Minister. If I remember right, the NDA had also banned Tehalka (or was planning to) for a while. Thereafter when the UPA came to power, it gave Tehelka relief. Whether that makes Tejpal a “congress stooge” or not is for people to decide. But for the BJP, it is understably a good chance to get even. As evidence of how much relief the party is experiencing comes from the fact that even Laxman, who had become a recluse, decided to make that rare appearance on TV, attempting a shot at cleansing his name. Even if Tejpal was a Congress stooge, was that video that nailed Laxman fake?

Another major reason for the BJP to blow up the Tejpal case, and few have commented on this, is that this was a good way to deflect the spotlight from Modi’s snoopgate. The issue had dominated the channels and newspapers for several days, and didn’t seem to be dying down. The Gujarat government had been forced to set up a 2-member probe panel (whatever happened to the party’s usual preference for “independent” probes, outside of governmental control?). The issue had united the opposition and media alike. Suddenly, Modi was on the back foot, refusing to comment on it (as on any other sticky matter). For the BJP to save its PM candidate, some distraction had to be found. What a handly issue Tejpal’s was.

I am not at all saying that Tejpal’s issue was created by the BJP. Of course it wasn’t. But it was grabbed and tossed sky high by it. That’s why its Goa CM took so much personal interest, getting a usually lazy police force to work overtime. That’s why it chose to ignore the thousands of rape cases that take place every year in MP and the thousands more of attacks on women in Gujarat, but focused on this one instead. That’s why it staged dharnas outside Goa airport where Tejpal was to arrive, and defaced former Managing Editor, Shoma Chaudhary’s name plate outside her house. That’s why it has taken such an aggressive stance as to try to link the Congress somehow to Tejpal, even accusing a central minister (unnamed, but well known to all) of somehow being involved (the minister has denied he owns any shares; and that he only loaned the publisher some Rs 5 lacs or so and that too way back when it was founded). And that’s why it used its widely spread (but questionable given the recent Cobrapost scam on this?) social media clout to prejudge the matter and pronounce its opponents guilty.

If the BJP’s keen interest had not been there, could the Tejpal issue have occupied front pages of newspapers and prime times on TV for so long? Tejpal may have been a prominent journalist, but that’s all he was. He wasn’t a senior politician, or a constitutional authority, or even a high-profile celebrity. There are hundreds of prominent journalists like him. He is probably right when he alleges that he is being hounded by the BJP. The Aarushi judgment made for far more relevant content, but because there was no political angle to it, it died a quick death.

Besides, can we please cast one slight glance at the fact that Tejpal hasn’t even been tried yet. And that he may not be guilty, even if that seems improbable? What we must ensure is that he doesn’t get away using his political connections. But apart from that, we cannot pre-judge him. We cannot pronounce him guilty. We cannot let our anger get ahead of us. This kind of “lynch mob” mentality doesn’t augur well for us. And yet, we’re displaying it repeatedly. A lot of media attacked the judgment on the Aarushi case for example. A lot of grief will similarly be directed at retired SC judge Justice Ganguli now, riding on the presumption of his guilt. Can we please await a final judgment before doing this?

Not only this, we’re actually getting extremely vicious as well. A panelist on TV appeared to be preempting a possible acquittal of Tejpal in the future by saying that if that happened, that would mean he used his clout, or that the Congress helped him. This is unfair. This makes the prejudgment final. This makes India like Afghanistan and our systems Talibanesque. What if Tejpal is indeed innocent? What if the woman journalist made a false accusation? Don’t believe she could have? Think again. Remember the SC recently ruled that article 498(A) – introduced in the ‘80s to protect women from dowry harassment – has been mostly misused by women (http://tinyurl.com/patzf5e)?

The real truth is that Tejpal is at least partly, a victim of politics. He may be guilty, but he’s not being given a fair chance. He is being pre-judged. The BJP’s interest in him is disproportionate with his stature. What is worrying is that this indicates a vindictive attitude the party has towards those in media who don’t support it. If Cobrapost’s latest sting on social media involves Modi in any way (and we don’t know it does yet), then it will possibly be targeted next. This is what is so worrying about the BJP’s interest in Tejpal. It’s indicative of fascism….

93K phone tappings in 6 months? Gujarat has become a police state….

This is what I was really worried about. Apparently, the snooping on the girl in Gujarat was not a lone case. Firstpost.in reports (http://tinyurl.com/pwgoscr) that as many as 93000 illegal mobile phone tappings took place in just six months in Gujarat between Dec 2012 and May 2013. Phone tappings may be a less severe form of surveillance than physical snooping itself, but surely there is a worrisome story here.

Firstpost.in adds “reports now say phone tapping has been rampant in Gujarat, with a DGP discovering this year that as many as 93,000 mobile phones’ call data records had been obtained without his knowledge since December 2012”. The web publisher further reports “A report in The Hindustan Times says agencies such as the Gujarat Police, the IB, the Anti-Terror Squad and the Crime Branch are all routinely conduct illegal surveillance, either for investigations or at the instance of their political bosses. The extent of snooping is so pervasive that Gujarat’s director general of police Amitabh Pathak (now deceased) was shocked to learn in May that his own police officials had obtained call detail records of as many as 93,000 mobile phone numbers without his knowledge since December 2012”.

Referring to the same report, Firstpost.in writes further “The report also quotes from an affidavit filed by former IPS officer RB Sreekumar before the Justice Nanavati Commission probing the 2002 riots case in which he states that he was asked to rap the phones of BJP leader Haren Pandya and Congress leader Shankersingh Vaghela”.

Firstpost.in then refers to a report in the TOI (http://tinyurl.com/pyng6hc) “This report in the Times of India published in 2005 quotes BJP MLA Gordhan Zadaphia complaining about the Modi government engaging in illegal tapping of phones of MLAs and MPs. The report also said intelligence officers believed that official taps on phones was time-consuming and required several levels of permissions. It becomes more fruitful in this scenario to take the service provider into confidence and come to an “unofficial arrangement, the report said”.

What is clear from all this is that the stalking case was not an isolated one. Abuse of the power to tap is rampant. Abuse of the state police machinery is rampant. What is the power used for? In part, to get political leverage. Apart from Haren Pandya and Shankersingh Vaghela, Keshubhai Patel was also reportedly as complaining about being snooped upon. Any surprises that Modi has been besting his political rivals one after another over the years? We now know why. He had access to confidential information about his rivals. "Ipsa scientia potestas est" ('knowledge itself is power') is one of the most powerful weapons in politics.

What is perhaps even more stinking than the stalking, snooping and phone tapping scam itself is the way the BJP has been mounting its defence of Modi and Shah. The defence speaks more about the mindset of the BJP supporters. Madhu Kishwar (who supports Modi almost 100% of the times, even though she is a journalist and expected to be unbiased) tweeted ““56 yr old officer under watch of government 4 criminal misdeeds misuses posn to sexually exploit woman yng enf to be grd dtr, parents shd say fine?”. What is she saying? That the girl has no rights of her own? They can be usurped by her father, as if he “possesses” her? Meenakshi Lekhi, spokesperson of the BJP, has made inane accusations about the Congress asking how the tapes got out. Arre, forget how the tapes got out. The point is why what happened, happened.

And where is the “protected” girl (the victim really) in all this? Why is she not coming out and saying what she has to say? Why is her father fronting for her all this time? What is she afraid of? Did the girl really know what was going on? Did she know that even the phones of her family members were being tapped? Did she know that there were cops put on the flight that she took when she traveled out of Ahmedabad? Did she know that cops were monitoring her interactions with friends, including men? All of this looks extremely unlikely.

The real truth is that this snooping episode, along with many others – the 2002 riots, the numerous illegal fake encounters, the murder of Haren Pandya after he turned a government baiter, the tampering with the judicial process forcing the SC to move cases out of the state, the harassment of bureaucrats who don’t toe the line, the failure to appoint (or strategy not to appoint) a Lok Ayukta for more than a decade and later amend the law itself using brute legislative majority to wrest power of the appointment process, the absence of an adequate number of RTI commissioners – all points to Gujarat having become a classic police state over Modi’s tenure. If this is part of Modi’s “Gujarat model”, I don’t want any part of it….

“Saheb” fails to clear air on Amit Shah tapes….

Modi had a good chance to clear his name in the Amit Shah tapes scandal at his Bangalore rally. But what did he do? He went of a typical rhetorical tangent, preferring to accuse the Congress’s “dirty tricks department”. Why couldn’t he just give us an explanation of what actually happened? Doesn’t the BJP demand an explanation from the PM for decisions taken by him all the time? Why then does it not give one when it is required?

The twitter world on the other hand has been abuzz with the scandal. Questions have been asked, blogs written, and caustic comments posted on why the explanations given by Rajnath Singh and Meenakshi Lekhi look hollow. What emerges is that the girl was hardly being protected; in reality she was being stalked. Whether this was on the basis of her father’s request, or for some other reason, is a matter of speculation. Besides, the question being asked is: How did the CM deploy state resources to protect his “family friend”? Why did the CM likewise not deploy state resources to protect and prevent the 450 odd cases of rape and 9000+ cases of other crimes against women that took place in his state in just a single year?

The question that hasn’t been asked yet, and which is the real worry considering the political history of Narendra Modi is this: How many more people are under official surveillance? Are opposition leaders being observed illegally? Are youngsters who protest against the BJP’s brand of politics being monitored? Are Muslim leaders under the supervision of the ATS as well? What about constitutional authorities – the CAG with whom Modi hardly shares a good rhapport, the RTI commissioners who Modi has refused to appoint in adequate numbers, maybe the judges of the High Court who often rail against him, members of the SIT…..god knows, how far and deep does this surveillance operation go? Is it possible that what has been revealed by IPS officer Singhal is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg? It is these questions that Modi should have answered.

Because what is clear, and the BJP hasn’t denied it, is that the operation was illegal. A person – and her friends – were placed under surveillance without permissions from judicial authorities. If this is true, then the larger question that also needs to be answered is about Modi’s belief in the Constitution, the rule of law, the rights of citizens, and the larger subject (which the whole world is concerned with) about the right to privacy. How dare someone intrude my private world to keep eyes on it? Even if my father has asked for it? But then does Modi even care about rights of people?

Some of the responses of typical BJP supporters provide an answer to that. One tweet by Madhu Kishwar is worth reproducing here. She writes “56 yr old officer under watch of government 4 criminal misdeeds misuses posn to sexually exploit woman yng enf to be grd dtr, parents shd say fine?”. Just look at how saffronites think. First, she completely misses the point that the girl is an adult and can make her own decisions. Did she write for protection herself? Did she know that she was under surveillance? Second, she talks about the officer being under watch. But a story in Ahmedabad Mirror yesterday – again floating widely on twitter – shows that the officer was put under surveillance after this snooping episode, not before. He was punished for calling up Modi for this operation. He was not under suspicion for earlier. If anything, this is a case of vendetta against him. Third, if the girl was being sexually exploited by this officer, then the girl could have gone to the cops, not to the CM. Why didn’t she? Fourth, how does Madhu Kishwar even know that the girl was being sexually exploited, unless she was briefed by the BJP? And lastly, just look at the blinded defence of something completely indefensible that Madhu Kishwar puts up. This is how political our media has become; it fights Modi’s battles on his behalf. Why? What about the journalist’s code of ethics? If Madhu wants to be a BJP acolyte, she has the right, but can she then please abandon her journalistic credentials?

Everyone, including the Congress, is missing the larger point here. Modi’s Gujarat is looking more and more like a police state; something similar to what existed in Egypt, Iraq and Libya before Mubarak, Saddam and Gaddafi were thrown out. This incident shouldn’t be seen in isolation. It’s a trend that started with the Gujarat riots in 2002, was followed up with the murder of Haren Pandya, the several fake encounter killings, the crushing of bodies like the Lok Ayukta and RTI, the refusal to rebuild mosques broken in the riots, the shifting of several cases by the SC outside of Gujarat…..all of these tell us about Modi and his style of governance. That’s the larger worry, not this single case by itself (although it is bad enough).

Modi didn’t respond to any of this. I got the impression he was on the back foot here. He hopes the issue will die down on its own, and it very well could, given media’s current obsession with Modi. The Congress is unable to organize large rallies against this, either in Gujarat or Delhi. If the whole thing had played out in reverse – with the Congress caught in Modi’s position – the BJP would have exploited it to the hilt. But the Congress’s inability to communicate its concern is what ails it. It’s not its performance that harms it; it’s its inability to assert a political point that does. While Modi is a master with rhetoric, the Congress is particularly inept. It resorts to boring facts and points of law. That’s why Modi gets away with so much muck that is floating all around.

The real truth is that by failing to respond, Modi has furthered the perception of his style being autocratic, and Gujarat being run like a police state. The story creates a perception that the surveillance operation is far more extensive than has emerged so far. Much like the Radia tapes, these Amit Shah tapes hold a lot of juice in them. Hopefully, the courts will intervene……and then Modi will be forced to explain.

It’s “gandh”, not “khushboo” Gujarat ki….

Notwithstanding the much talked about and highly successful TV and radio campaign “Khushboo Gujarat ki”, featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Gujarat has for some time now been known more for the “Gandh” (foul smell) emerging from its soil. We’ve had Godhra, the post-Godhra riots, the Haren Pandya murder, several fake encounter killings, sordid HDI statistics, and a whole lot of bogus economic claims (Vibrant Gujarat being the biggest). Now we can also add the Amit Shah tapes to that list.

These tapes are even more murky than the Niira Radia ones. If Cobrapost and Gulail are to be believed, then Amit Shah, under instructions from his “saheb”, ordered the illegal surveillance of a young woman architect,  for no rhyme or reason. The former home minister, and boss of all cops in the state, reportedly deployed surveillance teams comprising members from various wings – the state police itself, the CID, the SIB, and even the ATS (Anti Terrorism Squad) – to monitor the movements of this woman. Why? What’s going on in Gujarat? Most Gujaratis already know of the Modi government’s fascist ways. It is now slowly starting to get known nationally. Gujarat has been run as a police state for long. That explains why there are no riots there (like there are none in China), very little freedom of expression (dissent is frowned upon), no Lokpal for more than a decade (so the dirty tricks remain under a lid) and hardly any RTI commissioners (so no one knows nothing). Do we want something similar nationally?

How should one approach these “taped” or “tapped” conversations. Should one worry that the Home Minister of the state, supposedly under instructions from his saheb, abuses his police force and mounts a surveillance operation over a private citizen and her male friends, including an IAS officer? Going so far as to even put cops on airplanes (at great cost to the state exchequer, no doubt) when the girl travelled out? Or should we worry about the moral temperament of the PM candidate, who appears to be so infatuated with the young woman that he wants her every moment monitored? Sometimes even knowing more than the surveillance team knows (so was there another surveillance mechanism also put in place, to keep a check on the police surveillance team)? Or should one worry about the plight of the poor girl’s father, who has issued a statement that he himself had sought the surveillance of his girl? Which father wants his daughter surveyed by a police force? And how does the CM of a state deploy state resources for something so personal in nature? Or should we worry about the fact that we had to wait for a former IPS officer to be caught and arrested before learning about this ugly episode? And that mainstream media, happy to sing paeans to Modi at every possible occasion, failed to inform us about the nature and character of the person who India is considering for the top job? Or should we worry about Shah and Modi’s (both of whom would play an important role at the central level if the BJP wins 2014) complete lack of belief in the judicial system – they didn’t even bother to get the court’s permission for carrying out this surveillance, did they? The whole issue is so shocking, one doesn’t even know where to begin and where to go.

It could be a story of lust. Lust that vitiates the trust that the younger generation puts on the older one to protect it and it’s dignity and honor. Modi’s biggest supporters are supposed to be the youth. Is this what the youth expects from him? That they may also be put under covert surveillance one day if they start to protest against some decision of his government? Is this the type of democracy they want in the country?

But Modi’s views on women are well known. Remember he once called Shashi Tharoor’s wife a “50 crore girlfriend”? A government whose CM thinks of girlfriends as material objects is bound to consider them also as “objects” that can/should be monitored. There are also rumors that the infamous Sanjay Joshi (of RSS) sex scandal was cooked in the political kitchens of Gujarat. That the same team of Vanzara (now in jail) and others had executed the tapes. All this to settle political scores with him.

The gandh from Gujarat is overpowering. We know that Modi is OK with corruption (his posters for a forthcoming Karnataka rally prominently show Yeddy with him). He is more than OK – quite comfortable actually – with a Sri-Lanka like human rights issue (2002). He is used to abusing his opponents verbally (khooni panja). He runs a one man show in his state (who is the #2, #3, #4 there?). And we also know that he is quite a control freak (fascist). Some potent combination for a PM candidate.

And what about his party, the BJP? We know that Ayodhya is what it really cares for. In fact, its fetish with 17^th century orthodoxy is so much that it’s senior leaders even object to songs which apparently denigrate “Radha”, and to films which question the tenets of Hinduism (Oh My God). They force students in MP to do Surya Namaskar and sing the Sarasvati Vandana. Their leaders perform pujas to appease the rain gods (Karnataka). And we also know what the RSS, the fountainhead of the entire Sangh ideology, thinks of Muslims and Christians (India’s top 2 enemies as per Golwalkar). Is this the party that modern India needs?

The real truth is that now that the spotlight is on Modi and Gujarat, all the “gandh”, hidden for long, is finally starting to come out. And the gandh is very very distasteful. The gandh is similar to that of the 2004 campaign line “India Shining”.  That ad could not save the BJP then. Amitabh Bachchan’s ad will not be able to do it either….

Now MP High Court swings to Hindutva tunes – Ram Leela doomed

What’s wrong with our courts? I wrote yesterday about how the SC reversed its own stand and ordered a further delay in the demolition of the illegal Campa Cola flats in Mumbai. Now the MP HC has directed, at the very last moment I might add, that the title of the film Ram Leela should be dropped. Err….dropped? At the last moment? Is this not harassment? But forget the court for a moment. What is more important is, who are these people who worry so much about our “Hindu sentiment”? Why are they so illiberal? Is this the kind of culture we want in this country?

These are the people who want to take India back to the dark ages. They are so insecure about Hinduism that they won’t allow any interpretation of it that is different from theirs nor allow the creative folks a little creative license.

Ram Leela is hardly the first instance where people with 17^th century mindset have made such objections. Remember Sushma Swaraj of the BJP protesting against usage of the name “Radha” in the song “Radha” from the film “Student of the Year”? I wrote about this on 12^th November, 2012 in a post titled “Did Sushma Swaraj just complain about the “Radha” song from Student of the Year???” (available at http://tinyurl.com/o7cs7qs). Her objection was that Radha has been shown in the film as not knowing how to dance and being invited to the dance floor to learn to dance (TOI - http://tinyurl.com/pgfzfay). So did she mean that all Radhas have genes that make them expert dancers – if so, then maybe this is something that geneticists should research! Actually, Sushma would have found much more to object to if only she had heard the lyrics carefully. The lyrics of the song “Radha” actually put the words “sexy” and “Radha” together. Surely “Sexy Radha” must have appalled Sushma! Not only that, but Radha likes to move that “sexy Radha body”. Man that’s going too far, isn’t it??!! And when Radha wants to party and Radha “wants more”, then that must be going over the top for most BJP/Hindutva leaders! Apparently, Sushma considered this so important that she took up the matter in Parliament!

And why do such things happen only in BJP ruled states? We know the BJP can be exceedingly orthodox when it comes to religious matters. From doing pujas when the rains fail (in Karnataka when ruled by the party) to making singing of Saraswati Vandana compulsory in schools (in MP), the BJP has shown a penchant for high order and aggressive Hindu orthodoxy. Now I don’t know who these two lawyers are who filed the petition – Anand Chawla and Amit Kumar Sahu – and whether they are related in any manner to the BJP or not, but there is no doubt that the party’s Hindutva ideology does at least partially encourage people like them to stay back in the old ages. And when they see a leader like Sushma Swaraj – an otherwise erudite and inspiring leader – fight for such causes, surely they get the requisite encouragement to pursue their ancient-age agenda.

It appears that the courts also get influenced by the politics of the state. We’ve seen the Supreme Court having to step in and take specific cases outside of a state when it finds this. Several of the 2002 Godhra related cases were taken out of Gujarat for instance. This instance in MP also proves the point. The Delhi High Court, perhaps because of the liberal environment in which it operates, had a completely different take on the same issue. Here is what Outlook India reports on its website (http://tinyurl.com/qb7hvv9 ): “Interestingly, a Delhi court yesterday recalled its earlier order of restraining Bhansali and EROS International Media Limited from using the title 'Ram Leela' for the film, slated for November 15 release. The Delhi High Court had earlier refused to ban the release of the movie and also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on an NGO which had moved the plea against the film on the ground that sex, violence and vulgarity in the movie will hurt religious sentiments and feelings of Hindus”. How is it that two High Courts rule in such completely opposite ways. The only explanation has to be that they are influenced by the societal and political environments in their states.

The poor producer is now stuck. He does not even know what to do next. Outlook reports that he has already changed the name of the film a few times. First from Ram Leela (two separate words) to RamLeela (one word) to Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (Ugghhh!). But what now? How can the producer just drop the name in its entirety? If it were just a descriptor that caused the problem, he could still have done it. But to change the title itself at the last minute is pure harassment. The producer will have to delay the launch of the film in MP, appeal in the SC, make many lawyers richer by tens of lacs of rupees, and then hopefully get a reprieve. If anyone had any doubts about how difficult it is to do business in India, even if it is something as casual as films, this case proves it.

The real truth is that this is how Hindutva would pervade our entire life, if we didn’t take steps to stop it. Next time a producer makes a film, he will just play safe. Stay away from anything that can raise the hackles of the Hindu brigade. This is what Mahesh Bhatt said when the Radha controversy arose (http://tinyurl.com/oddluvx). This is exactly what happens in Taliban-land, and in the worst of the Islamic world. Do we really want to support this version of Hindutva? Do we want to encourage it or kill it before it explodes in our faces????

Campa Cola case shows how fickle the SC is….

The Campa Cola demolition has been stayed. And rightly so. In my view, no demolition should ever be ordered. We are after all, an asset-deficient country. Alternative remedies can and should be found, which can act as a deterrent to those who flout rules, while avoiding destruction of precious assets. What the remedies should be is really for our law makers to decide. But the focus of this piece is not on this. It is on the SC’s regular flipflops which are completely inexplicable and unacceptable. How can the country’s top court be so fickle in its decision making?

One is not questioning the ultimate authority the SC wields in deciding on judicial matters. But clearly, one expects the SC to be sensitive to this unique power it has under the Constitution, and decide matters after due consideration. Bureaucrats and ministers can get away with “roll backs”, but the SC cannot. Time and again we find that the SC either rolls backs its own decisions, or the decisions taken by the lower courts. Where is the sanctity in the judicial process then? And what about accountability to the litigants and the people in general? Why are such discretionary powers to take/alter decisions not questioned by our media the same way as they are for politicians and bureaucrats? Why do we treat our judges as if they are avatars of God and refuse to question their callous methods?

Did the courts not have adequate time to decide on the Campa Cola mess? The imbroglio dates back to 1989 when residents of the society approached the Bombay HC for permission to get water (Imagine this: they were using tankers for their needs before this). After a long-drawn process, the HC ordered demolition in 2005 (a “time-bound” process as it ordered). The matter obviously went to the SC, which after many years in Feb 2013, agreed with the HC. The demolition date was set for April, then moved by a few days to early May, then again to November. Now it has been stayed for six more months. Clearly, no one can make the case that the HC and SC did not have adequate time to pass their final orders.

I am happy the demolition has been stayed at least for now. But the grounds for doing this look specious. Apparently, the court was under the impression that only 25% of the flats were still occupied. In reality apparently, 75% flats are occupied. How does that change the situation? If it’s a “human issue” in addition to the legal one as the SC has now opined, how does that human angle diminish if its 75% and not 25% who are still occupying the flats? Are the rights of 25% not important enough from a human angle?

The SC incidentally has not reversed its order, only delayed the demolition date yet again. In a very filmy style, it played “God”, intervening “suo-moto” even as the demolition was underway. What does this say about this most august of institutions? That it considers itself above the usual accountability standards set for public institutions and thinks it can change its mind anytime? Is this kind of errant behavior on account of the fact that no one dares question the judiciary? Just look at it – no media outlet has asked the SC to justify its back-and-forth orders.

This is hardly the first time this is happening. I don’t have numbers but I can bet there are hundreds if not thousands of instances when the SC has “disagreed” with the lower courts. Recently, in the case of infamous “tandoor” case, the SC reversed the HC’s order of the death penalty. Did the SC subsequently do anything to align the thinking of the lower courts so that such “mistakes” do not happen again? I doubt it. Actually, such reversals are so common, no one even bothers about the rulings of the lower courts. Almost all their orders are appealed, and this is one of the main reasons why the courts are so clogged. Had there been accountability, this would not have happened.

But what about cases when the SC reverses its own decisions? The 2G related case when a bench of the SC ruled that all natural resources must only be auctioned was later reversed on appeal by the court’s Constitution bench. Imagine what would have happened if the government had not appealed. Would the Constitution bench have reversed the decision suo-moto even then? Such random conduct shows the SC in poor light, making it look like an institution run by moody judges. Catch them on a good day and good a favorable judgment, and vice versa. Reversals of judgments should be only in the “rarest of rare” cases.

And did the SC consider the plight of the others who occupy the legal flats? It has been reported in media that structural engineers have opined that these flats would become structurally weaker after the demolition of the flats above them. What about the hardships they would face when the water tank (at the top of the illegal floors) would be demolished and they would be denied water for months? Was there no “human angle” that the SC could see in this?

Besides, how can we destroy property, even if it is constructed illegally. Any number of solutions can be found to deal with the issue of illegality. A stiff penalty “at current rates” could be applied. As an example, maybe the prevailing TDR rate (TDR entitles a builder for extra FSI) could be levied on the residents of these illegal flats (the builder must be sued in any case). Or maybe the government can take over the illegal flats and use it for something productive. Or some other solution can be found. But under no circumstances should demolition be carried out. If laws need to be amended, let them be.

The real truth is that I am happy the Campa Cola demolition has been stayed. Rather than demolishing them, the government must find a legal way to either regularize them. But more importantly, the SC must introspect, and advise its lower arms and its own judges on how to become more consistent and less fickle in the future….