In India, in school and college studies, students are taught to write essays on the importance of many subjects. In this, the topic of the essay is justified with all kinds of arguments and facts. Similarly, ‘Importance of loyalty in Indian politics’ can also be a topic. However, there is no need to go to philosophy or history books to find arguments for this. Countless arguments and facts proving this can be seen in everyday politics.
The most recent case is of Delhi’s new Chief Minister Atishi. She has studied from Delhi University’s most prestigious St. Stephen’s College. She has been a Rhodes Scholar and under this scholarship she has done her post graduation from the world’s most prestigious educational institution, Oxford University. But when she became the Chief Minister, she said that ‘Delhi has only one Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal’. She also said that she should not be congratulated because this is a time of grief.
Atishi set the goal of her tenure to make Arvind Kejriwal the Chief Minister of Delhi again in the next elections. Not only this, when she went to take over as the Chief Minister, she did not sit on the chair on which her party leader Arvind Kejriwal used to sit when he was the Chief Minister. She sat on another chair next to that ‘throne’. I don’t know if anyone suggested her otherwise she could have kept a ‘wooden slipper’ on that ‘throne’ and sat down. Still she used the symbol of the wooden slippers and said that she will rule as a shadow like Bharat.
Think, can such a spectacle be allowed in the democratic system of governance adopted in India? Remember how once Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had said that he runs the government from a remote control and how much uproar was created in the country. There was a lot of debate about his statement and it was said that it is sad that an extra-constitutional power has been created, which runs the democratic government of the state from a remote control. But now the person sitting on the Chief Minister’s chair is not considering himself as the Chief Minister and is saying that Kejriwal is the Chief Minister. Can it be expected from such a person that he will be able to discharge his responsibilities as the Chief Minister honestly?
In fact, this has become the most prominent trend of Indian politics, in which vulgar public display of loyalty towards the supreme leader of the party is most important. That is why it is more important for Atishi to prove her loyalty towards Kejriwal than her loyalty towards him. She knows that she has become the Chief Minister not because of the trust of the legislative party, but because of Kejriwal’s grace. However, every Chief Minister or Minister becomes the Chief Minister only because of the grace of the party’s high command and he also accepts this fact, but now it has become necessary to display this belief in an increasingly vulgar manner.
It may be that doing so has become more necessary due to some political developments that have happened in recent times. When Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren went to jail at the end of January this year, he made Champai Soren, his and his father’s trusted associate, the Chief Minister. But after some time Champai Soren started considering himself a natural contender for that throne. Then his loyalty became doubtful and after coming out of jail, Hemant Soren removed him from the post of Chief Minister. After this he rebelled and went to BJP. Earlier in Bihar, Nitish Kumar had made his trusted Jitan Ram Manjhi the Chief Minister after the party lost in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But he also started doing independent politics, due to which Nitish had to remove him within nine months. After being removed, he also rebelled and formed a separate party.
I made it.
After these two examples, it became necessary for those who became Chief Ministers or Ministers purely by the grace of the high command to display their loyalty as openly as possible. Earlier too, loyalty was displayed but it was usually done with caution and subtlety. Dr. Manmohan Singh can be considered an example of this. In contrast, whoever displayed loyalty in the style of ‘Indira is India and India is Indira’, his name is ridiculed for decades.
For a long time before this, there was a fine line between loyalty and sycophancy in Indian politics. The reason for this was that the leaders who became Chief Ministers or Ministers were leaders in their own right and had their own political existence. One of the many leaders of similar stature and popularity was chosen for the post of Chief Minister or Minister. There was healthy competition among the leaders for the post.
But now, instead of the ability and capacity of the leaders, pure loyalty is being given priority. Such baseless leaders are being appointed to high positions, whose only qualification is loyalty towards the top leaders of the party and who have no hesitation in making a vulgar display of that loyalty. This trend is reflected on the faces of many Chief Ministers appointed in different states in recent times.
However, Atishi has raised the question through her statements and conduct that whether Indian democracy is still in the same era when people ruled by keeping sandals on the throne? Can sandal rule be allowed in democracy? In a democracy, the Chief Minister is the elected representative of the people. He becomes the Chief Minister with the trust of the MLAs and his commitment is towards the people. Atishi has violated this basic principle.
Even if she had not done so, there was no question on the supremacy of Kejriwal’s leadership. And she could have demonstrated her loyalty through her conduct. As much as Atishi shocked and disappointed everyone with her conduct, Kejriwal was equally shocked and disappointed, who not only allowed this drama to happen, but also enjoyed it. It seems as if Atishi did this drama only to satisfy Kejriwal’s ego. This has also started a new tradition. In the coming days, whoever gets a chance will similarly display a vulgar display of loyalty towards the supreme leader of his party. It is the responsibility of the big leaders to stop such a trend before it spreads.