It is said that in times of need, man is known to eat man. All talk of compassion, values, good conduct, morals and ethics applies only in times of abundance. Make a dozen affluent people meet, and they will talk about helping others and making the world a better place. Keep those dozen people hungry for a week, and then only provide enough food for two of them. The same people will fight each other to death to fill their bellies.
Hence, in times of crisis, ethics go out of the window. A similar situation seemed to prevail after the recent Karnataka assembly elections. Three main parties contested for the 222 seats. None of them – BJP (104), Congress (78), JD(S) (38) – secured a majority. In such a situation when there is a hung House, all bets of proper behaviour are off. Somehow, you have to get MLAs from another party to support you. The first move came from the Congress, which offered the CM’s post to the JD(S), an arch-rival that had won less than 20% of the seats. Leaders of both parties had publicly derided each other in the past. Now they became best friends. Illegal? No. Unethical? Possibly yes.
Not to be left behind, the BJP started its own game. The central government-appointed state governor let the BJP form the government in Karnataka and gave it 15 days to prove a majority. Of course, BJP would reach a majority only by breaking into the ranks of JD(S) or Congress MLAs. This could be done through lures like ministerial positions or Lok Sabha tickets later. Illegal? No. Unethical? Possibly yes. Allegations flew that the BJP could lure through money too (which remain unproven, but if true would be blatantly illegal as well).
The Congress moved the Supreme Court, which ordered a floor test in a day. The BJP couldn’t muster the numbers and its newly sworn-in CM resigned, paving the way for a Congress-JD(S) government.
Of course, there is a Congress victory in this story. They played the game better, offering the CM’s post swiftly to forge a post-poll alliance. Unlike the BJP that had to do horse-trading to get the numbers, the Congress managed to trade an entire stable. The BJP also became a bit brazen with a 15-day free pass from the governor, not realising that the issue had piqued national interest and all its moves were being watched.
While the Congress deserves a pat on the back for winning this round, the bigger issue is this – the entire game was unethical. Nobody played fair. And not just here, whenever things get desperate in a tussle for power, no political party does the right thing. Hence, for us citizens to cheer for a party or defend it non-stop, or believe that one is better than the other in terms of morals and ethics is simply idiotic. The best we can hope for is that our netas don’t do anything illegal. We can ensure this through strong laws, fixing accountability and maintaining media pressure against any wrongdoing. However, to expect ethics in politics, that too in times of crisis, is plain stupid. The nature of politics is such that it is almost designed to be unethical. Someone has to lose in order for someone to win. And when there is a hung House, it is a free for all. Someone has to betray someone else in order to form a government. At such a juncture, why discuss who is ethical and who is not (which is what TV debates on Karnataka obsessed about over the last few weeks)? Even in our ancient texts like the Mahabharata, the war wasn’t won ethically. It was a virtuous war for the Pandavas, but there are enough tales in the epic to show how they employed unethical means to win it where needed.
As citizens, we can draw important lessons from what happened in Karnataka. 1) In desperate times, all parties discard principles to grab power. So do not fall for their silly claims about being more principled than the others. 2) As a citizen, you make a choice during elections. However, post elections, you have to make all parties accountable, including the one you voted for. Somehow, this simple concept is hard for some to understand. If you voted for someone, you are seen to belong to that club – a bhakt or a pidi or whatever – and you cannot question your side. Remember, there is no side. There is only a choice you make during a particular election, between a couple of unethical parties, based on who seems to offer a better alternative at that time. After that, you have to switch to the accountability mode.
Let the unsavoury way in which Karnataka unfolded be an eye-opener for citizens who view their leader as god and the opposition as the devil. Nobody is pure in politics. The best you can do is make the slightly better choice during elections and then watch their behaviour like a hawk afterwards.
May 27, 2018 ()