Etiquette and Ethics in Democracy

 

There is the inauguration of the new parliament in Delhi next week and I believe the opposition parties are rightly protesting against the Prime Minister inaugurating the building while ignoring the Constitutional Head. I guess, it is probably a wish for the Prime Minister to see his name etched in the Parliamentary history of India by relegating his own candidate for Presidency to a namesake and as a gesture of tokenism. As for the Sengol, my personal view is that it is an attempt to snatch the legacy of Mr.Jawaharlal Nehru and make it his own and pleasing the citizens of Tamil Nadu. Thanks to the popularity created by the movie Ponniyin Selvan.Taking out a personal gift to Pandit Nehru from his personal museum and placing it in the Parliament is not good politics.  This act only reiterates  Mr.Modi’s misplaced personal contempt for the Congress party and his repeated attempt to diminish the legacy of the Gandhi family. Rahul Gandhi is more popular in Tamil Nadu than Mr.Modi. This is something Mr.Modi has to accept.

This is the similar to the attempt to snatch the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi when he toured the Sabarmati Ashram with erstwhile President of the United States, Mr.Donald and sitting with the spinning wheel. As a person who has faced a lot of humiliation in public and personal life, I always believed that respect cannot be demanded or snatched but earned through legitimate means.  People respect some politicians whether they win or lose elections. Personal charisma sustains itself and blatant narcissism does not make one a statesman. Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru are leaders that India and future generations will never be forgotten. Text books can be modified to suit one’s political and cultural narrative. The onus now falls upon teachers, parents and grandparents to present a reasonably accurate narration of our political and cultural history. Mr. Modi does not have a moral right to inaugurate the new Parliament when he is one among the elected members of the legislature. It is a wrong precedent and does not meet the standards set by our Constitution and is a terrible deviation from tenets of a  Parliamentary democracy.