The Shah Bano case Vs. The Repeal of Agri Laws: Lalit K Kaul
The Shah Bano case Vs. The Repeal of Agri Laws
Lalit K Kaul
The Shah Bano case in which the SC
decreed in favour of the lady was nullified through Parliament’s proceedings
has been discussed, debated and politicized by every such individual/political
party/intellectuals who had their own axe to grind and not that they had any
sympathy with Ms. Shah Bano; those who genuinely sympathized with her didn’t go
public about it.
Of all the political parties it was
the BJP leadership which highlighted the issue as if their hearts were bleeding
for her, whenever they got a chance to do so within and without the Parliament.
In that era the BJP couldn’t even dream of winning appreciable number of seats
in the Parliament to lay claim for formation of the government and their
attempt to vociferously talk in favour of the lady was about garnering support
in that section of Muslims who, indeed, must have sympathized with her.
The Shah Bano Case:
The Parliament in which the Congress
party had brute majority, while Sri Rajiv Gandhi was the PM, overturned the
ruling of the SC that had decreed that Ms. Shah Bano was entitled to
maintenance, post divorce, allowance from her ex husband. In order to keep the
Muslim vote bank intact, the Congress government under the pressure of clergies
decided to deprive the lady of maintenance allowance through the act of the
Parliament and that was done.
Mr Prime Minister, Modi ji, the Parliament
had the constitutional authority to overturn the SC judgement and in doing so
the supremacy of the Parliament was not compromised.
The repeal of Agri Laws:
The patriotism and nationalism of
any individual is not subject to sloganeering like, Bharat Mata Ki Jai (BMKJ),
Vande Matram (VM) and Jai Sri Ram (JSR). What defines a patriot/nationalist is his/her
conduct while discharging such duties as have been assigned to him/her. That is
to say that if one does the job one is trained to do in one’s office to best of
his/her capability and integrity without any fear or favour; without being
influenced by personal gain/loss; that individual is both patriotic and
nationalist because he/she contributes to the growth and development of the
Nation through the work he/she is trained for. Such true patriots don’t have to
scream the slogans like BMKJ VM and JSR.
Mr. Prime Minister, Modi ji, your
address to the Nation on repeal of Agri laws was too unconvincing to a
reasoning mind to accept your claim that the laws were being repealed because
some farmers had been agitating against it. Modi ji, the majority of the
farmers across India was not agitating and therefore were in favour of Agri
laws and so you have deprived a huge majority of farmers for the sake of vote
bank politics.
Vote bank politics has been the
characteristics of degenerate political system that has been nurtured in my
country, but Mr. Prime Minister you for the sake of votes undermined the very
institution of democracy – the Parliament. You have set a precedence that has
rendered the Parliament Infructuous.
The Khalistan Factor:
Some media reports suggest that the
laws had to be repealed because Khalistanis were gaining ground (?) in Punjab.
If media report is correct, sure they wouldn’t surface overnight; they must
have been there to stay and the question that begs an answer is what was the
Congress government headed by Capt Amrinder Singh doing?
The fact of the matter is that
Amrinder Singh promised BJP a role in Punjab politics, if the Agri laws were
repealed. He as the CM even opposed direct transfer of the MSP amount to the
bank accounts of the farmers; he was at the helm of the so called farmer’s
agitation, being in the opposition and now that he was disgraced by the
Congress High Command he becomes pal of BJP to advise it to repeal laws if
Khalistanis were to be checkmated!
The SC factor:
Unable to understand on what basis
the SC suggested suspension of Agri laws; what was unconstitutional about the
laws? The stories are doing rounds in a section of media that the laws were
repealed as per the SC directive!! If that’s true then serious questions arise
about the very foundations of what we, the people, are told that our country is
a democratic State.
Mr Prime Minister your government
even refused to heed to the suggestions of the SC that the Gheraos be lifted as
it caused inconvenience to the daily commuters. What kind of a democratic State
my country is where the Gheraos continue while the SC is possessed of the
matter; is not this politics of blackmail that was openly supported by the
opposition parties and a small section from the farmer’s community.
Untenable Claim that sets dangerous
precedence:
Modi ji, your claim that you have
decided to repeal the 3 Agri laws as some farmer’s (in absolute minority)
couldn’t be convinced of the benefits that would accrue to them, is not
tenable. That a minority opinion was honoured in a democratic step up where
majority opinion rules has set the precedence that demands of each and every
social/economical/political/religious demands of a community/ethnic group
howsoever small shall be met with and they shall be allowed to Gherao the
Capital city of my country to compel the government of the day in to
submission. That there shall be no police action against the squatters who may
choose to block highways waterways and train tracks including the access to
airports until their demands are met with.
The Homeland for Kashmiri Pandits:
The Pandits have been living in
exile in their own country as they were made to flee Kashmir Valley much like
the Tibetans who are living in exile since they fled Tibet. The Pandits may
decide as a community to Gherao Delhi like the farmers did until their demand
of Homeland to the North and East of River Jhelum is conceded; will you and your
government afford them the luxury that you extended to the farmers?
It may be pertinent to register here
that the Pandits have been chalking out their course of life without any
special help from the successive governments and have been contributing to the
economic growth of the country despite being refugees in their own country. The
Pandits are a miniscule minority forced to spread across the country and abroad
and since you, Modi ji, acceded to the demand of a miniscule minority section
of farmers by undermining the Parliament, you are duty bound to grant the
Pandits their demand of Homeland. Will you, Modi ji?
The tragic fact:
Modi ji, you and your government
succumbed to the vote bank politics and undermined the basic temple of
democracy- the Parliament. Whatever harm the successive Congress governments
may have caused to my country, the Congress never undermined the Parliament in
that they never repealed laws enacted in the Parliament because of dharna on
the streets.
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