Pseudo secular rant against CJI

Rajya Sabha MP Ramgopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party which is an important ally of bloc INDIA used a cuss word for the Chief Justice of India. Reason was the CJI said during his morning prayers that he asked “God,” to show the path in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. He said, “Believe me if you have the faith, God will always find a way.” He did not say he prayed to Lord Rama. What sin did he commit? Why should the MP use cuss word? Some pseudo intellectuals in social media felt that this was for post-retirement rehabilitation. Some said it looks like a sealed cover is ready. Some said, “the moot point is whether Milord prayed to God, who is not a juristic personality, or to an idol who is party to dispute.” This is nothing short of sarcasm. I would like to know if it applies only to Hindu Gods or other religions as well

“Mananeeya Sadasyagan!” (Honourable Members). This is how the Members of Parliament and Legislature are addressed. But the way the leaders are behaving, I wonder whether it is correct to continue the prefix ‘Honourable’.

During the last three decades, members used to discuss, debate, protest, and walk out but it used to be within the limits of decency and decorum of the Parliament or the legislature. Never did anyone display violent body language, or use foul language though they never spared each other in criticism.

But in the last decade, things have changed from bad to worse. We have seen how the lingo has undergone change, Telugu states being no exception. Even the names of mothers and wives were dragged into the abuses showered on each other in the Assembly and there is no one to control them, neither the chair nor the leader of the house.

In Parliament, we had seen angry outbursts and comments hitting below the belt by some members, more so, from the opposition benches. Rahul Gandhi in the last Lok Sabha after a scathing attack on Modi walked over to the PM’s seat and hugged him much to the chagrin of the members of the House. Probably, that inspired him to come up with the slogan of ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukan’ which he formally coined during his padayatra.

This continues to remain a slogan and does not get converted into action. Rajya Sabha MP Ramgopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party which is an important ally of bloc INDIA used a cuss word for the Chief Justice of India. Reason was the CJI said during his morning prayers that he asked “God,” to show the path in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. He said, “Believe me if you have the faith, God will always find a way.” He did not say he prayed to Lord Rama. What sin did he commit? Why should the MP use cuss word? Some pseudo intellectuals in social media felt that this was for post-retirement rehabilitation. Some said it looks like a sealed cover is ready. Some said, “the moot point is whether Milord prayed to God, who is not a juristic personality, or to an idol who is party to dispute.”

This is nothing short of sarcasm. I would like to know if it applies only to Hindu Gods or other religions as well. Are there juristic gods in other religions? Do these pseudo intellectuals have the spine to make such comments about Gods of other religions? Surprisingly none of them found anything wrong in the cuss word used by the MP. (I refrain from using the word ‘honourable’) here.

What troubles a sane citizen is why there is pin-drop silence from the Congress high command. The party cannot brush it aside, saying it was the opinion of the SP member. He is also a member of Rajya Sabha. Is this the Congress brand of ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukan’?

What is wrong if the CJI had sought strength from God to arrive at a proper decision on a highly emotive and contentious issue? What right does anyone have to use the cuss word? Why is the promoter of ‘Mohabbat ki Dukan,’ Rahul Gandhi silent? Why is AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge who also happens to be the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha silent? Why is bloc India which was shouting from roof tops that ‘Constitution Khatre Mein Hai,’ not opening its mouth now? Is it not an affront to an institution which is one of the four pillars of democracy?

Why did they leave it to SP spokesperson who failed to defend the undefendable and put his foot in his mouth saying BJP leaders also in the past used foul language against some judges? That is no explanation. If someone has done wrong, it does not give a license to others to do the same. Why emulate bad practices? They are supposed to be honourable members.

Probably, the top leadership of the Congress party, the Rajya Sabha MP and the leaders of bloc INDIA do not know that praying to God by Chief Justices is not new. In 2015, in a case in Gujarat High Court, judges quoted verses from Quran to decide that a Muslim cannot be prosecuted for bigamy.

In 2023, Kerala High Court quoted Ephesians, proverbs and Timothy in a Christian maintenance case. There are instances where the former President of India Abdul Kalam many times said he prayed to God for guidance as a scientist. The ISRO team visits Tirumala temple before launching any satellite or taking up a major mission. The unfortunate aspect is politicians react without proper knowledge about reality.

No leader these days has the inclination or time to read books and get information as Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Indira Gandhi, Jaipal Reddy, and many other honourable members of Parliament in the past used to do.

The story does not end here. The TMC (Trinamool Congress) member Kalyan Banerjee broke a glass bottle and hurt himself during a heated argument with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Abhijit Gangopadhyay, during the hearing of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on waqf property. Something which never happened in the last 76 years. It is alleged that he wanted to throw the bottle at the Chairman of the JPC.

Despite all these developments, the top brass of the Congress and bloc INDIA partners are silent. Apparently, because they believe in the policy of appeasement. It certainly raises this doubt since the party is to face elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand and the Lok Sabha bypoll in Kerala. Statistics show that it is heavily depending on Muslim votes to win these seats. In Jharkhand, there are 35 Assembly seats where Muslims can create impact. The overall Muslims in Jharkhand constitute 14% of the total population and in seven districts 20% of the voters are Muslims who vote cohesively.

In Maharashtra, there are 38 Assembly seats where Muslims have more than 20% votes. Maharashtra has a total Muslim population of about 1.3 crore who account for nearly 12% of the votes. Another interesting fact is that in Wayanad, Rahul had won Lok Sabha seat where he polled 90% of Muslim votes. Now his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is contesting and needs their support.

There is another reason why I wonder whether the prefix of honourable be used. We have leaders like Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udaynidhi Stalin saying there is no question of offering apology and that he stands by his statement that Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated since it is like HIV, Leprosy etc. The Congress and surprisingly the so-called protagonists of Hindutva Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray have no problem with this statement. Is this also part of the concept of ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukan’?

The way the bloc INDIA has been behaving reminds me of what Indira Gandhi had said about four decades back when a new party, Dalit Mazdoor Kisan Party was launched by Charan Singh on October 20 1984. Lok Dal was merged with Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna’s Democratic Socialist Party, and the Rashtriya Congress. Janata Party leaders, like Devi Lal also joined this new outfit to fight the general election against Indira.

Reacting to this she slammed it as “artificial unity” and said, “Artificial unity among opposition parties is dangerous for the country.” The live- in relationship of bloc INDIA partners is akin to artificial unity.

In the backdrop of such a scenario, the question arises should there be a prefix to the legislators before their name? In the UK, unlike certain other Commonwealth countries, a member is simply addressed as “Willan Smith MP”, or “Ms (Mrs) Smith MP”; not “the Hon MP.” Having inherited the legacy of British system of governance, we should also think of removing the prefix and just call the MPs with their name.