Mahua Moitra And Crony Capitalism

(Dr. Guru Prakash Paswan)

Dr. BR Ambedkar, the architect of Indian Constitution remarked in his final speech to the Constituent Assembly: “Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of… social democracy. What does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life…They form a union of trinity in the sense that to divorce one from the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy …Without equality, liberty would produce the supremacy of the few over the many. Without fraternity, liberty would produce the supremacy of the few over the many. Without fraternity, liberty and equality could not become a natural course of things. It would require a constable to enforce them.”

The statement resonates even today with the Dalits and socially disadvantaged communities who aspire for everyday equality and dignity. The visuals that came out after one of the meetings of the ethics committee attended by Mahua Moitra recently, represents a disturbing trend for our democracy. Apart from the legality, the social optics of the treatment of an entitled member of parliament towards a Dalit chairperson of the committee reflects the distressing levels of feudalism in our society today.

As observed by one of the MPs who is also a member of the committee – Aparajita Sarangi after the meeting that certain unparliamentary words and gestures were addressed towards the chairperson Vinod Sonkar – that is both unprofessional and abusive. He is the first ever Dalit in the history of our parliamentary committees to lead the significant Ethics committee apart from Brij Lal, another Rajya Sabha MP, who is the first ever Dalit chairperson of the crucial standing committee on home affairs.

Dignity for the marginalized stems through representation and not behalfism and rhetoric. Mahua Moitra and the opposition have not been able to digest the fact that a person from the Scheduled Caste has become a Chairperson of the Ethics Committee and thus the entire opposition is making allegations against him. It reminds us of the verbal assault on the historical passage of the first ever tribal woman to the highest Constitutional office in the country where Draupadi Murmu was addressed as a representative of the devilish mindset. Derogatory comments were made on her physical appearances as well.

There is a section in our political establishment that cannot accept the rise and arrival of the marginalized and the disadvantaged to the positions of power, authority and influence. For instance, PM Modi is continuously reminded of his backwardness by Rahul Gandhi, and his family because he comes from a humble background and is not a product of royal pedigree.

Mahua Moitra, who is a self-declared savior of the Constitution, must realize that justice is one of the most important and cherished goals of our republic. By launching an assault on the respect of a self-made senior member of parliament from the Dalit community, she, like any other feudal elite is doing a great amount of disservice to the legacy of Ambedkar.

• Conflict of Interest

A member of parliament is constitutionally expected to raise the concerns of the electorate. This is the most fundamental prerequisite of an elected representative. Mahua Moitra admittedly shared her login credentials with a corporate group which resulted in sharing information which was privileged and not available in the public domain. The login credentials were used to upload questions targeting another corporation to influence public opinion. This is not just the betrayal of parliamentary principles and privileges but also the electorate that the MP is supposed to represent.

Merriam – Webster dictionary defines crony capitalism, “an economic system in which individuals and businesses with political connections and influence are favored (as through tax breaks, grants, and other forms of government assistance) in ways seen as suppressing open competition in a free market.”

In this case, there is a pecuniary relationship between Hiranandani and Mahua Moitra i.e. political executive and the corporate. If this is not an example of crony capitalism then nothing else can qualify as a symbol of crony capitalism. There is already a provision of funds for secretarial assistance for MPs so where is the question of taking services of an outside entity, which is located outside India. This is not only abuse of unparliamentary provisions but also highly unethical.

Protests at the Gandhi statue in the parliament premises will eternally remain symbolic if we do not practice them. For public faith in institutions, the likes of Mahua Moitra must be effectively dealt with. No one is above the Constitution. Even if she is English speaking upwardly mobile investment banker turned parliamentarian. Such feudalism should be shelved along with your Hermes and LV bags in your closet – as the nation is no longer a family run business. If anyone crosses the limits of law, then no matter who you are, what accent you have, what Ivy league degree you have – you will be questioned even by those who were not allowed in your premises of elite establishment.

(Author serves as the Assistant Professor (Law) at the Patna University and is Ph.D. in Constitutional Law. He is also the National Spokesperson for the BJP)