INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Rajya Sabha

June 14, 2022

Last week Rajya Sabha elections were held across various states in India. While the whole process of camping, voting and delayed counting was going on, a dear friend remarked, “What a waste of taxpayers’ money!! Why this whole process of complicated counting of votes? Why not just have one House where the law makers are directly elected by We The People of India.”

I went whole hog and tried explaining him the process but I guess I wasn’t still able to convince him. So this one is for you my dear friend and like they say – शुरू से शुर शुरू करते हैं !!

On 3rd January 1949, the Constituent Assembly took up Article 66 of the Draft Constitution (Article 79 of the Final Constitution) for debate & deliberate to constitute a Parliament for India that was to comprise of The President and two houses – Council of States (Rajya Sabha/Upper House) and the House of People (Lok Sabha/Lower House).

Constituent Assembly member from Odisha Shri Lokanath Mishra moved an amendment to remove the term ‘Council of States’ from the Draft Article – he did not want an upper house. Since the Draft Constitution did not provide for such upper house, he saw no need for an upper house at all – “it was a waste of public money and time.” (Just the kind of point my friend put forth)

MA Ayyangar – A Constituent Assembly member from now Tamil Nadu and who later went on to become the Speaker of The Lok Sabha defended the need of The Rajya Sabha. He argued that parliament needed an upper house for the following reasons:

First, that politics must be a space for a range of people to take part; the upper house would be space ‘where the genius of the people may have full play’.
Second, the upper house would act as a check on any hasty legislation that lower house may pass.
Third, the upper house, unlike the lower house, would be permanently elected.

And the motion was accepted and lo and behold we have had the Upper House ever since.

It’s the way our Constitution provides adequate Checks and Balances. The no. of seats that each state is allocated is according to its population. Its members are always there to deliberate, discuss and approve/disapprove various important matters, case in point being to validate the Emergency under Article 352 for a limited period when the Lok Sabha remains dissolved.

A brute majority in Lok Sabha of one party does not end up becoming tyrannical and thus its actions are to be checked by the Upper House whose members are elected by the state legislature and have different considerations to look into.

Now let us look at the tables below. This data shows the number of seats and the share in the respective houses of the various political parties. For better understanding I have just taken the top 6.

LOK SABHA

Top 6	Details	Seats	Percentage
1	BJP	301	55.7%
2	INC	53	9.8%
3	DMK	24	4.4%
4	Trinamol Congress	23	4.3%
5	YSR Congress	22	4.1%
6	Shiv Sena	19	3.5%

RAJYA SABHA

Top 6	Details	Seats	Percentage
1	BJP	95	38.8%
2	INC	29	11.8%
3	Trinamol Congress	13	5.3%
4	DMK	10	4.1%
5	BJD	9	3.7%
6	AAP	8	3.3%

While the top 4 parties remain the same in both the houses the next two are different. Even in terms of percentage points how different it is. While BJP on its own have around 55.7% Lok Sabha seats in the Rajya Sabha is way lower at 38.8%.

Ironically none of the other 4 parties besides the Congress are the allies of the BJP at least officially.

In the 8 years of the NDA rule we have seen various controversial and questionable laws that it wanted to pass had to be put on hold due to its inability to garner nos. in the Upper House. Bills related to Land Acquisition and the Lok Pal / Lok Ayukta which sailed thru the Lok Sabha were suitably amended by the Rajya Sabha.

Thus our constituent members had the foresight to envisage such a situation which necessitated the creation of Upper House.

One of the Sanskrit Shloka from The Mahabharat has been inscribed in the Parliament building:

” न सा सभा यत्र न सन्ति वृध्दा:, वृध्दा न ते ये न वदन्ति धर्मम्।

धर्म स नो यत्र न सत्यमस्ति , सत्यं न तत् यत् छलमभ्युपैति॥ “

Which means –

That’s not an Assembly where there are no wise persons,

Those are not wise, who do not speak with righteousness,

That’s no righteousness where there is no truth,

That’s not the truth which leads one to deceit.

So let the people of our country be benefitted from the counsel and wisdom of the members of both the houses.

I hope my friend, I am able to convince you now.

Proud Congressman

March 16, 2022

मुझे भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस का सदस्य होने पर गर्व है.

मुझे गर्व है मैं उस दल से जुड़ा हुआ हूँ जिसने पंथनिरपेक्ष भारत की संरचना की.

मुझे गर्व है पार्टी के शीर्ष नेतृत्व पर जिन्होंने हार के बावजूद कभी अपने मूल सिधान्तों को नहीं छोड़ा.

आज के दौर में जहाँ शीर्ष नेतृत्व पर हार का आरोप जड़ना fashionable हो गया है. हम सब कांग्रेस जन को अपने अन्दर झांकर देखने की भी ज़रुरत है.

यह वक़्त है पार्टी को मंथन करने का इन निम्न बिन्दुओं पर:

कांग्रेस जन को एक तराजू में ना तोला जाए. समय है सच्चे और भितरघातियों में फरक करने का.
पार्टी के वफादार और नेता के वफादारों में फरक करना होगा.
ऐसे लोगों को चिन्हित करने का जिनकी पूरी राजनीती एक दुसरे को निपटाने में ही खप जाती है.
ऐसे सदस्यों को चिन्हित करने का जो चुनाव के वक़्त अपना कार्य क्षेत्र छोड़ कर ऐसे जगह लग जाते हैं जहाँ उनकी जान है ना पहचान.
सत्ता में भागीदारी चाहने वालों को सत्ता में पहुँचाने के लिए किये गए कार्यों का हिसाब देना होगा.
नेताओं को टिकेट वितरण से पहले कार्यकर्ताओं की भावना का ध्यान रखना होगा क्यूंकि ऊपर से थोपी गयी उम्मीदवारी कार्यकर्त्ता को हताश और मायूस कर देती है.
नेताओं को सुनिश्चित करना होगा की उनके अनुयायी पार्टी के अधिकारिक उम्मीदवार के लिए ही काम करें.
पार्टी की वजह से सत्ता सुख भोगते नेताओं को पार्टी का हित सर्वोपरी रखना होगा.

जब यह सब होगा तभी सच्चे कांग्रेसी अपने को ठगा महसूस न करेंगे और जी जान से काम करेंगे हमेशा के तरह.

जय हिन्द – जय कांग्रेस

दीपक सुखाड़िया

सत्ता के साथी

June 11, 2021

पूर्व केंद्रीय मंत्री सुश्री गिरिजा जी व्यास अक्सर अपने भाषण में कहती हैं की किसी ज्योतिष या भोपा ने नहीं कहा था कांग्रेस पार्टी से जुड़ने के लिए. हम कांग्रेसी हैं क्यूंकि हम इस की विचारधारा में विश्वास करते हैं.

हम विश्वास करते हैं उसके सिधान्तों और मूल्यों में. सब की अपनी विचारधारा होती है और होनी भी चाहिए क्यूंकि यह हमारे व्यक्तित्व की पहचान होती है. कोई वामपंथी होता है, कोई संघी और कोई कांग्रेसी. पार्टी से आपकी नाराज़गी हो सकती है लेकिन इस का मतलब यह नहीं की कोई अपनी विचारधारा में पूर्ण बदलाव कर दें.

दशकों से जिस विचारधारा के खिलाफ खड़े रहे उस से एक झटके में कैसे गले लगा सकते हैं. चुनाव में हार जीत लगी रहती है. राजनीती में सब की मह्त्वाकान्शायें होती है लेकिन सत्ता सुख के लिए इस में बदलाव कहाँ तक सही है??

भारतीय संसदीय प्रणाली ब्रिटेन के वेस्टमिनिस्टर मोडल पर आधारित है. वहां पर भी एक समय पर कंजरवेटिव पार्टी 18 साल (1979 – 1997) तक सत्ता पर काबिज़ रही और हार गयी. फिर संघर्ष किया और अब वापस पिछले 10 साल से ज्यादा से पार्टी सत्ता में है और शायद ही वहां के अग्रिम पंक्ति के नेताओं ने सत्ता सुख के लिए अपना पाला बदला हो.

भारतीय राजनैतिक परिवेश में देखें तो ऐसे उदहारण देखने को मिलेंगे की किसी के पार्टी के शीर्ष नेतृत्व से टकराव रहा हो तो उन्होनें विचारधरा से समझौता नहीं करा , चाहे वह शरद पवार महाराष्ट्र में हों, ममता बैनर्जी बंगाल में या 1996 में कांग्रेस नेतृत्व से अलगाव के कारण पार्टी छोड़ खुद की पार्टी बनाने वाले माधवराव सिंधिया, जी.के.मूपनार और अन्य.

एक प्रमुख कारण जो हाल ही में विपक्षी पाले में जाने वाले नेताओं ने बतलाया है की वह जनता की सेवा करने के लिए ऐसा मजबूर हो गए थे. यह सरासर झूठ है और सत्तानशीं होने के सिवा कुछ नहीं. अगर जनता की सेवा करने ही है तो आपको सत्ता की कोई ज़रुरत नहीं. इस कोरोना काल में ही देख लें तो यूथ कांग्रेस के अध्यक्ष बी.वि.श्रीनिवास, तहसीन पूनावाला को या सोनू सूद को. कोई सत्ता में नहीं था, पुलिसिया कार्यवाही करी गयी उन पर फिर भी इस दूसरी लहर में जनता की सेवा के लिए झुझते रहे. जैसे की किसी ने सही लिखा है –

कुछ कर गुजरने के लिए, मौसम नहीं मन चाहिए

साधन सभी जुट जायेंगे, संकल्प का धन चाहिए

जिन नेताओं ने पाला बदला है उनके पास सेवा के लिए संसाधन की कमी तो बिलकुल नहीं थी. कमी थी तो केवल अपनी विचारधारा पर तटस्थ रहने की और जो चीज़ भरपूर थी वह थी सत्ता की भूख और खुद की राजनैतिक मंशा पूरी करने की.

2014 से जब से एक विचारधारा की पार्टी सत्ता में आई है उनका एक मात्र रास्ता चुना है सत्ता में बने रहने का और उन का बढ़चढ़ का साथ दिया है कुछ एक नेताओं ने.

तो इसलिए अब वक़्त आ गया है की सब राजनैतिक व्यक्ति आत्म-मंथन कर लें की उनके लिए क्या ज़रूरी है विचारधारा या सत्ता क्यूंकि हम सच्चे कांग्रेस जन तैयार हैं लम्बे संघर्ष और लड़ाई के लिए.

66 Years Later

August 12, 2020

Rajasthan

1954

श्री जयनारायण जी व्यास राजस्थान की राजनीती में शीर्षस्थानीय, सर्वोपरि अडिग चट्टान थे. लेकिन राजस्थान की राजनीती में उनके प्रयोग प्रदेश कोंग्रेस को न तो स्वीकार थे न सहन थे. इसलिए सन 1954 में राजस्थान प्रदेश कांग्रेस कमेटी की जयपुर में होने वाली बैठक में, जिसमें खचाखच भीड़ थी, श्री माणकयलालजी जी वर्मा ने एका-एक उठकर कहा, “आज से व्यास जी , मैं आपकी हुकूमत के खिलाफ विद्रोह करता हूँ. आप भी हीरालाल जी शास्त्री जी के रास्ते जा रहे हैं. कांग्रेस की बात आप मानना नहीं चाहते, यह चल नहीं सकता. आपका नेतृत्व कांग्रेस की हथेलियों पर है.”

व्यास जी यह कहकर सभा से चले गए, “तो ले लो तुम लोग मिनिस्ट्री …..”

6 नवम्बर 1954 को श्री जयनारायण जी व्यास विधान सभा में कांग्रेस पार्टी की बैठक में 8 वोट से हार गए और श्री मोहनलाल जी सुखाड़िया नए नेता निर्वाचित हुए. 13 नवम्बर 1954 को, सात दिन बाद राजप्रमुख ने उन्हें मुख्यमंत्री की शपथ दिलाई. और इस तरह मात्र ३८ की उम्र में राजस्थान में लोकतंत्र वाद ने सुखाड़िया युग का शुभागमन हुआ.

2020

66 साल बाद कुछ ऐसा ही विरोध राजस्थान में फिर दिखाई दिया. जहाँ पहले यह विरोध 55 साल बनाम 38 का था, इस बार यह 69 साल बनाम 43 का है.

जहाँ पहले मारवाड़ से दिग्गज लोकनायक श्री जयनारायण जी व्यास ने मुख्यमंत्री पद से रुखसत की थी ठीक उस के विपरीत इस बार मारवाड़ से ही जननायक श्री अशोक जी गहलोत ने अपना एक बार फिर सभी कोंग्रेस विधायकों के समर्थन प्राप्त कर लिया. आलाकमान के हस्तक्षेप के बाद विरोध थम गया. एक महीन के अंतराल और व्यथित करने वाले घटनाक्रम में स्थितियां अब शांत हो गयीं

हम कांग्रेस जन ने आज चैन की सांस ली है, विपक्ष की सरकार गिराने की कोशिश को पूर्णविराम लगा दिया गया है. सरकार फिर से आम जन के हक में और अपने वायदा पुरे करने के मार्ग पर अग्रसर हो गयी है. 2023 तक की चुनी हुई राजस्थान की जनता को समर्पित कांग्रेस सरकार अपना कार्यकाल पूरा करेगी, यह हम सब का विश्वास ही नहीं बल्कि पूरा यकीन है.

जय कांग्रेस !!

DELHI 2020

February 11, 2020

2020-02-11

Today’s resounding verdict in favour of Aam Aadmi Party is victory of good governance, smart social media outreach/public connect and consistent delivery over the past five years.

I am not a citizen of Delhi (I doubt being a Son-In-Law would count) and the deliverable’s are gauged only from the media reports and the people I speak to and they have spoken like how !!

It is a victory of Arvind Kejriwal and his brand of politics and governance. People of Delhi have refused to fall for the name calling of Mr. Kejriwal – from being called as an Anarchist and a Terrorist, they have reposed their faith in him. But can he replicate this model across the country is something that I doubt.

BJP is now facing the law of diminishing returns, they have consistently lost state after state inspite of the abrogation of Arictle 370, Ram Mandir Verdict, Triple Talaq, divisive politics and the hatred that was peddled around. In the end it always boils down to रोटी, कपड़ा और मकान. You can’t fake it to make people believe that they have money in their pockets. Either they have it or they don’t and with the way they have messed up economy, most people certainly don’t have it.

Congress i.e. my party needs to do something ASAP. From governing the state for 15 straight years we have been getting out on zero in the previous two elections. This is just not done. Time for introspection is over. We have had that now for over 6 years now in Delhi !!

My few suggestions :

Time the leaders in-charge made to stay in the district headquarters mandatorily for atleast a week in a month. Have an open house, get to know local congressman and not get surrounded by select few.
Have a more pro-active social media team that caters to the party and not to any specific group.
Involve youth, give them a share in organisation, again those who have individual standing and identity in society.
Stop playing second fiddle to any party, for whenever we have done that we have never recovered in those states.
We are the oldest party with office-bearers across the length and breadth of the country; people are sick and tired of politics of hatred we have to offer them the alternative that they so badly crave.

Last but not the least – BRAVO AAP & MR. KEJRIWAL !!!

Enron & Political Corruption

April 12, 2019

Deep inside one of today’s newspaper pages was a small report about the closure of corruption case of Enron’s Dabhol Power Project. As per the report the case has been closed on an application moved by the BJP-Shiv Sena led Maharashtra State Government. What an Irony!! https://epaper.bhaskar.com/detail/300915/04120254190935/0/12042019/18/image/

I remember this controversy vividly as it was during that time I had moved to Mumbai in 1993 for my further studies. NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar who was then in the Congress had just been moved from the Defence Ministry to take over as the Maharashtra CM to control volatile situation post the Babri Masjid demolition riots and the Mumbai bomb blasts.

Indian Economy was then just opening up and the Government had got a major FDI for a Power Project in Dabhol, Maharashtra which was to be set up by Enron Corporation. Reports started coming out about opacity and underhand dealings in this project. The opposition led by Shiv Sena Supremo Balasaheb Thackeray went hammer and tongs about this alleged corruption and his newspaper ‘SAAMNA’ was filled with stories about it. He went so far to say that if his party was elected to power he would throw the project in the Arabian Sea.

Balasaheb Thackeray with Enron’s Kenneth Lay and Rebecaa Mark at his residence ‘Matoshree’ in Mumbai.

Riding high on this above point besides the Hinduvta card the SS-BJP combined formed the government for the first time in the State and guess what nothing like promised ever happened to Enron’s Power project. Balasaheb went on the entertain Enron Chief Kenneth Lay and the alleged face of everything wrong with Enron deal – Ms. Rebecaa Mark at his residence. The controversy was soon put in the back burner and twenty years later it has died its natural death.

Our political discourse is filled with narratives like these that the political leaders use as a stepping stone to power. Hearsay, without sound legal backup, playing the emotional card, blaming the other side and playing holier than thou!!

From The 2G Scandal’s absurd loss figures that were dismissed by the Special Courts, to tall claims of putting the entire Congress Leadership in jail in 2014 election rallies the list is endless.

The current NDA government is once again asking for mandate on these very alleged cases without acting out on its claims in the last 5 years or managing to get even a single conviction by the courts. For they know it makes out for an excellent vote catcher but a really bad legal case.

Till we have people who are constantly fed on propaganda and are ready to lap it up, we shall have cases like ENRON whose initial wildfire quickly turns in cold ash and helping bring political gains without ever managing to jail a single alleged culprit.

Dear Mr. Kejriwal

March 19, 2019

Dear Mr. Arvind Kejriwal,

I write this letter while you and some others are busy in back room maneuvering to have a tie-up with my party i.e. The Indian National Congress.

I do not know what my party’s Central and State Leadership is going to decide on this tie-up but what certainly I do now know is that you are no different from the others you so vehemently criticized from the grounds of Ram Leela Maidan and can henceforth take no moral high ground on the basis of principles, ethics for being a party with a difference.

In not so distant past you had painted the entire political class with one stroke of brush as Corrupt, inept, inefficient, unprincipled etc and garnered these anti-establishment votes to a spectacular win in Delhi Assembly. A model you tried so hard to replicate pan-India but failed with most of your candidate forfeiting their deposits in Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections barring a few exceptions.

I was never a fan of your kind of politics because you offered the people of India Utopia when you yourself knew there was none. One by one people started leaving or were made to leave the movement that Anna Hazare had started and whose fruits you were the only one left to devour and relish.

From swearing on your children never to have a tie-up with the Congress to actually doing it and now bending over backwards to accommodate them is not surprising to those who have watched you closely. Let the truth be told you are a Delhi Centric Party with an influence over 7 Lok Sabha Seats and 70 Assembly Seats, other than that it is just an exception.

During the heydays of the Lokpal Movement I was made to feel guilty about being a Congressman by your fans and now when I see your antics I feel sorry for them.

I just hope my party leadership listens to Ex. CM Shiela Dixit ji who successfully led the state for a record three terms and hope you too focus on your core competence i.e. Delhi and not spread yourself too thin !!

Regards,

A Congressman

General Elections 2019

July 17, 2018

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Immediately after the stupendous success of the BJP led coalition in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections and the dismail performance of Congress, I happened to be at a social gathering. Knowing perfectly well where my political loyalties lay a dear friend walked up to me and said “अब तो हिंदूं की सरकार आ गयी, अब अपने हिसाब से सब कर सकेंगे!”

What left me surprised was not that there was a Hindu Sarkar in place but the latter part of his statement. I did ask him what he was it that the previous governments had prevented him from doing?? He was definitely at a loss of words but was so sure that NDA was all set to empower the Hindus to take on the might of others!! BTW I was having this discussion with a professionally qualified supposedly well read individual.

4 years hence I have come to realise this supposedly well read group of people so vehemently putting across their point of views are PHD holders from the ‘Whatsapp University’; as Ravish Kumar so aptly defines it. Most news channels and newspaper are also feeding such phobia and false ideas about supposedly appeasement of minorities by the opposition parties.

What is the minority appeasement that they talk about?? Facts disprove any beneficial treatment meted out to the Muslims as has been pointed out by the Sachar Committee. Muslims were around 13.4% of the total population as per 2001 Census. However there were only 1.3% of them in the total number of students in all the IIM courses and only 3.3% in IITs. The presence of Muslims was found to be only 3% in the IAS, 1.8% in the IFS and 4% in the IPS. Share of Muslims in employment in various departments is abysmally low at all levels. In no state does the representation of Muslims in the government departments match their population share.

However one thing is for certain they is a mass who now represent a major vote bank that no political party wants to offend. So we have parties playing the supposedly ‘Soft Hinduvta’ and prefer not to be seen to close to the minorities especially the Muslims. We have the Prime Minister of our Country wearing all sorts of headgear but not The Skull Cap. I agree this is just symbolism but why this avoidance with symbols of Islam only??

India is sixth largest economy in the world and having a second largest population of Muslim after Indonesia. No party can afford to be just catering to one section of society and not be the voice of its minorities and in this case the Muslims of India.

The run up to 2019 we are once again seeing the rise of Hindu Identity well I too am proud of my Hindu Identity but my religion teaches me inclusion and not exclusion. There is no either-or for me but rather cohabitation with all the religion that make up India.

We can speculate on the results of 2019 Lok Sabha however what is non-negotiable in this mad rush in the ‘first past the post’ system is our duty to stand up and be the one for its weakest members and that is what the President of Indian National Congress Shri Rahul Gandhi recently said during one of his interactions.