Our Indian Parliament is known for more controversies. Watching porn to hit each other or taunting women parliamentarians to demonize some random leader is routine practice. Most of them never grew up and continued to behave like spoiled brats. Unfortunately, it has become fashionable for parliamentarians to disrupt the workings of the House to show their strength. But they are not understanding their failure to maintain the dignity and standards of the institution. They are also unable to understand that a meaningful debate is a much better way to corner the government than to just create a ruckus in Parliament.
Regrettably, nothing can be done about it unless the members themselves come to a realization of this. Most of the time, parliamentarians have no moral compunction or ethics to be loyal to the people who have elected them and who keep them in fabulous perks. The Indian Parliament is an expression of the faith that the voters of India have in the principles of democracy. These are participation by people in the decision-making process and government by consent. The Parliament in our system has immense powers because it is the representative of the people. I hope these leaders understand the emotions of people and their responsibilities towards the nation.
Recently, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s comments on the role of women’s education in population control have created controversy. He was talking about sex education that’s taught in schools and his comments were misconstrued by other leaders to take political advantage. What did Nitish Kumar say on sex education? He, however, apologized for his comments in the House, claiming they were misinterpreted and that he felt ashamed. Nitish Kumar highlighted how an educated married woman can influence her husband to prevent pregnancy. “When an educated girl gets married, she can help in population control by telling her husband how to go safe and this has actually helped in population control. Practically, what he said is right: an educated couple, especially a woman, knows how to plan a family. Perhaps speaking brutal truths in parliament is not accepted. Education and family planning have long been tied to lower fertility trends.
Immediately, the BJP legislators demanded his resignation and called his remarks “vulgar”. Nitish Kumar made the remarks after the state released the full report of the caste survey, which detailed the economic conditions of various sections. While his comments drew smiles, including from his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, they upset several female BJP MLAs. Whatever Nitish was saying was about sex education. People become hesitant over this topic, but it is taught in schools—in science and biology. Children learn this. His comments should not be taken in the wrong manner.
The BJP alleged that Indian politics has not seen a leader as vulgar as Nitish Babu. His mind is infested with the worms from “B” grade adult films. His double-meaning comments should be banned. The National Commission for Women has also demanded that the Chief Minister apologize. The National Commission for Women vehemently condemns the statements made by Nitish Kumar, but these leaders forgot about the BJP MLA from Tripura watching porn on his mobile phone during the state assembly session, which had gone viral on social media, sparking outrage and criticism. The MLA, Jadav Lal Nath, represents the Bagbassa constituency in the northeastern state. When the assembly was discussing issues related to the state budget, Nath was scrolling through a feed of video clips, pausing and intently watching a clip that appeared to be pornographic, on his phone while the speaker and other MLAs were speaking. This is not the first time that a BJP leader has been caught watching porn in a public place. In 2012, two ministers of the then BJP government in Karnataka were forced to resign after they were seen watching porn clips on their phones inside the state assembly. The ministers, Laxman Savadi and CC Patil, were later reinstated by the party after a probe cleared them of any wrongdoing.
Girls and women in largely patriarchal India face a barrage of threats, including rape, dowry-related murder, forced marriage, domestic violence, honor killings, and human trafficking. No one is talking about that but one honest opinion of a minister bothered most BJP leaders.
This is the problem with democracy. It doesn’t require any formal or informal standard of minimum qualification to contest the elections. It doesn’t even require the candidates to have a criminal record. There is a saying that if you study hard and earn some educational qualifications, you can become a teacher in a school, whereas if you don’t study and waste your time, you can own an educational institution itself. If you don’t get both, you can own a country by becoming a politician.
