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Ruchika: The
deafening political silence
Jassi Khangura
 The
high decibel furore surrounding the inadequate sentencing of former
Haryana DGP Rathore has one striking omission: the distinct lack of
statements by politicians both from Haryana and from elsewhere.
Apart from a few sentences from the Union Law Minister, the Haryana
Chief Minister and a statement by Manish Tewari, the Congress
Spokesperson, politicians have kept a safe distance.
But why? Surely
an issue that has resoundingly highlighted the incredible failings
of our system and the remarkable ease with which influential persons
can delay and influence justice should be of some concern to the
5000 odd MLAs and MPs that sit in our various legislatures?
Or is it the
case that too many politicians are uncomfortable to comment for they
have themselves so frequently exerted similar influences and delayed
due process for their own protection?
Far be it for a
first time state legislator to render any advice to those
significantly more experienced in our august houses, but the writer
cannot help but feel that to ignore this massive groundswell of
public opinion at this juncture is not only bad judgment, and
hurtful to the victim’s family but also an insult to the
intelligence of the very voters that empowered them in the first
place.
The deafening
silence from politicians normally prone to shooting from the hip at
every opportunity might have confirmed the suspicion that many might
actually be more dependent for their political survival on the
workings of the judiciary and the executive than on those very
voters that they are meant to serve.
Were all the
cases now pending in our courts against our politicians (including
one against the writer for allegedly beating a government servant)
to be transferred to special courts for time bound summary judgment
many would bite the dust.
Were all
departmental inquiries against politicians and bureaucrats to be
transferred to special investigating units supervised by our central
agencies for time bound resolution, many more would be in the dock.
 Public
opinion has today hung ex-DGP Rathore high and dry, as it has
numerous politicians in the past for their crimes of omission and
commission. But that is only because of the media volcano that
erupted after the smiling Rathore exited court following a sentenced
invariably deemed too lenient by all and sundry. But what of the
thousands of cases involving our officers and politicians that do
not receive such attention?
The overriding
lesson of the 19 year delay in the Ruchika family’s pursuit for
justice and the current failure of our politicians to speak out is
that our bureaucrats and politicians exist primarily to protect each
other. This cosy relationship is one of the main reasons why we have
had incremental degradation of public services over the 62 odd years
of our independence.
Had our
executive and legislative arms been acting independently in
fulfilling their roles in our governance India today would not be
the corruption ridden place that it is. Had our judiciary stuck to
its job of applying the law as opposed to interpreting it in a
widely divergent manner, our justice system would enjoy a better
reputation today.
If there is
today an urgent need to fast track anything it is not VVIP cars
through privileged passages, but the investigations and court
proceedings concerning our politicians, judges and officials. These
should all be centrally compiled and monitored, with regular updates
on the Internet. Then the public would very quickly realise that for
every one Rathore now in the public gaze there are hundreds of
influential persons deep in a system that simply cannot hold them to
account.
Politicians
worldwide are used to the adulation or venom of the voting public.
But it is really only in emerging countries where officialdom also
occupies that high pedestal. The writer having lived in the
UK
for 40 years never had any reason at any time to think of that
country’s bureaucrats as anything more than mere public servants;
certainly not the demigod-like status that most enjoy here.
The Ruchika
episode may well finally call time on Rathore but the system will
still allow countless others to escape with impunity or nominal
sentences unless we fundamentally change the way we deal with our
errant officials, judges and politicians. Sixty-two years of
independence may have created many an ill-gotten fortune but if we
are to truly take countless hundreds of millions of our citizens out
of poverty we must legislate now to ensure that there is for this
group of “servants” a real fear of prosecution and conviction.
 Teflon
coated politicians, officers and judges that have till now by and
large protected themselves in a symbiotic environment need to start
thinking that they might actually go to jail. Perhaps we need to
devise a punishment for these abusers of power that will act as a
genuine deterrent for others considering erring from the true path
of the public servant.
(The author is a
first time Congress MLA from Qila Raipur,
Punjab
and a businessman.)
13
January 2010
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