History has shown that India has seen the reign of monarchy for a long time. It went through the hands of several kings but all of them had the same logic. Whatever the king says must happen and there is no right or wrong to it. Also, it is not sure when the king might change decisions or make new ones. Ultimately, he is the king and whatever he says is the order of the day. And no one dares question the king. If they do they are done for till the king is in power.
Ages have passed and monarchy is gone. Democracy has come and India boasts itself to be the largest democracy in the world giving full and free rights to the citizen of India. But come to think of it, is democracy still there? Do individuals have the right to voice their protest against the system? And when a government like Congress is in power, can it really happen? These are the many doubts that have cropped up in minds after looking at the ongoign issue of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
One question being raised is, why arrest Jagan nly 15 days before elections?? Why not 15 days after or why not two months before?? The logic is simple- this is purely to avoid jumpings from the congress party to the YSR Congress party headed by Jagan. Currently, Jagan is under the scanner of the CBI and in the name of interrogation he got into the shambles of an arrest. So why did this arrest happen? Is it just about Jagan and his earnings or is it because he dared to defy the system?
Going by the recent developments and the exercises done, it looks very clear that this is more of a monarchial decision by the Congress high command than a democractic decision. The thought that Jagan has been growing in presence among the masses and his extensive campaigning with Odarpu Yatra has shaken the pillars of Congress. No leader in the recent past has dared to take off with such a venture in the Congress camp. By doing the arrest, the Congress feels it has won.
For one, they are of the belief that this arrest can put the brakes on the canvassing and if any charges are proved they would be doing their best to keep Jagan inside for a few years. But here is one point they are missing. By keeping Jagan inside custody or behind bars, it will only give rise to a wave of public sympathy. And they have been watching the happenings over the past few months so it was only matter of today and tomorrow for them to expect Jagan would be arrested.
But here is the fact. History has shown that whenever Congress has tried to function like a monarchy and took few drastic steps, the result has been that their eyes got poked. Doing things in the garb of democracy, congress has often misused their power and didn’t have the sensibility to cover it from the eyes of the people who know what is wrong and what is not. And when people decide to get someone to power even billions of rupees as bribe fails to work in front of them.
The 2014 elections is soon aproaching and the gesture of the Congress high command to put a check on Jagan is an exemplary display of monarchy. However, as the past has spoken, even this move is going to prove costly to them. Already, some key members of the party are planning to make a shift to YSR Congess party. The charges on Jagan are yet to be proved and if they don’t then congress will be in a real tight spot because their actions have been quite displaying about their insecurity towards Jagan and how they wanted to see him behind the bars and show their supremacy. But when people take to democracy, even the best of monarchy cant’ stand it. May all the concerned realize this.
-Venkat Arikatla
Chief Editor
