mi(sual).com

By David Buhril

The motion for the trust vote on nuclear deal that recently concluded with overdriving noise, nightmare like bedlam played by a majority of un-rated politicians concluded with a messy repercussion. Indian parliamentarians came close to negate India’s long nursed image of “super power”, which otherwise is an imagination in the making.

Had the majority of the parliamentarians dumped the deal with their ignorant votes, the best nation’s ad-man would have to be called in to work with a fire fighting speed to at least deliver a saving image on the juke box. If then, the question would be who would still believe India’s imagination. Besides the several reasons for the recently secured deal, it at least affirm one’s belief that the country is on the track that it has long time made it look like ” booming” and “shining” with the endless lip service.

Besides the endless speculation, I was also watching closely the two Mizo MPs who are blessed with the suffrage to determine the prospect of the deal. One is Mizo National Front (MNF) blessed son, Vanlalzawma from Mizoram. The other is HT Sangliana, the first Mizo and the first from the entire North East to be elected as a member of the Parliament from outside the North East. He, otherwise, was heavily tagged with the stamp of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which the christianised states of the North East see as a threat to their imported religion.

When the trust vote, pregnant with high drama and acted by unwhetted actors, was casted, it shocked and surprises many. While the MNF panderer Vanlalzawma abstain from voting in the trust vote, HT Sangliana digressed from the infamous BJP and cross vote in favour of the nuclear deal that resulted in his expulsion from the party. Let me take the liberty to take a closer look if the orchestrated move of our two MPs are well done or half done.

While the speculation about the motives of the two MPs still continue even after they had exercise their unrecallable votes, we certainly are doing the inevitable as they are our representatives and very much of the nation and not mere individuals. While doing so, the move made by the two Naga MPs, one from Manipur and the other from Nagaland, put me into deep thoughts. When it was very clear that the trust vote was centered on the nuclear deal, the two Naga MPs made a condition to the UPA leadership that they would only cast their votes in favour of the nuclear deal if the Naga issues and interests are given assurance. The two Naga MPs took the privilege to remind the UPA leadership about the “unconstitutional” character of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP), a political document agreed by all the political parties that supported the formation of the UPA government in 2004. The “unconstitutional” part of the CMP pertains to the boundaries of the North East States, which is seen by the Naga MPs as a barrier towards achieving lasting peace. They strongly stated that provisions of the article should be “done away” with a “statement to this effect made officially.” They also demanded for the setting up of “State Reorganisation Commission to address and accommodate the democratic aspirations of various sections and ethnic groups of the country… with utmost sincerity.” The basis of their demand made me to recollect the Congress Working Committee Meeting on October 30, 2001, where the Committee considered the recommendations of the Pranab Mukherjee Committee that was set up to study the demands for the formation of “Smaller States.” The Committee felt that the reorganization of existing States raised a large number of issues and that the whole matter could be best addressed by another States reorganization Commission to look into all the issues involved. Accordingly, the Congress working Committee accepted the recommendations of the Pranab Mukherjee Committee and decided to request the Central Government to set up another States reorganization Commission for the purpose. Before the trust vote the Naga MPs and the Congress leadership have sincerely work out the Naga questions in written.

While the Naga MPs secured the Naga interest with the nuclear deal, HT Sangliana voted in favour of the nuclear deal, which he believed would serve the larger good of the nation. He strongly opines that India’s “paper power” image should be levered for its realization by securing constant supply of power and energy. The vote, otherwise, made him a rebel. Breaking away from the “immature” political culture of the party that sits in the opposition, Sangliana independently asserts his conscience, rather than freeze in BJPs tuned temperature. The trust vote on nuclear deal turns out to be a grain and chaff identifying moment for the parties involved. While the “fish market” like bedlam and the talk about the involvement of big money has sent out Chinese whispers, Sangliana proved that he did not have the thirst of a prostitute. The lure of big money would not be the first time for the police officer turned politician who has taken up big and hot cases of the rich, crooks and famous in India’s IT capital, Bangalore. If he was after money his career as a police officer would have converted him a billionaire. Well, talking about conversion, when Sangliana was elected, rumours wild fire that he would turn the Bharatiya Janata Party into Bharatiya Jesus Party. He also talked about the need for a battle from within and not from outside. His worshipped integrity and uprightness proved the mettle again and the underground political brokers failed to make him a penny richer.

The trust vote made the BJP realized that Sangliana could not be trusted any longer for the party. He was immediately expelled from the party that nursed him to power. The man stood his ground to represent what he believed is right. Indeed this earth would see a fairer march if everyone could stand for that, which is right. When in one life, with just one precious vote, if any man could be suppressed against his will and freedom, that man failed himself and failed the people that he represents.

On the other side we have Vanlalzawma, who dares to abstain from the trust vote. When I learned that the people’s representative did not cast his vote, I thought he did not know the value of his one vote that the entire Mizoram has. I read that his abstention was dictated by the MNF leadership. Vanlalzawma, then, turned Pilate like. What do we gain and lose from abstaining on such crucial event? That brought into question what the nuclear deal would do Mizoram good and not the MNF. Well, putting naively, for the power buying state the nuclear deal delivers the prospect of more power for all the states in India. That goes for Mizoram as well. This itself is one good reason for the power deprived and dependent state of Mizoram to cast its only vote for the nuclear deal. Or is that the MNF government saw the nuclear deal as driven by the Congress party and did not want to have anything in common with its inevitable rival in the poll bound state. If that is, I saw them adopting the Congress archaic policy of “non-alignment” in the recently concluded trust vote. If it thinks it is abstaining to deliver neutrality by its inactivity, we should remind ourselves about the need to speak out to represent for which our silent MP is where he is. I hope the silence is not due to any language problem. I was wishing Vanlalzawma, like the Naga MPs, employ the language of courage to make hay by making a strong condition around his precious vote. It is never that Mizoram did not have any issues and problems faced by the people. If the Naga MPs could make a condition on renegotiating state boundaries, Vanlalzawma could also say something on Inner Line Permit even if it felt that it has received enough rupees to combat the impact of the bamboo flowering. When people knew more than twenty five ways to hammer a nail inside a wall, we should not trifle ourselves by abstaining. When the nuclear deal is not anyway related to the prohibition issue, abstinence from it has no meaning.

Even if the MNF is never interested in the nuclear deal, it would have at least done them good if it voted in favour of the deal. That would go to thank the Congress leadership for all the cheques that has been over drafted in the name of “famine”, “hunger” and bamboo flowering. Well, that could also be to thank the Congress and UPA leadership for accepting Mizoram as “disaster zone” and “most peaceful state”, which the MNF leadership has been battling for. Big money is attached to those tags, which the state proudly exhibits.

I think Vanlalzawma and the MNF leadership are too casual and recluse on the trust vote. When everyone knew that it was on the nuclear deal, politicking could always be a different game with different set of strings. I don’t want my representative to be known for his silence, indecisiveness, or parroting. I would wish him to maintain strong integrity instead of confused neutrality. If silence is our language, will our time to speak be offered in a platter?

With globalization making its strong pace inside Mizoram, people cannot choose to abstain with precious suffrage when the poll hits the state. The country would be seeing more crucial deal that would inevitably matter our existence too. We need to prepare for such time. We need to vote for a strong local leader who would also be able to act with a voice at the national platform.

(New Delhi, 27 July, 2008)

Courtesy: Delhi Thurawn

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