Time for All MPs to Awaken Their Conscience

By abhay mokashi

The no-confidence motion, which has been accepted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and which will come up for discussion in the House, is not a test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet, but for every member of the Lok Sabha.

Going by the numbers, the motion is bound to be defeated, but it is a myth that a no-confidence motion is moved to topple a government. It is true that in a parliamentary democracy, the government falls if a motion of no-confidence is passed against it. However, the real purpose of such a motion is to pin the government on all its failures. It is the last weapon in the arsenal of the opposition to attack the government on its failures.

Under the Rules and Procedures of the Parliament, the Prime Minister has to reply to the no-confidence motion, though as collective responsibility, the Cabinet is accountable too and the motion is against the government, not merely against the Prime Minister. The members of the Cabinet cannot claim, in the Parliament or outside, that they were not allowed to speak in the Cabinet or that all decisions were taken solely by the Prime Minister.

It is presumed that there are some members in Modi’s Cabinet and many Members of Parliament supporting him, whether of the Bharatiya Janata Party or otherwise, whose conscience is still alive, though in a dormant state. It is for these individuals to awaken their conscience and accept the government’s failure on several fronts especially on issues like unemployment, inflation, economy, major economic offences, intrusion by China on our territory and above all the ongoing violence in Manipur.

The time has come for every Member of the Lok Sabha to speak-up on these issues, irrespective of party lines. They need to understand their oath of allegiance to the Constitution and their duties and obligations towards their voters and to the nation. Each one of them has stated that s/he is in politics in the interest of the nation. If that is true, it is time to prove it. It is time for every member to speak up for the people at large.

The members need to ask their conscience, whether Narendra Modi and his government have kept the election promises to create two crore jobs every year or to ensure that income of farmers would increase two-fold; on the contrary, most farmers complain that their income has reduced during the nine years of Modi rule.

Even if they are not sure if China has intruded on our territory, the parliamentarians supporting Modi and his government, should speak up on the issue and ask him to come out with the truth. They should question Modi why the fuel prices have gone up, though the crude prices in the international market have come down and why are we paying Russia in Chinese currency for the crude, thus helping Chinese economy too. Modi has to be made to answer questions raised concerning Adani and his financial activities.

Most importantly every member of the House, must ask Modi why he has been silent on the ethnic violence in Manipur and has not spoken in the Parliament on the violence and the stripping of women and parading them naked.

Those supporting Modi may chose to remain silent on all issues, but if they fail to flay Modi for his silence on Manipur or they are muted on the crimes against women there, it is clear that the Members’ conscience is dead. They are no different from the perpetrators of those crimes against women. All violence is bad, whether against women or men, but sexual violence against women is worse. It is a shame that the crimes against women in Jodhpur are being equated with the stripping of women and the sexual assault on them in Manipur. Nobody is stopped from speaking about crimes against women in other parts of the country, but the incidents in Manipur are part of the ethnic cleansing being carried out, hence becomes a serious issue.

Manoj Tiwari, a BJP MP has described the opposition party MPs naamard, which means impotent or unmanly. Being impotent, means the inability to perform, in that sense all those who fail to defend the Constitution in the parliament can be said to be naamard. There is no place for a Hindu nation in our Constitution, so every person seeking a Hindu Rashtra, qualifies for the adjective, for failing to protect the Constitution. Every citizen has the right to live with dignity, so those not speaking up for the women in Manipur qualify for what Tiwari has said about the opposition MPs and he leads that section. He is clearly a man without scruples and many of his colleagues are no better.

Members remaining silent on the Manipur issue, during the debate on the no-confidence motion should ask Tiwari, as well as themselves, if it is manly to strip women of all their clothes, parade them on the streets, sexually assault them and to rape them. This is the time for them to decide if they wish to be silent spectators to see democracy being stripped, the way Draupadi was watched, when she was being disrobed or to play the role of the saviour, by standing up for every citizen of this country.

If the male Members of Parliament fail in their duty by remaining silent on the Manipur issue, at least the women members should speakup, but that is not expected of Smriti Irani as her conscience is dead and on one hand, she is blinded by hatred and contempt for all those even questioning Modi and on the other, her deep loyalty to Modi, due to which she has lost sight of the reality.

It is also for the family members of these parliamentarians and their supporters to make them see the reality in the country and put pressure on them to speak in the parliament on behalf of the members of the public, who are suffering due to the inflation and lack of employment.

George Fernandes, as a member of Morarji Desai’s Cabinet staunchly defended the Government, while speaking on the vote of no-confidence, but finally resigned as his conscience was awake.

The supporters of the Modi government have two choices, either to support the government and resign as an MP or speak for the people and yet save Modi during the vote.

If they fail the people, posterity will not forgive them.