The draft of the Constitution was first published in January 1948 and the people of India were given 8 months to discuss the draft and propose amendments. As many as 7635 were proposed and 2473 were actually discussed. After the draft was discussed by the people, the press and provincial assemblies the same was adopted on 26 November 1949 by the then President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad and the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950.
Our political forefathers then were hardcore nationalists who sacrificed their lives in attaining freedom for India, did not foresee a complex political society with very complex problems. It appears that no such amendment was discussed nor proposed about the political society that would emerge later that would take law in their own hands and get convicted by the judiciary and sent to jail to serve a jail term for the offence committed.
We have strange cases in India like George Fernandes in jail and yet winning the Muzafarpur seat with a thumping majority in 1977. In Goa too we had problems when our politicians are sent to jail they complain of chest pains and get admitted in Goa Medical College. The Speaker of the Goa Assembly Rajendra Arlekar is absolutely right in saying that Mickky Pacheco could very much attend the monsoon assembly session and that he would make the sitting arrangement for Mickky.
However Mickky will have to be brought by the police from the Sada jail and taken back by the police. Mickky has been sentenced by the judiciary to serve a jail term of six months for his arrogance with a civil servant. The judiciary has not disqualified Mickky. However Mickky has been trying all sorts of tricks by complaining of chest pain and applying for parole to see his ailing mother.
A convict is a person found guilty of a criminal offence and serving a prison sentence. A spade is a spade and a convict is a convict and yet a convicted politician, serving a jail term and allowed to attend the Assembly session is like making a mockery of the entire political system.
If the Constitution of India then and even later has not been amended to take care of such a situation the present government at the Centre has the numbers. In foreign countries there are laws for the political heads of the states, once their name figures in any scandal, they have to resign, there is no court platform. If any minister is trapped in an ugly situation which puts the ruling party in an embarrassing position, the situation is debated on the floor of the House and minister is forced to resign.
Sir Winston Churchill was always against granting freedom to India. He wrote this 67 years ago “Power will go in the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters. All Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles, a day would come when even air and water would be taxed in India”. Is our political society proving Sir Winston Churchill right?
