This has reference to the news report “Don’t codify privileges: Parrikar” (Herald Oct 15). Given a chance, politicians would have nothing better than having all their decision beyond judicial reach. If the truth be told they would prefer to have all their decisions beyond media scrutiny too! If Parliament is responsible how come so many scams took place? It is not that Parliament as an institution that is irresponsible, but rather some of its members are irresponsible. Will a responsible parliament debate or will it rather have frequent walk outs? In Goa the harmonious relationship between the opposition and the ruling party is not brought about out of mutual respect but more out of coercion due to the skeletons that most of the opposition have in its cupboard. Our elected representatives feel that going on foreign junkets paid by the taxpayer is his divine privilege! Are we a democracy or still living in the days of the Raj? India’s MPs have given themselves a threefold hike in salary, now earning 68 times more than the country’s average salary. But no conditions of service have changed. Has this raise resulted in better governance? This culture of privilege has corroded governance and has created two nations: those who have it all and those who have very little. Winning an election or simply being a member of a political party is inferred to grant rights and privileges elevating politicians above the common citizen — a logic more suited to a feudal aristocracy than a democracy. Equal standing before the law is the bedrock of the Indian politico-legal framework and the models it draws upon. There is no place in it for such elitism. Indian politicians would do well to remember this. Charles de Gaulle said: “In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.” Finally, VIPism is a relic of 19th century colonialism. The only VIPs in India are its citizens. As Felix Frankfurter, the celebrated US Supreme Court judge, said: “In a democracy, the highest office is the office of the citizen.”
