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By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Federal Farce

India’s federal compact was never meant to resemble street theatre. Yet that is precisely what unfolded in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where opening sessions of the Assemblies degenerated into petty skirmishes between Raj Bhavans and elected governments. Governors deserve scrutiny for overreach. But what played out on January 20 says as much about the studied belligerence of two state governments that have turned constitutional convention into a contact sport. Start with Tamil Nadu. Governor R.N....

Federal Farce

India’s federal compact was never meant to resemble street theatre. Yet that is precisely what unfolded in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where opening sessions of the Assemblies degenerated into petty skirmishes between Raj Bhavans and elected governments. Governors deserve scrutiny for overreach. But what played out on January 20 says as much about the studied belligerence of two state governments that have turned constitutional convention into a contact sport. Start with Tamil Nadu. Governor R.N. Ravi’s decision to walk out of the Assembly without delivering his address was dramatic, ill-judged and constitutionally questionable. But the stage for that walkout was carefully set by the ruling DMK. The Speaker’s insistence that the Governor read only what the Cabinet had approved, delivered with the pugnacious aside that “only MLAs can express opinion in the House,” reflected not reverence for convention but contempt for dialogue. Tamil Nadu’s government treated it as an opportunity to box the Governor into a corner and then feign outrage when he refused to play along. The subsequent statements from Raj Bhavan, disputing the state’s extravagant investment claims and invoking disrespect to the national anthem, only deepened the ugliness. But it is worth asking why such disputes routinely explode in Tamil Nadu. The answer lies less in New Delhi’s alleged conspiracies than in Chennai’s habit of governing by provocation. The DMK has discovered that permanent confrontation with the Governor serves its political narrative as it keeps the Centre in the dock. Kerala’s episode was no less revealing. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar delivered his address and left, only for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to return to the House to announce solemnly that the Governor had tampered with Cabinet-approved paragraphs. The offending omissions concerned fiscal federalism and pending Bills, subjects dear to the Left Democratic Front’s sense of grievance. Vijayan’s declaration that the Cabinet’s version would prevail was less a constitutional clarification than a performative assertion of supremacy. Governors are not meant to rewrite policy. But nor are Assemblies meant to retroactively overrule a Governor’s address by executive fiat. Kerala’s government could have placed its objections on record or sought judicial clarity. Instead, it chose to dramatize the dispute, turning the Assembly into a forum for moral grandstanding. Together, these episodes expose a deeper malaise. State governments, particularly those ruled by parties opposed to the BJP, have begun to treat Governors not as constitutional functionaries to be constrained by process, but as political foils to be publicly humiliated. The irony is rich. Tamil Nadu and Kerala style themselves as guardians of constitutional morality, federalism and democratic norms. Yet, by weaponizing Assembly proceedings against Governors, they weaken the very conventions they claim to defend. None of this absolves Governors who stray into partisan commentary or obstructionism. India has no shortage of such examples. But federalism cannot be sustained if elected governments respond to irritation with institutional vandalism. Assemblies are not arenas for settling scores with Raj Bhavans.

Opposition becomes bold, brutal

Mumbai: In a rare and striking display of unity, the Opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance and several other political parties are gearing up for a major protest against the perceived ‘vote-chori’ in Mumbai on Saturday.


The demonstration will seek to highlight what they describe as “glaring irregularities” in the state’s voter lists ahead of the upcoming civic body elections that prevents a level playing field in the polls.


According to MVA leaders, this will be “the first major joint protest action since the 2025 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections”, and is strategically timed to precede the civic polls.


While the Opposition’s united front had put up a rocking performance well in the parliamentary elections, the alliance was rattled in the Assembly polls six months later.


Many leaders have openly cried foul and attributed the setback to alleged discrepancies in the electoral process, including voter list anomalies.


However, last month the issue gained national prominence after Congress’s Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s mega-exposé alleging large-scale riggings of voter lists.


His revelations suddenly energized parties across the country to scrutinize electoral rolls more closely and campaign for transparency in the voting process, pointed out Opposition leaders.


A senior Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary noted that earlier Opposition campaigns questioning the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPAT systems were dismissed by the Election Commission, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and even the judiciary, which referred the matter back to the poll authorities.


However, Gandhi’s revelations in September appear to have reignited public debate, making it increasingly difficult for officials and ruling dispensation to ignore the allegations.


Following the Congress’s lead, leaders such as Aaditya Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray of the MNS have unveiled similar alleged cases of “vote theft” in various constituencies, pointing to what they call a deeper systemic problem.


Changed scenario

Unlike in 2019, when the Congress and undivided NCP had to persuade the Shiv Sena to join the MVA alliance, this time the initiative reportedly comes from the Thackeray cousins, with other allies enthusiastically backing the movement.


Earlier this month, delegations from the MVA and MNS met with state election officials to submit evidence of alleged irregularities, including duplicate names, multiple entries, false deletions, and incorrect addresses. The parties claim there could be ‘over one-crore suspicious entries’ in Maharashtra’s voter lists.


The alliance has made a single, pointed demand that “both state and central poll authorities rectify all discrepancies before conducting the elections to ensure transparency and fairness”.


Following Saturday’s march, Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS may approach the courts to seek directions to postpone the civic polls until all stakeholders are satisfied with the integrity of the voter lists.


March route

The Opposition protest march will begin at Dhobi Talao and conclude at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) - about 1-km - between 1-4 p.m.

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