Can we be spared of the nightmare rallies of political parties? | A. Jayaram

Published on 29-11-2008 In General

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Can we be spared of the nightmare rallies of political parties?

The Janata Dal (Secular) has few friends left in the State Capital, Bangalore after its November 17 rally which caused untold hardship to thousands of citizens. It turned out to be a nightmare for the citizens and it continues to haunt many a citizen, though it is many days since it passed.

It might also be argued that the JD (S) was without friends among Bangaloreans for some years some now. After the Supreme Court upheld the Kerala High Court judgment banning bandhs, it should next be a ban on rallies, of whatever kind. No doubt the governments are not implementing the Court's ban on bandhs.

The JD (S) rally could be viewed in different ways. Firstly what public interest lay in the former chief minister H.D.Kumaraswamy succeeding to the throne? Many don't even know that the JD (S) had a State President so far as everyone knows that it is the private limited company of H.D. Deve Gowda and his sons. Kumaraswamy has now come to occupy the position which fell vacant following the death of Merajuddin Patel. Probably that office had some reputation when M.P.Prakash was the chief.

It might be that Mr.Deve Gowda has passed on the Party dictatorship to his third son that is H.D.Kumaraswamy. The JD (S) is playing true to its image as a "Father and Sons" party. No doubt there is nothing wrong in being so as the oldest political party in the country, the Indian National Congress has been a dynastic party for decades now. Children of BJP leaders are contesting the current Assembly elections especially in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, the States which had Maharajas by the dozen at the time of independence. Then why blame Mr.Deve Gowda and his sons?

As matters stand today Kumaraswamy will be the State JD (S) chief for life unless he becomes the chief minister or even prime minister, as is reported to have been predicted by some astrologers. When Mayawati can lay claim to that office why not our Kumaranna?

The other perspective of the rally is the refusal of Deve Gowda and his sons to accept defeat in the May 2008 elections. They seem to be telling that though their party won only 28 seats in the Assembly, rural Karnataka is still with them. No doubt even the Congress has not accepted defeat. As the BJP failed to win a clear majority, those two parties are not far wrong in their claims. The Assembly elections showed that except in some districts in the Old Mysore region, the JD (S) was rejected by the rural voters in the rest of the State. That the Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa is being called a leader of farmers has become too galling for the Deve Gowda clan. The JD (S) no doubt tried to cash in on issues affecting the farmers like the fertilizer shortage crisis which led to the police firing at Haveri.

Deve Gowda is not the first State politician to claim leadership of the farmers. The former chief minister D.Devaraj Urs who implemented radical land reforms had been openly saying at the height of his glory that he did not need the votes of the urban educated people to win elections .He was saying that the rural people were with him. His exact words were "I do not need the votes of Masala Dosa patrons as those who eat ragi mudde are with me".

That was arrogance on the part of Devaraj Urs. The 1980 Lok Sabha elections saw the "ragi mudde" rejecting him. His Congress (Urs) suffered a rout. Urs realized that he was wrong in implementing the various programmes including land reforms in the name of Indira Gandhi. Of course Deve Gowda is more careful. He has no Indira Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi above him as he is the supreme boss.

Now coming to the holding of political rallies, one has to raise the question whether they are needed at all. It is megalomania on the part of our political leaders which is behind the political jamborees addressed by politicians. One recalls that in his twilight days as chief minister, S.Bangarappa held the "Sadhaneya Samavesha" in October 1992 on the same Bangalore Palace ground. Before moving to the ground, Bangarappa had reviewed a procession by his admirers and followers in front of the Vidhana Soudha in Hitlerian style. Within days of the Samavesha, then prime minister and Congress chief P.V.Narasimha Rao removed him from the chief ministership.

There should be no place for rallies or any gathering of the masses in our crowded cities. Bangalore and most of our cities are bursting at their seams. Bangalore is also without a public ground for such large gatherings. The Palace ground where the JD (S) rally was held is a private property. Our policies especially with regard to town planning should be to decongest cities like Bangalore especially their old and central parts. Even the assembly of a few thousand people will disrupt normal life (read traffic) .Many of Bangalore roads face the problem of traffic jams even if a single big vehicle breaks down.

Political melas are also peculiar to India. The western democracies don't organize them and it might be because there are not so many people without work (at least till now when an economic depression is threatening everyone) as we have in our country. No person who is devoted to his work either on his farm, factory or office will have the time to travel long distances to attend a political meeting, partake of free food and hear some political leaders accuse others.

It is also too well known that people are brought to political melas and most of them don't turn up on their own. Many might enjoy a free ride to Bangalore. The political parties in Karnataka should reach a consensus against holding the type of rally organized by the JD (S) on November 17. There is meaning in the suggestion that a large open space should be identified outside the State capital for such gatherings. Even that place should not be within an urban area. Even the other cities in the State like Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad or Belgaum should be spared from the November 17 type gatherings as they too are crowded. Kumaraswamy could have taken over as Party chief at the Party headquarters and delivered the same speech. He has his own family television network and the others to broadcast 24 X 7 his speech as also that of Gowdaru. Moreover the announcement of the by-elections to the State Assembly on December 27 has given an opportunity to the JD (S) to prove that it still rules the minds of the voters if not Karnataka.

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