When you speak of the Northeast, the noun or verb that comes to your mind is ‘neglect’. This word has been used so often to explain the state of underdevelopment in the region that you cannot even called it a clichéd vindication. But when you resurrect the debate in the light of the present Union government being the most corrupt ever and Manmohan Singh unabashedly defending its actions all through, you will know why this man chose not to vote in the elections to the Assam legislative assembly.
This is a government that does not give a damn about what people think of its acts of omission or commission. This is a man who does not either. So how do you expect the Prime Minister heading this barefaced regime to be concerned about what people have to say about his decision to abstain from voting on April 12 when the Dispur constituency where Singh and his wife are registered as voters went to the polls?
On paper, Assam is his home. Singh has been representing the state in the Rajya Sabha since 1991. He was last elected to the Upper House in 2007 and his current term ends in 2013. His residence is at 3989 Nandan Nagar, Ward No 51, Sarumataria, in Dispur. He had rented this house from former Congress Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia.
The tenant-at-large must be a busy man, but heads of governments are not known to miss the chance to cast their ballot. But Singh is way too busy. After all these days he has to work overtime to push under the carpet skeletons that are being dug up every other day. He must be real busy for he could make his electoral choice only through postal ballot.
Prima facie, it shows how busy a Prime Minister can be. He probably needed time to pack his bags for the five-day trip to China and Kazakhstan (neither known to be great democracies) he embarked on the following day. Incidentally, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua had faithfully reported about Singh giving the election a go-by.
What this also shows is the utter disdain Manmohan Singh has for democratic processes. It is understandable why Singh, who has time and again been accused of muscling through Bills in Parliament, shows such contempt for elections. He is a man who has never won an election in his life. The only time he fought one was in 1999, when he lost from South Delhi. Now, he prefers entering Parliament through the back door, and the Northeast serves as a convenient footbrush for this process.
No government has had so many corruption allegations levelled against it as the one being headed by Manmohan Singh. When Singh stormed back to power in 2009 with jingoism in the aftermath of the Indo-US nuclear deal ruling supreme, he was incessantly portrayed as a “clean” man. A man whose exploits are worth emulating. Singh, ironically, sets deplorable examples, going by this episode alone.
He hasn’t so far expressed any regret. Profound, or otherwise. He is not in the habit of doing so if his track record of reactions to the unending scams is a yardstick to go by. Even criticism by Narendra Modi has not woken him from his slumber of callousness. The only thing the Congress could do was to make its spokesman Manish Tewari deny allegations by saying that it “does not require very much of intelligence to understand that a PM of the size of the country that India is, obviously has legitimate preoccupations…” We can’t take Tewari to task because he is an intelligent man.
But one doesn’t need to have Tewari’s sparkle to come to the conclusion that Manmohan Singh’s claim to Rajya Sabha is based on the lie that he is a resident of Assam. Technicalities aside, it is a lie, of course. The only time Singh visits Assam is when he needs to file his own nomination papers, or when he has to canvass for his party. He did cast his vote in April 2009 when he desperately needed to retain his Prime Ministerial seat. Like all good men, he makes his occasional exceptions.
There’s a lesson here also for the people of Assam. When such men represent the state at the Centre, it is only natural that it will remain neglected. Not that the people don’t know. That’s where the tragedy of our democracy lies. The people can’t do much about those who claim to represent them.
This incident gives credence to allegations that Singh is answerable only to his party boss Sonia Gandhi. Manmohan Singh does not believe in exercising his franchise. Perhaps he understands the word franchisee better, since he is one of 10 Janpath.
