Show no mercy to political hooliganism
A train passenger beaten up for refusing to swap his seat with a politician; a state bureaucrat thrashed by local politicians for not being sufficiently effusive in his conduct towards a strongman; and a highways authority officer assaulted by a sitting state minister during a site inspection. In this regrettable string of recent incidents where lawmakers broke the law, two things stand out. The alleged crimes were reported from disparate corners of India (one was in Madhya Pradesh, another in Odisha, and a third in Himachal Pradesh), cutting across the political divide. What was common was an overarching sense of impunity nurtured by political patronage and the belief that the law can be bent at will. Politicians and their henchmen were neither afraid of penalties or imprisonment. After all, it is an open secret that compromised elements in the criminal justice system often yield to the whims of the powerful, and that even in the face of popular outrage, no long-term action is taken against the perpetrators.
PREMIUM The alleged crimes were reported from disparate corners of India, cutting across the political divide. (X/Naveen Patnaik)
This is unacceptable. Assaulting common citizens and government officials must be met with exemplary punishment, especially because such crimes undermine the public’s faith in the rule of law and act as stepping stones to further criminalisation of politics, which no constitutional democracy can afford. The law enforcement machinery should shed any perception of preferential treatment and enforce the law in a transparent manner. At the same time, various governments and the leadership of top political parties must signal a zero-tolerance policy towards such hooliganism, no matter how big a vote-catcher the perpetrators might be. By making cynical (and myopic) political choices, both political parties and local administrations are undermining the future of the country. No nation can expect to thrive without the rule of law reigning supreme, free of fear or favour.
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