Democracy gasping for breath, institutions captured: Chidambaram

India

oi-Deepika S

New
Delhi,
Aug
07:
Senior
Congress
leader
P
Chidambaram
on
Sunday
said
he
was
veering
to
the
conclusion
that
Parliament
has
become
“dysfunctional”
and
alleged
that
democracy
is
“gasping
for
breath”
in
India
with
almost
all
institutions
tamed,
emasculated
or
captured.

He
also
said
Rajya
Sabha
Chairman
M
Venkaiah
Naidu
“failed”
to
protect
Leader
of
Opposition
Mallikarjun
Kharge
last
week
from
being
summoned
by
the
Enforcement
Directorate
(ED)
when
the
House
was
in
session.

In
an
interview
with
PTI,
Chidambaram
also
dismissed
Home
Minister
Amit
Shah’s
remarks
linking
the
Congress’ demonstration
against
price
rise
on
Friday
to
the
Ram
temple
foundation
day,
saying
the
anniversary
of
the
‘Shilanyas’
was
“far
from
our
mind”
when
the
date
for
the
protest
was
fixed.

It
was
fixed
taking
into
account
that
all
the
MPs
will
be
in
Delhi
on
Friday
because
the
voting
for
the
vice
presidential
poll
was
on
Saturday,
he
said,
adding
that
one
can
always
twist
logic
to
blame
someone.

National
Herald
Case:
Kharge
grilled
by
ED
for
around
8
hrs;
Congress
calls
it
‘nothing
but
harassment’

“Moreover,
it
was
on
August
5,
2019
that
the
illegal
dismembering
of
Jammu
and
Kashmir
took
place!
Let’s
leave
these
aside
when
discussing
a
serious
issue,” Chidambaram
said.

Shah
had
linked
Congress
leaders’ protest
in
black
clothes
over
the
issues
of
price
rise,
unemployment
and
GST
hike
to
what
he
said
was
the
party’s
“appeasement”
politics
to
convey
its
opposition
to
the
Ram
temple
foundation
stone
laying
by
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
on
August
5
in
2020.

Chidambaram
also
rejected
BJP
leaders’
charge
that
the
Congress’
protest
on
August
5
was
an
attempt
to
save
the
party’s
top
leadership
that
is
facing
questioning
by
the
ED
in
the
National
Herald
case.

“We
had
announced
and
made
it
clear
that
the
protests
on
August
5
were
exclusively
on
inflation,
unemployment
and
Agnipath.
If
people
pretend
to
be
deaf
and
blind
to
the
announcement,
what
can
we
do?” he
said.
The
leaders
summoned
in
the
National
Herald
case
are
strong
enough
to
defend
themselves
and
they
also
have
the
full
support
of
the
rank
and
file
of
the
party,
Chidambaram
asserted.

Asked
about
Kharge’s
summoning
by
the
ED
during
the
working
hours
of
Parliament
last
Thursday,
he
said
it
was
a
“sad
day”
for
Rajya
Sabha
when
the
Chairman
“failed
to
protect”
the
Leader
of
the
Opposition
from
being
summoned
when
the
House
was
in
session.

“Contrast
the
support
extended
by
the
US
government
to
Nancy
Pelosi,
Speaker
US
House
of
Representatives,
on
her
visit
to
Taiwan.
The
Executive
branch
respected
the
authority
and
autonomy
of
the
Legislative
branch.
The
US
government
sent
its
aircraft
carrier
to
the
seas
off
Taiwan
and
also
kept
air
support
ready,”
he
pointed
out.

In
our
country,
the
Executive
branch
summoned
the
Leader
of
the
Opposition
when
Rajya
Sabha
was
in
session
and
one
of
the
two
heads
of
the
Legislative
branch
“pleaded
helplessness”,
he
said,
adding
that
it
was
a
“sad
day”.

On
ED
probes
against
several
Opposition
leaders,
Chidambaram
refused
to
comment
on
any
particular
case
but
asserted
that
it
was
increasingly
and
abundantly
clear
that
the
powers
of
investigation
and
the
laws
were
directed
only
at
members
of
the
Opposition.

“Institutions
have
been
tamed
or
emasculated
or
captured.
Democracy
is
gasping
for
breath.
We
may
have
the
shell
of
democracy,
but
inside,
the
shell
has
been
hollowed
out.
This
applies
to
almost
all
institutions,
which
is
what
Shri
Rahul
Gandhi
alluded
to
in
his
reply
(at
the
press
conference
Friday),”
he
said.

With
Parliament
unable
to
transact
much
business
during
the
Monsoon
session
due
to
frequent
adjournments
amid
Opposition
protests
over
a
host
of
issues
including
price
rise,
Chidambaram
said
he
is
“veering
to
the
painful
conclusion
that
Parliament
has
become
dysfunctional”.

He
asserted
that
the
single
big
reason
for
this
was
that
the
treasury
benches
had
“no
interest”
in
dialogue,
discussion
and
debate.

“Let
me
ask,
what
calamity
would
have
befallen
if
the
government
had
agreed
to
a
debate
under
Rule
267
on
price
rise
on
the
first
day?
The
debate
would
have
been
concluded
in
one
day.
Instead,
we
wasted
two
weeks,”
he
said.

Chidambaram
also
hit
out
at
Finance
Minister
Nirmala
Sitharaman
for
her
reply
to
the
debate
on
price
rise
in
Parliament
in
which
she
had
said
that
India
does
not
face
any
risk
of
either
recession
or
stagflation
as
its
macroeconomic
fundamentals
are
“perfect”.

No
one
from
the
Opposition
hinted
at
an
impending
recession
or
stagflation
and
these
were
set
up
by
the
government
like
“straw
men” so
that
the
government
can
shoot
them
down,
he
said.

“Our
concerns
were
rising
prices
and
rampant
unemployment.
The
twin
factors
have
placed
an
unbearable
burden
on
the
poor
and
the
middle
class.
The
finance
minister
was
obliged
to
spell
out
the
steps
that
the
government
intended
to
take
to
moderate
prices
and
to
create
jobs.
The
FM
did
not,”
he
said.

Chidambaram
also
criticised
Ms
Sitharaman’s
comparisons
with
other
countries,
saying
they
were
“odious”.

“The
burden
of
inflation
is
always
relative
to
income
and
savings.
If
a
country
like
the
US
has
high
inflation,
please
remember
that
Americans
also
have
a
high
per
capita
income
and
high
savings.
In
a
country
like
India
with
a
low
per
capita
income
(less
than
USD
2,000)
and
low
savings,
high
inflation
places
an
intolerable
burden
on
the
people,”
he
said.

Chidambaram
said
he
was
surprised
that
Sitharaman
did
not
notice
the
vital
difference
between
a
country
like
the
US
and
India.

“To
give
a
banal
example,
if
an
Indian
patient
has
101
degrees
fever,
what
is
the
satisfaction
in
saying
that
the
American
patient
has
103
degrees
fever?
Both
are
very
sick,” he
said.

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P. Chidambaram

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