PV Narsimha Rao saw Mayawati as the miracle of democracy. A
dalit woman, to rise to power in the ganga-jamuna belt was nothing less than
that for any political analyst back then. Today, it is taken as conventional
common sense that dalit vote bank play crucial role in the game of numbers
during any election. One can owe this to
V P Singh’s government’s passing of ordinance for incorporating the Mandal
Commission’s recommendations and the subsequent protest by the upper caste,
leading to deepening of caste consciousness and self assertion by the so far
oppressed section of society in the backdrop of the changing economy post liberalization.
What we are witnessing today, is no less dramatic. The
astronomical figures attached to each subsequent scam during the recent past,
coupled with high inflation and rising food and petrol prices, outraged one and
all. The tireless efforts of civil society, helped in the enactment of RTI Act
in 2005. Since then, the opacity in government works have been lowered to some
extent. The public demands and gets information. The government to is making
more and more information available on the websites. The numerous news channels
arouse the public sentiments against corruption and social media helps bringing
the educated masses closer to mainstream. All this gave momentum to Anna Hazare’s
campaign against corruption in 2011. Now the government is about the enact the
Lokapal Act by constitutional amendment.
Amidst all this, the meteoric rise of Arvind Kejriwal can be
seen as the beginning the new era of politics where people with seemingly meager resource can rise by talking about developmental issues rather than playing the
caste or communal cards. Though its just a start but there are all reasons to
believe that this shift that we are witnessing, is going to be permanent. The educated
people of Delhi recognised the new voice
and this is a good sign.
A lot depends on AAP. If AAP candidates set up examples of
good governance then the other national parties will also have to redefine their
ways of working. BJP has understood this and is not seen playing the communal
card now a days. Narendra Modi rallies focus on issues of corruption and good
governance.
The democratic mechanism has made such a thing possible. The
voice of people cannot be ignored in a democracy and people want a corruption
free India.
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