l Srinagar, August 22 (PTI): An alliance with the Congress party is final on all 90 seats in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah said on Thursday. The announcement came after Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called on the NC leadership at Abdullah’s residence. l New Delhi, August 22 (ANI): Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar claimed on Thursday that some forces were attempting to disrupt the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, but the Election Commission was fully prepared to conduct free and fair polls there. THESE two related instances also relate to a cantankerous debate in recent domestic politics -- woven around the Opposition allegation that the Government headed by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi was hell bent upon destroying the Constitution of India by severely altering its form and content. The decision of the Government to hold legislative elections in Jammu and Kashmir was taken as per the provisions of the Constitution, and not outside its ambit.

 

Even as the Centre abrogated the Special Status of Jammu and Kashmir five years ago, it made a promise to the country that it would certainly hold elections at appropriate time. Following the directive of the honourable Supreme Court, legislative elections are to be held in Kashmir. The pre-poll alliance between Congress and National Conference is part of the impending electoral battle. This is happening as per the provisions of the Constitution beyond any doubt. The Lok Sabha elections in which the Bharatiya Janata Party could not secure a majority on its own, and Congress party jumped from 54 to 99 seats, also were held in accordance with the Constitution. And the appointment of Mr. Rahul Gandhi as Leader of Opposition (LoP) was also done as per the provisions of the Constitution and in complete accordance with parliamentary rules and regulations -- and is being treated with full respect as per the norms and conventions. Of course, Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s own conduct on the floor of the House is not all the time in tune with the dignity and decorum of Parliament and the Chair has had to issue words of caution and even warnings to him for small and big violations. Yet, all those words of caution and warning are being issued very much as per the Constitution and its nuanced application on the ground.

 

Yet, the Opposition’s stupid cribbing about the Constitution being defiled and denigrated does not end. It continues to talk utter nonsense every now and then about the Centre under Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi is toying with the Constitution -- even as its leaders take every possible advantage (and disadvantage) of the Constitution and its provisions even to corner the Government even without any normative sanction to that effect. In fact, many of the utterances of the Opposition leaders are good enough to attract legal action for gross violations of the norm. But all those violators defend themselves saying that they had freedom of expression and could say anything they pleased -- whether pertaining to truth or not, whether making any actual sense or not ... !

 

All along, the Modi Government never talked of altering the Constitution -- no matter some brazen statements by some of the leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. No leader of the Government or the ruling party ever suggested any alteration in any constitutional provision. Yet, the Opposition kept heaping craps of lies on the people and alleged that the Constitution was under threat. Most unfortunately, such falsehood does not seem to have a legal counter in the current Indian system -- or that is what are common people made to suspect as well as believe. During the stretched out Lok Sabha election campaign, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) did offer a counter to the Opposition narrative about the Constitution being under threat. However, that was rather a weak counter-narrative that gave certain benefit to the Opposition and not to the ruling alliance. The point to be made here is about the brazen falsehood the Opposition has tried to slap on the people’s faces. Even though it knew that all its propaganda was based on utter falsehood, the Opposition leaders were never bothered by qualms of conscience or issues of morality. This politics at the cost of morality needs to be defeated, all right. Yet, one does not know when that golden moment would arrive in Indian politics when falsehood by anybody has a terrible discount to suffer from. But even if greater numbers of people become aware of the falsehood of the Opposition narrative, at least a semblance of sense would prevail in the country’s political discourse. This is the only hope to be expressed by politically disinterested citizens.