It should be about the future of the nation, the issues that confront it and the challenges that lie ahead. But the trust vote in parliament seems to have become the focus of distrust.
NEW DELHI: It should be about the future of the nation, the issues that confront it and the challenges that lie ahead. But the trust vote in parliament seems to have become the focus of intense distrust for many people in the country.
As the Indian parliament debated the trust motion and the India-US civil nuclear deal that will decide the future of the Manmohan Singh government, common people in the national capital Tuesday said they were increasingly losing their faith in parliamentarians.
“Though people like me have elected these parliamentarians, I feel ashamed at their behaviour. It's a question of less trust, more distrust against political leaders,” said Smarjeet Naik, a communications specialist in Delhi.
“Both the television and the print media are reporting the charges and counter charges of horse trading of MPs. What is happening? Are these representatives bothered about real issues or are they just busy making money? Ridiculous,” Naik asserted angrily.
Engineering student Tamanna Samant went a step ahead and said: “It's sad and disappointing to see this money game in our democracy. MPs are changing parties and declaring it in public as if they are changing jobs."
“Why can't our political leaders be responsible and mannered citizens? I switched to the Lok Sabha TV channel to view the debate for some time but felt sorry. MPs sitting inside the house were behaving as if they were in an animal market. I am sorry to use these words but it's the sad truth.”
Himanshu Jha, the coordinator of civil rights organisation Social Watch, said he was disappointed with political developments.
“It looks like a political jamboree. Political leaders are looking at the trust vote as a business opportunity. I think we have more pressing problems like inflation to debate and reduce the burden on people,” Jha said.
“No one will eat the nuclear deal. Why such a ruckus?” he added.
Almost as if in response, office assistant Mahipal Neksu said he did not understand the nuances of the nuclear deal or what a trust vote was. He was only interested in knowing when food prices would come down.
Rahul Singh, a young business executive, also expressed his concern over the political scenario and said the country was being "pushed towards elections and ultimately the burden would fall on the common person".
“They are behaving like business contractors rather than parliamentarians and want to extract the maximum out of the current political situation. Most of them have kept national interest on the backburner,” he said.
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