An uplifting gavel blow

Thursday 12th August, 2021

Glad tidings are rare in these troubled times, when news is mostly about the pandemic and, therefore, depressing. But some good news has come from India. The Indian Supreme Court has brought the ruling BJP, the Congress and seven other political parties down a peg or two. It has fined them for the non-disclosure of criminal cases against their candidates, according to a report we published yesterday. Even the ranks of Tuscany could scarce forbear to cheer.

One, however, should not dupe oneself into believing that Indians vote for such characters as they are unaware of criminal cases, etc., against the latter. People in this part of the world are the least concerned about charges, criminal or civil, against the candidates of their choice. Even if the BJP had made public criminal charges against its candidates, they would still have got elected. It has recently been reported that 42% of the ministers in the Modi government have criminal cases against them, and of them, 24 have been charged with murder, and attempted murder and robbery.

This kind of affinity people feel for lawbreakers, who become lawmakers, is not limited to India, though. We also have undesirables becoming legislators, provincial councillors and local government members. SLPP MP Premalal Jayasekera alias Choka Malli, got elected to Parliament at the last general election (2020) while being in prison for murder. S. Chandrakanthan better known as Pillayan was in remand prison over the murder of TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham when he won his parliamentary seat in 2020.

The 1977 general election saw an influx of anti-social elements into Parliament. Among them were cattle rustlers, killers, hooch and cannabis dealers and extortionists. Successive governments have since had such characters within their ranks. Criminality has ceased to be a disqualification in Sri Lankan politics.

A considerable number of politicians with cases filed against them during the yahapalana government have got elected to Parliament on the SLPP ticket, and some of them have already been discharged. This, we see following every regime change. The Opposition politicians who have been indicted under the present administration are sure to walk free in case of their party forming the next government. This is the name of the game in Sri Lankan politics; the ruling party politicians have all the luck and are above the law for all practical purposes.

It is popularly believed that Sri Lankans vote for candidates involved in criminal activities because they are blinded by their allegiance to political parties. True, party politics has become a religion of sorts for many people who deify political leaders. But even criminals sans direct links to any established political party are capable of mustering enough popular support to get elected.

One may recall that an underworld figure known as Kudu Lal, who ran the hell dust distribution network in Colombo, and other such organised crimes, did not belong to any political party, but got elected to the Colombo Municipal Council from an independent group, years ago. People voted for him although his narcotic trade had ruined the lives of thousands of youth. When the STF closed in on him, he fled the country with the help of a minister who had underworld links and caused Kelaniya to stink during the previous Rajapaksa government.

Lawmakers here are lucky that our judicial system is not as robust as India’s. Otherwise, most of them would have been in the exalted company of convicts behind bars by now.

India’s apex court has also ordered that no criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs be withdrawn by state governments without prior orders from the state high courts. This is a welcome gavel blow worthy of emulation by India’s neighbours. The court issued this order while hearing a petition filed by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, seeking a direction to debar those convicted MLAs and MPs from contesting elections, for life. This is food for thought for the Sri Lankan legal fraternity.