They shoot, but not to kill

Parliament is in a logjam, and it is because of the zero-sum game being played on both sides of the divide. Neither would yield any ground - the government in its arrogance of a solid majority, and the Opposition in its desperation to make up for its diminutive presence. Charges are being insincerely exchanged over issues that have nothing to do with matters before the House. Present and former Himachal Pradesh chief ministers, for instance. To counter the Congress’ demand for the resignation of Swaraj, Chouhan and Scindia, the BJP found a ready rebuttal in asking the same of Virbhadra Singh. That proved, however, only to be a leg before Dhumal and his son’s wicket on the Dharamsala cricket stadium.

How cynical can the political class be is evident from the way both the parties have brought up cases on which they had nothing new to reveal. The Congress is in power in Himachal Pradesh, and all of Dhumal's illegalities favouring his son lie under the state government's jurisdiction to probe. The vice versa is true for the charges against Virbhadra, which are for Central agencies to investigate. Both sides, however, seem to be keener on raking up mud in the political arena than in a judicial forum. Justice, which is what people would want, is thus likely to remain elusive. The Amarinder-Badal spat in Punjab was no different.

Himachal Transport Minister GS Bali has suggested Virbhadra and Dhumal should bury the hatchet in the ‘interest of the state’. Sounds constructive, but what it implies is a ceasefire — and illegalities would not get investigated. Again, a whiff of Punjab politics. Parties readily jump the gun in levelling charges, but rarely pursue them to the end in court. The country is cheated either way, whether politicians collude or feud. While the governments concerned need to ensure illegalities are processed through a due process of law, the BJP and the Congress can serve the public interest the best by debating the legislation at hand, and not fill the House with meaningless noise.