Plummeting level of political discourse hurts

As the Parliament elections approach, what is becoming increasingly evident is the plummeting quality of political discourse, whether it be the ruling BJP-led front or the Opposition Congress led alliance.

Mark McKinnon once wrote that ‘There’s only one way we’re going to change our political climate and ensure we establish some respect in our discourse.

And that is to show there is a real price to pay for being a disrespectful partisan idiot.’

This pretty much applies to the Indian situation where politicians and candidates of every hue have been hurling barbs at each other evoking emotions ranging from disgust to distress among Indian voters.

On Tuesday, it was the turn of veteran Bengali politician Dilip Ghosh to target none other than Didi - the venerable West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Many reeled in horror when Ghosh, the BJP candidate for the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency, wondered aloud about Mamata’s parentage.

Just a day ago, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate had invited severe criticism with a social media post (which she later disowned), making a not so kind reference to Bollywood actress and the BJP’s Mandi candidate in Himachal Pradesh, Kangana Ranaut.

And days ago, DMK minister Anitha Radhakrishnan was booked over alleged ‘offensive’ comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the heat of the poll campaign.

No less hurtful was Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh’s remarks months ago when he took a jibe at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi remarking that Rahul is ‘the biggest non-serious leader of the century as he does not know what he says.’

When the BJP and the Congress locked horns in the Assembly polls in Karnataka last year, former minister and BJP leader Ashwath Narayana had invited ridicule with his remark on ‘finishing off ’ then Opposition leader Siddaramaiah.

The veteran leader brushed it off and went on with his campaign winning the state for the Congress handsomely, reducing the BJP to double digits.

The barbs have no doubt been getting sharper and sharper as the ongoing campaign progresses.

Even battle-scarred veteran Lalu Yadav could not restrain himself from taking pot-shots at PM Modi, raising questions about his family. It invited a subtle rebuke from one of the leader of the Opposition INDIA front, Omar Abdullah, who wondered aloud if it was not a ‘self goal’ by the Bihar politician.

We Indians love leaders endowed with the gift of the gab; we listen in rapt attention as they reel out their umpteen promises of making our lives better and it hardly matters if any of them are fulfilled in the near or far future.

But as the Indian voter gets more educated, media savvy and enlightened, there is a perceptible distaste for ‘below the belt’ remarks’ we have been witnessing in recent times.

And yet there are politicians who staunchly believe, and wrongly so, that such personal remarks would elevate them in the minds of the voter. On the contrary, Indians would like to see their leaders treat their rivals with all the respect they deserve.

There is nothing we dislike more than offensive remarks aimed at any individual even if he or she belongs to a political stream we do not identify with.

Such remarks may earn loud applause in the short run but experience shows that they prove to be counterproductive when it comes to winning poll battles.

An issue-based election where candidates cross swords on the burning problems of the day such as prices, unemployment, harmony, goodwill and growth, is what Indians eagerly look forward to ahead of the election.

And it is only when our political debates centre on such core issues that we can make our electoral choices more meaningfully rather than be swayed by vitriolic exchanges.