Voters of Delhi! Beware of the undemocratic proclivities of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Ms. Kiran Bedi the former cop who has coveted political power for the longest time. It was obvious for all to see. The power is now within her gasp. There is nothing wrong in seeking power; in a democracy though it behooves one to be of a democratic bent of mind. Arvind Kejriwalof AAM Admi Party (AAP) has proposed a leaders' debate in the Delhi elections. Bedi's made an astounding claim that there will be time to debate in the assembly after the elections. For now she says, "it is time to deliver". Deliver what? Promise laden bombastic speeches? Kajriwal of AAP and Ajay Makan of Congress want a leaders' debate. In an election campaign one makes promises and presents a vision which come under closer scrutiny in the debates. Presently the visions of each of the three parties are either partly or entirely absent or lost in slogans. A leaders' debate will help clarify things for the voters.
Bedi does not want a debate. She considers it a tamasha; in other words a circus. A debate is tamasha? And she is running to be the chief minister of Delhi? Unreal! Without the leaders' debate the election remains road shows of leaders and candidates and rallies where leaders speak to supporters that may have been trucked from all over the place. Now there is nothing wrong with road shows or rallies. But a modern election campaign is incomplete without a leaders' debate. I know that is not the tradition in India. But traditions are never static. In the modern era Modi has shown that in addition to rallies and road shows an election campaign is a series of debates via texts, twitter, facebook, whatsapp and other electronic media. Modi made an excellent use of all these and more. The only thing lacking in the Lok Sabha elections of 2014 was a leaders' debate. It would have been wonderful to have one. Sensing that Rahul Gandhi was not a great performer BJP partisans and commentators were itching for one. Had it happened it would have been a welcome change to the Indian campaign traditions.
Now in Delhi the shoe is on the other foot. It is the BJP and Bedi running from debating the opponents. They trot out tired and worn out arguments: It has never been done before in India or that ours is not a presidential system like that of the US. That something has not been done before is never a good enough reason in a democracy to not do it. Freedom in a democracy unhinges politics from the dead weight of sheer tradition. Democracy is forever innovating. To withstand the test of time any tradition has to make sense. To not have leaders' or candidates' debates in an election just because it has not happened before just doesn't make sense; the argument is a non sequitur.
The argument that ours is not a presidential system is a non starter as well. The US did not have a tradition of presidential TV debates. There had to be a first. The Kennedy/Nixon debates of 1960 were the first; thus started a new tradition. In any event it is not just countries with the presidential form of government that have leaders' debates during elections. Canada is a parliamentary democracy just like India and Delhi. Canada has had leaders' debates in the federal and provincial elections for several decades. I can't think of a federal or a provincial election in recent memory in Canada which did not feature leaders' debate/s. In the next federal election in India in 2019 Indians deserve and must demand debate/s among the leaders of the national parties.
I noticed Bedi is averse to being questioned generally. She had difficulty answering uncomfortable NDTV questions. In the middle of the Times Now interview she walked out. That is unbecoming of an otherwise intelligent person who wants to become the chief minister of Delhi.
In the meantime Bedi and BJP have absolutely no justifiable reason to refuse the leaders' debate in the Delhi elections. It is in the crucible of a leaders' debate that the competing visions of the three parties in Delhi ought to be tested. The mantle of superior moral and ethical leadership being claimed by the BJP and Bedi demands a leaders' debate. People of Delhi deserve nothing less.
Please Note: For the purposes of full disclosure I have no truck or trade with any political party in India. That makes me an independent observer. In the past I have written blogs critical of Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Arvind Kejriwal and Narendera Modi;I have known Ms. Kiran Bedi for some time as an activist for the public good. My wife has been an admirer of hers. I am an objective and equal opportunity critic.