For me the details of the National Herald case are immaterial. Subramanian Swamy as a private citizen launched this case when UPA still ruled at the center. Sonia Gandhi can allege publicly or privately and it may be true that Swamy on his own or indirectly at the BJP's behest is pursuing the case before the courts. The allegations in the case made by Swamy may be foul or fair. That is democracy. Under the laws of India the case has been allowed by the courts to proceed to the stage it is at where the appearance of various accused was being sought.
The Gandhis have the right to defend themselves before the court that is hearing the case and the Court of Public Opinion that may be interested in the various moves and counter moves of the parties to the case. Gandhis are free to argue the case is frivolous and vexatious and actions of Swamy mala fide. They may do so before the courts and otherwise in the public arena. Beyond that India and the Gandhis must let the courts decide. That is what the Indian democracy and independence of judiciary demand and expect.
What the people of India do not expect and must not tolerate is the continuing and repeated disruptions of the Houses of Parliament of India by the very people who have been sent to there by them to conduct the business of the nation in a fair and transparent manner. The disruptions have been happening for as long as I can remember and by almost all political parties in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha invariably resulting in the Houses being adjourned by the speakers as the MPs descend into the wells of the Houses creating the ruckuses. The Congress, the BJP and others have been guilty of what clearly is and should be considered to be misconduct. I have asked the leaders of various Indian political parties as to why it happens and why it can't be stopped. It is our accepted political culture is the common reply.
People and the parliamentarians of India know that parliamentary brawn retards while the brain improves the smooth functioning of parliament and hence the government. In my previous life I sat in the provincial legislature in British Columbia and the Canadian House of Commons for close to 17 years. While the debates in and outside the Houses were as lively as they are in India, in my time as a parliamentarian I never witnessed a single instance of an MP or an MLA going into the well of the House or standing up and shouting at the speaker forcing the House to be adjourned.
So while one understands the bravado and the rallying cry for her troops in Sonia Gandhi's remark "I am the daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi. I am not scared of anyone..." I am moved to say: I trust that you are as you say, not afraid of anyone. If so, why were the Congress MPs acting like the school yard bullies in Parliament disrupting the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha and forcing it to be adjourned?
