Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Thakur got the support of Giriraj Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the most foul-mouthed MPs that the Lok Sabha has, who is very open about his Islamophobia. But he drew flak from other quarters and had to clarify that he would do all public work, but those who have not voted for him should not expect him to do their personal work.
By issuing this warning to Muslims, Thakur immediately shot to national fame.
Despite condemnation, Thakur has stood his ground. It cannot be a one-way affair; give me your vote, get your work done, or suffer, is his refrain.
Thakur’s outburst tells us that our MPs do not know their primary task. They are confused about it and think that they are elected to develop their constituencies or, with the power that they get as MPs, to get people’s work done. Help them secure admission in schools or hospitals, etc. But this is not their job.
Thakur is not alone. Another BJP MP from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bishnu Pada Ray too issued a threat to those he thinks did not vote for him.
“We will get people’s work done. But those who did not vote for us, must think …Nicobar Islands did not give me any votes. Car Nicobar, think about what is going to happen to you now,” he said.
Also read: The Maulana Who Defeated the BJP in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur
Both Thakur and Ray think that they are elected lords. They forget that the Constitution asks them to perform their duties without discrimination. But they also forget that they are not elected to get peoples’ work done.
MPs have specific roles to play. Getting people’s work done is not one of them. It is also necessary that we remind ourselves of the responsibilities of an MP so as not to harbor any false hope from them. They are:
1. Legislative Responsibility: Passing laws of India in the Lok Sabha.
2. Oversight Responsibility: Ensuring that the executive (i.e. government) performs its duties efficiently.
3. Representative Responsibility: Representing the people’s views and aspirations of their constituencies in the Parliament of India (Lok Sabha).
4. Power of the Purse Responsibility: Approving and overseeing government-proposed revenues and expenditures.
Thakur should know that the voters of his constituency know what he is going to do as an MP. That is why they voted as they did. That is why the Muslim voters are understood to have not voted for him. Because they are aware or were made aware by Thakur’s leader about the nature of lawmaking they’ll do as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Narendra Modi.
Thakur will be representing the Sitamarhi constituency in the 18th Lok Sabha elected recently. He won as a Janata Dal (United) candidate which is a junior ally of the BJP. Thus he is part of the ruling alliance. The campaign of this alliance was led by Modi who had made it very clear this time that his alliance was seeking votes only from Hindus. Not only that. He wanted votes from Hindus and against Muslims who were “infiltrators,” who bred more children to outnumber Hindus. He kept repeating in his meetings that the NDA or Modi should be elected to save Hindus from the designs of the Congress party-led alliance which was conspiring to take away their resources and give them to Muslims.Modi kept referring to Muslims in a very derogatory manner. It became very clear that he, as the leader of the alliance Thakur was part of, did not want Muslims to vote for it. Apart from that, it was also clear that a vote for the NDA would see continuance of the same government which had been enacting anti-Muslim laws in the last 10 years. The executive was also antagonistic towards Muslims.
Now, you don’t expect Muslims to elect a formation which has made its intention very clear that it wants to turn India into a Hindu-first country. That will be achieved by making laws and through executive actions.
Thakur may be a good man. Wikipedia tells us that he is a well-educated man. The Congress party has been his political training ground. But one can also see from his political trajectory that he is one of those political entrepreneurs who can be in any political party holding contrarian views about what kind of laws should run the country.
Thakur says that he is a good man. When you are an MP, we do not see how many pedestrians you help cross the road. We want to know what kind of laws you made and which executive you supported. MPs are not sent to parliament to get civic work done in their constituencies. This is the confusion which all of us have when we blame MPs for not developing their constituencies. The MPLADS has created this confusion. This is an additional advantage MPs have but this is NOT their job.
Thakur’s outburst against Muslims and Yadvas reminds one of an incident involving Abdul Gafoor. He was a Congress leader and had served as the chief minister of Bihar — remembered as an honest, incorruptible politician. Forced to leave by Jayaprakash Narayan as part of his 74′ movement against corruption. A movement which trained Nitish Kumar into politics.
My father told me about one of the election meetings of Abdul Gafoor. He was seeking votes in a Lok Sabha election. Some of the people in the meeting complained about the lack of hand pumps and other civic amenities in his area. He bluntly told them that this was not his job. They should be clear that they were not electing him to get the roads done pucca or lay khadanja. Or get water connections.
It was tactless of him to have made his role clear before his constituents. He lost the election. But what he was trying to say remains true: that he was going to parliament to make laws and keep an eye on the executive. Thakur’s constituents also know it. That is why Muslims did not vote for him. Surely, we should not expect them to elect their own executioners.
