Political parties and leaders have started turning their attention to Gods and Deities in Goa. While flagging off campaigns with blessings at places of religious worship has been a norm in Goa, parties have been lately taking candidates to churches and temples asking them to take vows against defection.
On Saturday, the Congress took a bus-load of its candidates to a temple and church and asked them to take the 'anti-defection pledge'. Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party had disclosed that candidates will be asked to sign affidavits that they will not switch parties once elected. In January 2021, the Goa Forward took a pledge of its legislators at Bodgeshwar temple in Mapusa that they will not support the BJP at the 2022 elections.
Goa has a notorious record of legislators changing parties. A report by the Association of Democratic Reforms brings on record an alarming bit of statistic. Twenty-four legislators, which is around 60 per cent in a House of 40, have switched parties during the 2017-22 legislative term, giving the State a unique and unparalleled dishonour in the history of Indian democracy. The year 2019 was a turning point with 10 MLAs from Congress and two from the MGP merging their respective two-third factions with BJP to bypass the anti-defection law. The ADR report has termed the exodus as a sign of disrespect to the mandate of voters while attributing it to uncontrolled greed for power.
The State is on the threshold of yet another election, and the vexed issue of defections returns to haunt political parties. The Congress, which has been helpless despite the fact it has knocked the doors of the Speaker and courts is facing a challenge in countering the defection taint. It has chosen to knock on the doors of temples and churches with the sole objective of regaining the goodwill of the public.
Religion has been a crucial component of this election, and various parties have used it strategically to leverage political positions. It’s a paradox when we see ‘temple runs’ on one side, and candidates switching parties and allegiances at an unprecedented pace, on the other. Morality, values, party ideologies continue to take a back seat as candidates go about searching for alternatives that best suit each one's interests and agendas. Against such a background, the pledges and vows on anti-defection are only giving a false sense of assurance to the gullible voter.
Should the voter take such vows seriously? An elected representative of the Legislative Assembly, either way, is required to take an oath under Article 188 of the Constitution of India. The elected member swears in the name of God and solemnly affirms that he will bear true faith and allegiance to the law and discharge duties as an elected representative of the people. Where does this oath stand when loopholes to laws are blatantly exploited and mandate violated?
The remedy to defection can only be brought through legislation, not by taking vows before God or by signing affidavits. Parties have to stop giving the electorate such a false sense of hope.
