22nd July 08, was a day the nation would remember for a long time to come. It kept the people on the tenterhooks throughout as the Lok Sabha met to decide the fate of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. The special session commenced with an erudite address by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram. And just when the business of the House appeared to be picking up, the BJP dropped a bribery bombshell. Ashok Argal, an MP of the party, rushed to the well of the House. He dramatically took out wads of notes from a huge bag and began flashing them to the Chair. He alleged that this money was the allurement from the Samajwadi Party seeking his vote for the government during the confidence motion. This set off a blame-game across the political spectrum even as the House proceedings came to a halt in full view of the Indians glued to their TV sets and PCs world over. The media was flooded with allegations and counter allegations. The House resumed business in the evening. The trust vote ended in favour of the government with an unexpected considerable margin. With the verdict of the motion declared, it’s time to reflect on the state of our democracy. And above all the confidence motion has exposed the real face of Indian polity.
M Ziyaullah Khan
Pune