Editorial with Sujit Nair | Mahua Moitra Egg Attack: Why Such Actions Directly Harm Our Democracy

[00:00:00] This happens in West Bengal. The whole country is watching it. This could spread. And finally, what is going to happen is every time a party comes to power, the party ensures that every opposition leader is egged. Today it's egg, tomorrow it could be stones. Day after tomorrow it could be bricks. By throwing eggs, you know, let me tell you, it is no innovation. It is basically an innovation, yes, but an innovative way.

[00:00:30] To kill your democracy. Namaskar. Welcome to another episode of editorial. So, Mahua Moitra visited her constituency. And the court had instructed the West Bengal government and the Kolkata police or West Bengal police, my apologies, that she has to be given extra protection. Why have she to be given extra protection? Because whenever she visits or at least one

[00:01:05] once or twice when she visited her constituency, those people threw eggs at her. So the police was supposed to give her protection. But at the end of the day this happened. Watch. Officers, the team, the team, the team, the team, the team, the team, the team, the team, the team. They go, they go, they go, they go, they go, they go, they go, they go, they go. You go, they go, they go, they go. Join the whole Congress.

[00:01:33] Hello, this is Mahua Moitra. As you can see, the Supreme Court of India told me, please go face some eggs. Freedom fighters have faced bullets. So I came to my constituency and we were doing a meeting inside when the BJP newly elected, BJP Mandal Sabhapati, the BJP Panchaj Samiti Sabhapati and the X and the Sabha Sahar Sabhapati and others.

[00:02:00] BJP started off with about seven to ten people outside. I had police with me, four police on the court's orders who accompanied me. With the police there, this continued. And then more police came and the police were rushing me into a car. I said, why would I get into a car when it's not my fault? And in full view of the police, they came, they brought eggs and the BJP people threw eggs in me. As you can see, this is what's happening in Bengal in front of the police.

[00:02:28] The High Court had very clearly said that this is not to happen. So this is what the police have done. They are going to say that this is the public. This is not the public. These were BJP workers just outside and shouting Jayastri Ram of which I have videos. And I just want to give a big shout out to Justice Dipankar Dutta, who said I should go in and face it bravely. So hello, Mr. Dutta, Honorable Chief, Honorable Justice of the Supreme Court. I am here and I'm facing eggs just like bullets as you told me to. Thank you.

[00:02:56] You may like a party, you may not like a party. That's your call. And that's your right. You may like a politician, you may not like a politician. That's your call. That's your right. Do not vote for them. Do not vote for them. Criticize them. We do, don't we? Criticize them. Do not vote for them. Question them. Do all of that. Do all of that. That always helps democracy. Your favorite party may tell you whatever, but questioning always helps democracy.

[00:03:26] Question them. Throwing eggs? Is that fair? Okay. I will read out some remarks. The remark that I'm reading out is BJP MLA, Dilip Ghosh, who says it's an innovation by people to vent their anger against 15 years of Tridamul corruption. This is how he's justifying this in NDTV he said. It's 15 years of frustration. It is innovation, throwing eggs.

[00:03:56] Interestingly, Mahua Moitra had approached the Supreme Court in August. You see, the Supreme Court, which consisted of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Nugur, the two-member bench, they questioned the security concerns raised by Moitra. They said that India's freedom fighters have faced bullets for the country and said it was inappropriate to approach the Supreme Court seeking protection over fear of minor attacks.

[00:04:25] I find it very strange. The court says it took a minor attack. You see, when a judge says that freedom fighters face bullets, what are they expecting? Politicians, all politicians become freedom fighters and face the bullets. I ask this very humbly. I ask this very humbly with all due respects to the judges, honorable judges and the court.

[00:04:49] I ask this very humbly. What exactly was the court thinking? That it is okay for a politician to face bullets, okay for a politician to face attack, minor or major. That is something that nobody can decide, right? And another question that comes to mind. Had this attack happened on a judge, if somebody had thrown egg on a judge, would this judge still say that minor attack?

[00:05:19] You know, it is okay. People have faced freedom fighters have faced bullets. Is that the way the court would have reacted? Or is there a rule in our books which says that politicians have to kill them? No problem. Politicians have two hits are okay. Others, no. Others you can't. Is there a rule like that? I thought rule was same for everybody.

[00:05:44] The point is comparing a politician to freedom fighter. First of all, that itself is wrong because I don't think any politician today can be compared to the freedom fighter. No matter which party he or she belongs to, no person can be compared to a freedom fighter. That itself, that principle is wrong. Second thing is, therefore you compare saying that freedom fighter took bullets, you can't take an egg. Is that even right?

[00:06:07] Mauva Moitra faced eggs. Abhishek Barajee faced eggs. Sogata Roy faced eggs. Madan Mitra faced eggs. Kunal Ghosh faced eggs. All of them were egged. All of them. Okay, and BJP MLA says that, this is innovation. See, think about it.

[00:06:27] This happens in West Bengal. The whole country is watching it. This could spread. And finally, what is going to happen is, every time a party comes to power, the party ensures that every opposition leader is egged. Beaten. Beaten. Tomorrow, today egged. Tomorrow beaten. Day after pushed. Today it's egged. Tomorrow it could be stones. Day after tomorrow it could be bricks.

[00:06:53] Day after lunch. So, you trouble. You make opposition's life living hell. What happens? What happens? This opposition then, to survive, they won't leave politics. They will not easily give up their chair that they have earned by whatever winning and whatever means, they have earned their chairs. They will not give it up. So, what would they do? They would jump from opposition to treasury bench. Jump from opposition to government.

[00:07:22] So, what do you saw in West Bengal? 20 MPs jumped. 20 MPs jumped to that Nationalist Citizens Party of India. They jumped and now they say that 17 are going to BJP. Whatever. But they jumped. Trying to align with the ruling party. Why? So then they buy peace. Peace for 5 years. Who loses?

[00:07:43] Who loses? They don't lose. The politicians don't lose. Tomorrow, Mahua Moitra jumps to BJP. She won't lose. She will possibly get a Mantripad. She will get a Ministerial Chair. She won't lose. Who loses? You lose. You lose because you lose a voice of dissent. There will be nobody in the Parliament to ask questions. There will be nobody in the Assembly to ask questions. You lose.

[00:08:10] Everything that the government does will just happen and go. No need of debate. No need of discussion. No need of parliamentary board. No voice of dissent. No questions. No going into depth of a bill. Because the government feels and maybe one or two top people of the government feels, law is passed. Law is done. No discussion. End of story. This is the country that we are going to be. And that's where we are headed to.

[00:08:40] That's where we are headed to. First of all, anyway, there is hardly any opposition. Any way you are finding opposition dwindling. Look at the state I come from, Maharashtra. Look at the number of opposition. Assembly, hardly I see opposition. There is no opposition. There is only government.

[00:08:59] All of this harms who? Harms the people of Maharashtra. Tomorrow, it will harm the country. And we are supporting it. Point one. Point two. You know, I wrote about this this morning. And I got a lot of response saying that, why are you saying this? You didn't say when West Bengal, when Trinamul Congress was ruling West Bengal, you didn't say.

[00:09:24] You said, you know, first and foremost is get out of this water boundary. So if Trinamul Congress was doing it, you want BJP to do it? Is that why you elected them? If Trinamul Congress did it, Trinamul Congress is thrown out such shameful defeat. Because they did it. So you want BJP to do it now? Because they did it and now BJP can do it.

[00:09:46] Trinamul Congress was corrupt. So you are going to justify that BJP can be corrupt? It's okay. Trinamul Corrupt is not? Then you said something about it. Why are you corrupt? Why are you saying it? If this is going to go on, where will this entire conversation end? Pray tell me. Pray tell me where will this conversation end? You are going to make oppositions into villains. You made communities into villains, oppositions into villains. What do you want to do with this country?

[00:10:16] You want to make it a single ideology country, single party country? Is that what we want this country to be? Whichever party you belong to, whichever political paradigm like I always say you belong to, please comment in the comment box. Is that what you want to be? If that's what you want to be, then great. Then what you're doing is absolutely correct. Very soon we'll have single party, single leader, single election, single governance.

[00:10:39] One party rule. No options. People will have to listen. Talking? Over. Asking? Impossible. We'll come to that very soon. If that's what you wish. You see by throwing eggs, no? Let me tell you, it is no innovation.

[00:11:01] It is basically an innovation, yes, but an innovative way to kill your democracy. That's what it is. That's this innovation going to get you. And please, please, for once, think about the country. Think about the country. Forget about Congress did it. Trinamul did it. So BJP is doing it. Why are you not saying it then? Why are you saying stop all this?

[00:11:25] What is wrong is wrong. If it was not, if people didn't say it before, therefore it continues till now. Had somebody said it then and stopped it then, possibly it wouldn't have continued. Had we as a society, as community stopped it then, it wouldn't have continued now. We didn't. So it is continuing now. At least now stop. At least now stop. So that it doesn't continue in the future. Don't we owe that to our country? Don't we owe that to our democracy? Think about it.

[00:11:54] Till I see you next time. That's tomorrow at 10. Namaskar.