Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday hit out at the Opposition for doubting the functioning of constitutional bodies like the Election Commission of India, the EVMs and the Special Intensive Revision exercise of voters’ list to escape the blame for their own failure in polls.
Speaking during a debate on electoral reforms in Rajya Sabha, Meghwal, advice to the Congress while quoting 19th century Urdu-Persian poet Mirza Ghalib during the debate.
“A person went to Ghalib and said he works hard but is not successful. Ghalib told him — ‘Umr bhar is bhool mein jeete rahe Ghalib, dhool chehre pe thi aur hum aayina pochthe rahe’,” he said, adding that “they (Congress) are working hard, but not in the right place”.
Invoking Ghalib
The original Ghalib couplet is “Umr bhar is bhool mein jeete rahe Ghalib, dhool chehre pe thi aur hum aaina saaf karte rahe.” It is often misquoted or slightly paraphrased in speeches and headlines, but the thought and lines are attributed to Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, commonly known as Mirza Ghalib, the famed Indian poet.
“If neta, niti and niyat (leader, policy and intention) are correct, people do respond. Our leader’s intention is right, your’s may not,” Meghwal said speaking during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.
Meghwal had last week used the same couplet to target Congress over ‘vote chori’ allegations in Lok Sabha.
Last week, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the INDIA bloc exchanged barbs over electoral reforms and the special intensive revision (SIR) in the Lok Sabha with the government accusing the Congress of trying to hide its poll failures and the Opposition alleging that the ruling party was indulging in vote theft.
Debate on Election Reforms in Rajya Sabha
Earlier, the Rajya Sabha today resumed discussion on Election Reforms. Intervening in the debate, Meghwal said the nation is marching towards development under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government’s principle of Reform, Perform and Transform.
Meghwal strongly supported the ongoing SIR exercise, saying fake voters should be removed from the voter list. He said that for this purpose, the SIR exercise is being conducted. The Minister said the government is committed to bringing reforms.
He said, those opposing SIR have forgotten that SIR is based on the idea put forward by the founder of the Indian Constitution, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, that the Universal adult franchise is based on the principle of ‘One person, one vote, one value’.
Quoting Ambedkar, Meghwal said the revision of the voters’ list was based on the principle of one person, one vote, which was a major pillar of election reforms.
“Our constitution and electoral process is based on this principle. So, when under SIR, the same is being undertaken to take out people who are not eligible from voter lists, why are they [Opposition parties] opposing it?” the Minister asked, and cited precedence that SIR took place under various governments earlier,” he said.
The Winter Session of Parliament that began on 1 December will run until 19 December.
