Letter to BS: Time has come to banish obnoxious culture of resort politics

The unseemly spectacle of legislators being driven away in groups to luxury resorts or hotels when a state government is in crisis to ensure they do not succumb to inducements offered by the other side has now turned to be a regular feature of Indian politics. That resort politics has now been morphing itself in to an ubiquitous phenomenon of the political landscape of the country is disheartening considering its grave implications on our parliamentary democracy. It speaks poorly of our elected representatives and is a grim pointer to the distortions in the political party structures. People expect their elected representatives to act in public interest and promote public welfare, but what resort politics is demonstrating is that legislators don't have any qualms in shifting their allegiance based on whoever can offer a better price or position.

As resort politics has started making a mockery of parliamentary de­mocracy while exposing the inherent loopholes in the existing anti-defection legal framework, time has come to the plug them and banish the obnoxious culture once and for all.

M Jeyaram  Sholavandan

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