“How Are You Any Different From Those You Oppose”

Former civil servants in the Constitutional Conduct Group have written this Open Letter to the Congress party President Mallokarjun Kharge expressing their “disgust and dismay” over the decision to give a ticket to Chaudhary Lal Singh from the Jammu region pointing out that the new Congress candidate had led a march in support of those who had raped and killed a minor Muslim girl in Kathua.

The text of the Open Letter is as below:

Respected Shri Khargeji,

We, the members of the Constitutional Conduct Group, a group of former civil servants of the All India and Central Civil Services committed to promoting, safeguarding and conserving the values enshrined in the Constitution of India, write to you to express our disgust and dismay at your party having given a ticket to Chaudhary Lal Singh to contest the forthcoming Assembly Election in J&K from the Basohli constituency in the Jammu region.

2. It defies explanation that a party which has taken on itself the mantle of leading the fight against the politics of hate and violence should choose as its candidate a person who, as a member of the BJP in 2018, represented the worst aspects of the politics of hate promoted by the Sangh Parivar. He was one of the most aggressive proponents of majoritarian belligerence that fed its perverse agenda. In one of the most brazen displays of such perversity, Chaudhary Lal Singh, along with some of his colleagues, had, in April 2018, organized and led a public march in support of the perpetrators of what was probably the most horrifying hate crime in India’s recent history – the brutal, bestial rape and murder of a minor Muslim girl in Kathua. This was a crime which shook the public conscience in ways that few communal hate crimes have ever done. At a time when there was a spontaneous outpouring of public outrage against this crime, Chaudhary Lal Singh thought it fit to come out in public support of the suspects, offering a political justification for their actions. Rarely has civil society in India seen such a blatant display of support not just for a crime against humanity but a pugnacious espousal of the politics of communal hate and bigotry. At that time, it signalled to the world that in the realm of realpolitik, notions of the Rule of Law, of Constitutional morality, of social justice, of basic human rights, of compassion, are subordinate to displays of majoritarian supremacy. It showed that the proponents of muscular Hindutva believe that their ideology can only be sustained by stoking communal fires and creating a climate of fear in and intimidation of the minority community.

3. At the time of this revolting public display, Chaudhary Lal Singh was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He probably expected that his conduct would see him being rewarded by his party. Ironically, even the BJP found such toxicity damaging and, whether on his own or at the instance of the higher authorities in the BJP, Lal Singh left the BJP and, after a few years in political wilderness, trying to set up his own outfit, he decided to join the Indian National Congress (INC). For the last few years, it is learnt that he has been trying to bolster the base of the INC in a region dominated by the BJP. The INC saw it fit to nominate him for contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Udhampur constituency – an election which he lost. Evidently the INC now believes that by fielding him in the Assembly Elections, they will be able to make a dent in BJP’s dominance in the region.

4. In the seven years that we have been in existence, we, as a group, have generally refrained from commenting on the internal affairs of any political party, particularly in matters relating to electoral contests and the choice of candidates. Yet we feel compelled today to protest against this particularly abominable decision of your party. After the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra two years ago and the modest but significant gains in the Lok Sabha elections, we had come to believe that your party has given up its flirtation with soft Hindutva and that the politics of communal hate and division will be countered by renewing a Gandhian form of resistance of “ Nafrat ke bazaar mein Mohabbat ki Dukan’ and of reaffirming the values inherent in the Constitution. We were probably naive, but we believed that this marked a significant change in the party’s political practice to bring ethical concerns to the forefront.

5. The nomination of Chaudhary Lal Singh as a candidate shows that the rhetoric of bringing in a more value based politics is both hollow and hypocritical. The decision sends a signal that, when it comes to the pursuit of political power, your party is no different from those it is fighting against. It also shows that your sensitivity to Muslims, minorities and other oppressed and marginalized sections can be easily sacrificed at the altar of political expediency. This is a shame.

6. We know that the time for nominations as well as withdrawals is over and that our writing to you will not make any difference to the electoral contest. Despite that, we think it important to express our anger and our anguish. We do not owe allegiance to any political party, formal or informal, and our concern is guided entirely by our commitment to the Constitution. We hope that, through this letter, we can make you realize that this kind of cynically expedient political practice will damage your attempts to gain the moral high ground for your party and that your much vaunted appeal to reaffirm the Constitution will ring hollow. We hope that you can and will make genuine efforts to restore our confidence in your commitment to the Constitution.