We need a political reality show

All this talk of political horsetrading in Maharashtra earlier this month began to bore me after a point It made us seem naiumlve as if we all expected ministers to put the interests of our state over and above personal gain When was the last time we came across a minister that cared about the constituency he or she was elected from anywayI was particularly amused at the use of a word as mild as lsquohorsetradingrsquo to describe what was really an affront to the democratic process At the same time the term was somehow appropriate because it allowed me to think of these partyjumping politicians as something other than elected representatives Horsetrading was in that sense apt the buying and selling of something less than humanOur entertainment companies waste too much time and money putting up reality shows that focus on failed movie and television stars I have often wondered why they donrsquot invite politicians to some 5star hotel instead Why not set up multiple cameras and give us a ringside view of how these menmdashand the odd woman or two among themmdashbehave when they arenrsquot in Parliament Why assume only television stars are capable of crude obnoxious behaviourThe argument that this could make for boring television holds no water because anyone who watches live proceedings from Parliament can tell within seconds that these Indians are far more entertaining than the ones routinely paraded on Big Boss Look at the way they posture for instance always armed with the delusion that millions of us are hanging on to their every word Look at the selfimportance with which they read awful speeches and thump desks in anger or agreement as if to fool themselves into thinking that what they are doing is actual work Look at the lack of inhibition with which they brazenly air their ignorance about everything under the sunWhat adds a frisson of danger to these proceedings is the fact that these people represent a billion of us and are tasked with making sure our country works Their decisions always change lives and often lead to the loss of lives too Look at how they disregard this constantly and tell me it doesnrsquot make for great television If we were to simply juxtapose their speeches with footage of Indians standing in line during the demonetisation exercise or Indians struggling to get home during the first forced COVID19 lockdown or Indians dying outside hospitals for lack of access to oxygen or beds think of how compelling a show like that could beTelevision channels recently spent hours following some of these ministers from one hotel to another trying to get them to comment on which state government they intended to overthrow next That these proceedings were being filmed in a place that was struggling with the devastating effect of flooding was ignored because why should ministers be asked to talk about rescue efforts when they can be asked about switching political sides insteadAnother advantage of a reality show starring politicians is how much easier it becomes for corporate houses and our usual Indian billionaires to show support by publicly funding their favourites We know they do this behind the scenes anyway because not all of us get our information solely from WhatsApp so why not open it all up for public consumption Maybe ministers can even be asked to wear branded clothing to show who their sponsors are thereby giving us a better idea of which public assets may be auctioned to private players well in advance It makes for entertainment combined with public service and who can argue with thatI preempt criticism for this idea because we are taught that politicians and ministers are to be respected They work for us apparently and exist so that we and our country can be safe secure and better Unfortunately respect is a twoway street When media reports refer to lsquohorsetradingrsquo it conveniently glosses over the fact that what is happening here is an act of subversion It is an act of wilful disregard that ignores the will of the peopleWhen ministers choose to disregard the democratic process and turn elections into an auction switching sides and manifestos for the right price they demean not just themselves but the rest of us They turn our country into a joke for personal gain Itrsquos why they belong not in Parliament but on reality television Or in a circus thatrsquos missing its clownsWhen he isnrsquot ranting about all things Mumbai Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet He tweets lindsaypereiraSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper