Samuel Johnson got it slightly wrong. Actually, the resort is the first politics of the scoundrel. Those who already take pride in Indian inventions like the aeroplane, interplanetary travel, and plastic surgery, can take fresh pride in “resort politics”. When in doubt, resort.
The honest politician is one, who once bought, remains bought. Resort politics ensures this. Sometimes it costs the taxpayer a fortune to keep politicians honest.
This peculiarly Indian tactic of hiding away impressionable politicians is intended to tell them that they cannot hope to get a better deal from the other side. Or if they can, they won’t hear about it. Consciences are well lubricated.
It cuts across parties, and so must be democratic. No one is shocked any more, no thundering editorials are written. Like universal adult franchise and periodic bandhs, it is part of our democracy: resort-hopping as a means of preserving one’s integrity.
It is a delicate balance. Legislators have to be sent away far enough to be out of reach and near enough in case a show of support is required. That generally rules out Cape Town or Las Vegas. Like cricket captains, party leaders must talk about “team work”. “The other side offered ‘x’ crores and our only intent was to keep our side innocent”, is a mandatory statement. These are some of the rules.
The consolation for those who elected these flexible people into power is that politicians are doing it all for our good. After all, politicians are willing to do anything in the service of the people — even if it means making substantial personal gains in the bargain.
The writer Suketu Mehta in his story of Mumbai has written about the way racketeers operate under “powertoni”. He assumed this was a local expression, but realised after a while that it was a contraction of “power of attorney”.
As Mehta explains, it is “the awesome ability to act on someone else’s behalf, or to have others do your bidding, to sign documents, release wanted criminals, get people killed. Powertoni: A power that does not originate in yourself; a power that you are holding on someone else’s behalf.”
Surely our politicians have distributed powertoni to get their work done from behind locked resort gates? They are twice insulted by party bosses: first, in the assumption that they are easily bribe-able and need to be kept out of temptation’s way, and then in the belief that they cannot be bribed long-distance. This is sometimes the only thing some of our politicians do for tourism in the country. It is also a good way to see how the other half lives. MLAs from Gujarat learn about how those who visit resorts in Bengaluru live; such education can be valuable.
Soon we’ll hear of “study tours” by our elected representatives to exotic places to research how “resort politics” is conducted in other countries.
Johnson said, “Integrity without knowledge is weak; knowledge without integrity is dangerous”. He had no opinion on the lack of both.
Suresh Menon is Contributing Editor, The Hindu
