Kapil Sibal Calls Himself a 'Dimagi Naxal' at Kochi Talk on Horse Trading

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday described himself as a "Dimagi Naxal", adopting a term coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and used by the BJP to target those it accuses of being ideological sympathisers of Naxalism.

Speaking at a talk in Kochi titled "Horse Trade and Democracy", Mr. Sibal opened his address with the remark, saying, "I have to make a confession. I am a 'Dimagi Naxal'."

The Prime Minister had earlier employed the phrase as a warning about "dimagi naxals" who, he alleged, had entrenched themselves within the system and continued to threaten society by manipulating policies. He had urged citizens to "identify and isolate" them.

Turning to the theme of the event, organised by LiveLaw, Mr. Sibal traced the practice of horse trading to ancient times, when horses played a decisive role in determining the outcome of wars. Because of their importance, he said, sellers resorted to various tricks.

"It has now taken a different colour. At that point in time, it was the seller who used to be the trickster. At this point in time, it is the buyer who is the trickster. That is the difference," he said.

Mr. Sibal argued that horse trading should not be treated as a passing political scandal but as a constitutional crisis. He said it strikes at representative government, the integrity of the vote and the basic structure of parliamentary democracy, calling it "an ugly phrase for an uglier practice".

He described the practice as the organised purchase or inducement of elected representatives, whereby a majority manufactured after an election replaces one chosen by the people. Such inducement, he said, can take crude forms such as cash, office or protection from investigation, and can sometimes appear in the respectable clothing of a merger.

The consequence, he contended, is that while citizens vote for one mandate, power is delivered to another.