Our own Costa Concordia

In one of the most watched international news item of late, the huge cruise liner, Costa Concordia, hit rocks and pitched onto its sides killing at least eleven vacationers. The captain reportedly abandoned the floundering vessel before all the passengers were rescued. He later told prosecutors that he actually fell from the ship and was himself rescued ashore.

At home, our democratic cruise liner, or a dream liner if you may want to call it, the Parliament, just concluded its eighth session. There were jolts and storms, but the ship cruised safely and the captain need not abandon the ship.

Two pieces of legislations – Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill and Election (Amendment) Bill – tested the mental strength (pun intended) of our lawmakers, the elected crews of Costa Concordia. And what emerged from debates surrounding these two bills was rather a differing instance between the two houses when it comes to understanding a law vis-à-vis its applicability or its correctness.

It’s difficult to pass a moral judgment on how MPs think, but by now we all know that they think like political animals, meaning like normal human beings. They make sense, and yet they don’t. They appear correct, and yet they are incorrect. They debate like adults, and yet they behave like high school kids.

When the National Council rejected the National Assembly’s amendments to the controversial Tobacco Control Act, some members swiftly said “To hell with NC, we don’t need such an institution…NA is sufficient for democracy to succeed”.  It was raw emotion coming out on TV from a house of refined legislators. They were saying their fellow legislators in the smaller house (and the less important of the two!) were again up to their antics.

Imagine, the captain of Costa Concordia standing in front of the passengers saying: “Well, ladies and gentlemen, I didn’t abandon the ship; I instead tripped over into a lifeboat that took me to safety ashore, much against my will. But, let me tell, I am going to make amends for this.”

This is exactly what the Parliament is saying about the Tobacco Control Act. Now that the amendments are made, will it bring the dead back to life!

One Response to “Our own Costa Concordia”

1. Our own Costa Concordia | NewsoftheWorld.nu says:

   January 21, 2012 at 5:47 am

   [...] In one of the most watched international news item of late, the huge cruise liner, Costa Concordia, hit rocks and pitched onto its sides killing at least eleven vacationers. The captain reportedly abandoned the floundering vessel before all the passengers were rescued. He later told prosecutors that he actually fell from the ship and was [...] Bhutan Observer Newspaper – Bhutan news [...]

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