To be or not to be
by
Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,
Vadodara
There is speculation among the Congress if Rahul Gandhi would be the next Prime Minister candidate. While the young congress MPs think and say that Rahul Gandhi would lead them for the 2014 election- Manmohan Singh is neither in nor out for seeking his third term. It is all one big confusion .Listening to the address of Rahul Gandhi to the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) one wonders what he really wants. His was a soliloquy with the 'you guys' as audience. He admits that all the talk about his becoming PM is all smoke. He continues in this vein that it was an accident of fate that he is in politics-while his brother-in-law Robert Vadra had stated that politics is the family's business.
Is Rahul Gandhi really serious of what he says? For example he is against power all centralized-wants power to the one billion people or at least to the prathans! But then who centralized all the power? Why is his mother the unconstitutional head of the government? Why had he accepted to become first the General Secretary of the Congress and then its Vice President? Was it an accident of fate or was it his 'DNA"linkage with a particular family. It was easy talk but all his actions prove otherwise. For example if his sister Priyanka Gandhi travels the roads are cleared-it is a sign of power and prestige. Robert Vadra is not even an MP but he is exempted from security checks in the airports-Even former President Abdul Kalam had to go through security check.Why this exemption for Robert Vadra? These may be easy to abolish but will go a long way to prove that Rahul Gandhi wants to 'empower' others and not be powered .He and his family enjoy all the trappings of the First Family. Why such a position in a democracy?
Rahul Gandhi talks of democracy but his actions are far from it. He first saw two Indias and that idea did not work out in UP because the electorate is not stupid. It knows that the Congress was in power for 53 years so the making of these two Indias must be ascribed to it. Is it small wonder that the Congress lost its deposit in 221 out of 243 seats? That's a damn disgrace. Had it been some other party the media would have gone after those parties and shamed it. But when it came to the Congress's disgraceful verdict the media went soft.
Talking of the media look how it has projected the talk of Rahul Gandhi to the CII. It was all smoke and it disappeared as quickly as smoke. Was there one concrete suggestion? He talked of compassion. This is a typical patronizing attitude. There was no talk of JUSTICE for all. There was no mention of corruption and of course there was no economic policy unveiled-no worry about scams. It is frightening to think that RG is even suggested as a Prime ministerial material. What is the material that the Congress can boast of?
One author compares him with Modi. For one thing comparisons are always unethical because each person is unique in his or her own way. And to say that RG is cheese and Modi is chalk is far from truth. We need strong and principled and confident person to lead India. The person should know India and not think that it is a beehive. Modi came the hard way-worked his way up and he has determination-He does not have that DNA which links him to a particular family. What do we know of RG? He has been an MP now for ten years and it will be educative to analyze his utterances. When a problem arises he disappears. He has no opinion on any substantive issue. He has nothing to say on inflation .He has his famous 'inclusive' development. It is this 'inclusive development that enabled Modi to become the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Unlike Rahul Gamdhi whose 'family links' made him what he is.
How easily Dileep Padgaonkar( in his article in the TOI 6th April) claims that RG is shy while Modi is arrogant. To know one's business of governance and be sure and confident is not arrogance. But to be uncertain of things and bankrupt of ideas is not shyness. Look at what Dileep Padgaonkar writes in his article while comparing the two., "One is authoritative, stern, pugnacious, decisive and domineering; the other is modest, sober, hestitant and above all eager to play the good Samaritan" If one has to look for a PM material one should be decisive, stern, authoritative and domineering. These are qualities of a leader and good leadership will contour these. But RG has none of the qualities of leadership. He has been propelled to where he is. He is sober and hesitant because he is unsure of himself-his ideas and what he has to do. He does not have a clear picture of India neither of himself. He is vague and indecisive. These expose his inadequacies.
Imagine such a person at the helm of affairs. We want someone who can dispense JUSTICE not throw crumbs from the high table. We want someone who can lead-who knows the models of development and not dole homilies from a pulpit. This is what is wrong with him and his mother. No wonder we have the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and now Food security .He does not put into action even a single idea of his. His mother's unconstitutional NAC drafts out bills. What is the business of Parliament then? When RG talks of power to the Prathans he forgets that in a democracy power comes from the bottom. Power does not flow from the top. It is not a tickle down concept. But Mrs Sonia Gandhi and he have empowered themselves to the hilt and talks of empowerment. Not a single decision can be taken without the assent of Mrs Sonia Gandhi. If only they can allow the Panchayat-i-raj to function properly then democracy works? And in a true, vibrant democracy dynasty has no place.
There can be no onus on Modi regarding the Gujarat riots. This is the making of the media and those with vested interest especially his opponents. There cannot be two yardsticks- because RG and the Congress carry the baggage of the Sikh massacres. The Congress must account for that before it mentions of the Gujarat riots. Thousands of a minority community was massacred and women raped those who were responsible for such a massive human rights violation have been rewarded by the Congress. His father Rajiv Gandhi even justified the genocide and allowed it right in the heart of Delhi for three full days. So when you carry a beam in your eye why question the speck of dust in the eye of Modi. One wonders why the media is silent on this and does not question the Congress party for this great blot in the national history.
The media has much to blame because it soft pedals all that Rahul says and nobody is bold enough to give a critical analysis of him and his utterances. So how does one rectify mistakes and perform better? On the other hand there is a Modi bashing campaign carried on ruthlessly-even hitting below the belt. This has made Modi strong, determined and firm. The media should be fair and impartial. If Rahul Gandhi can be projected as the next PM what is wrong in projecting Modi as the PM?When RH talked of divisive politics he must know that this was the making of the Congress. If economic policies have failed to meet the aspirations of the people whose fault is it-is it not the Congress who is the author of these policies? If the system is not democratized enough-whose is at fault? Again it is the Congress which has dented every constitutional institution. It has used the Central agencies for its vested interest.
If these- the government, business and civil society are not working together-whose fault. Even the PM is not able to work with his own government without the interference of Sonia Gandhi. It was calculative of the Congress to keep two power centers. So it can blame all the ineffectiveness and lack of democracy on one power centre and thump its chest as though it is free of blame. On the other hand all the ' four self evident truths' which Rahul Gandhi stated –failures must be placed at the door of the Congress .So what Rahul Gandhi must learn is to uphold Truth and Justice and then he will realize that most of the shortcomings-nay all emanate from his doorstep and his party's. Then he will be humble enough to beat his chest and say mea culpa.
It will also be best for Rahul Gandhi to decide what he wants to be and work towards that. He cannot go on being so wavering and indecisive. Making people think that he is very reluctant to have power-something which he already has. He is the most powerful person even above the PM as far as power is concerned and he did not earn it but power was thrust on him. Does he think that the Prime Minister ship will also be thrust on him?
