Gadkari’s exit: Blow to BJP, boost for Modi

Every effort of embattled BJP chief Nitin Gadkari to wiggle out of the Purti quagmire has backfired and the proverbial final nail on the coffin was stuck by the I-T raids on the company stakeholders’ offices. As the negative publicity brought by its appointee became too big to be pushed under the carpet, even the all powerful RSS could not help him.
Rajnath Singh’s return could not be more spectacular. Gadkari’s term at the helm was a disaster. Revolt after revolt broke out in the party’s state units — its Karnataka situation is the worst scenario.

It was not long ago that the party’s national leadership was forced to kneel down before the Bellary brothers and revoke all disciplinary actions against them and their confidants. Late realisation of its mistake and the subsequent tough posturing before BS Yeddyurappa have resulted in its sole government in the south hanging to power by a wafer-thin majority. The Lingayat strongman enjoys considerable support among the party’s cadres and has the ability to spoil it for the saffron party.

And more than anyone else, one person stands to gain the most — Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi’s chance of being the party’s prime ministerial candidate got a major boost with Gadkari out of the way. Modi and Gadkari had clashed several times in the past with the pracharak CM skipping the party’s national executive meetings in protest.

The harbinger of Gadkari’s dwindling elbow room was the May conclave where the party body had to drop Modi-baiter and Gadkari loyalist Sanjay Joshi.

With an outspoken Hindutva hawk like Rajnath Singh at the helm of the party, Modi will look like a moderate (though he is anything but one). Singh’s elevation also spares Modi of worries about strengthening the party before laying siege to Delhi — the former has proven his mettle with excellent organisational skills during his previous stints.

Modi has also greatly benefitted from Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to the number two slot in the Congress. While junior’s tearjerker speech might have sent the nation reaching for tissue paper boxes, the ‘anointment’ has effectively ruled out the possibility of any leader of calibre rising to the top in near future.

Every time Rahul has tried to take on Modi politically, his rhetoric failed to scratch Modi’s image, let alone dent it. Sonia’s last best shot — maut ka saudagar (merchant of death) — boomeranged and Modi emerged stronger than ever. The recent state elections underscored the Gujarat’s CM’s upper hand in this unequal fight.

Modi’s success has been in forcing his most vehement critics to come out with praise for him through good governance. Congress leaders, civil society activists and even leading Muslim figures have turned fans.

With booming business opportunities in Gujarat proving to be too lucrative to be ignored, most countries which blacklisted him in the wake of 2002 riots have quietly backtracked, the UK being the latest to join this list. In the US too, the number of voices calling for going soft on Modi is increasing by the day.

Though kin of victims of 2002 massacres in Gujarat continue to wage their legal battles, a series of clean chits by courts have boosted Modi’s credentials.

Gadkari was a weight that was dragging the BJP down (no pun intended), and freed of that, the main Opposition party is in a better position to put its house in order and pose a credible challenge to the ruling combine in the 2014 General Elections.

(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on January 23, 2013.)

Let India, not Time, judge Manmohan

It was only a few days back that Time magazine had branded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as an ‘underachiever’ on its cover. The grave fault the US magazine found with the economist PM was that he ‘refused to stick out his neck’ for the liberalisation reforms.
Well... The magazine is entitled to its opinions as it operates from a free country. We regret to tell you that majority of the 1.3 billion citizens of our country live on below $1 per day (Though according to Planning Commission that might be upscale lifestyle) and their priority is not exactly rolling out red carpet welcome to Wal-Mart and other global giants circling the Indian retail skies.
The BJP was quick to grab the new stick to beat the Centre with, but seems to be oblivious to the fact that the same magazine had described its stalwart and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as ‘asleep at wheel’ in 2002. The main Opposition party must not forget that it is not in the best of health and is yet to catch its breath after putting out fires in its Southern base Karnataka, where a local caste strongman got the national party on its knees.
The BJP constantly uses terms such as ‘weak, puppet, indecisive’ to describe Singh but forgets that the ‘strong’ NDA prime minister was comparatively less effectual. The Parivar campaign of going ‘swadeshi’ was the first casualty when the NDA government overtook the Congress in the road to liberalisation and selling off PSUs.
While in the Opposition, the BJP was always ranting about how it would strike at terrorist camps in Pakistan if elected to power. The much-touted nuclear tests failed to stop Kargil intrusions.
When terrorists attacked Indian Parliament, the government launched the biggest ever troop deployment to the Western border in Operation Parakram, but chickened out when generals on the other side of the border threatened to use nukes.
Terrorists continued to strike with impunity and the controversial anti-terror law Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA) was used mostly for political vendetta. But the biggest blot was the Gujarat riots of 2002. In a well-planned and methodical manner, thousands were butchered while the state machinery looked the other away or acted in complicity.
And for the regional outfits, caste parties and Mao-worshippers, they have all proven their hypocritical sides by diverging from declared policies and ideologies to retain power, fatten wallets and woo vote banks. Media is a vital constituent of democracy, but it is not the last word.
The Fourth Estate is not devoid of vested interests. Most media houses have business interests and this reflects in their analysis of news. In India, the most recent example was regarding the implementation of Wage Board recommendations for journalists.
The publishing houses, who are otherwise at each others’ throats, united in publishing story after story about a grand conspiracy to bleed the industry — and never implemented the recommendations. If Singh’s hands have been tied, it’s due to coalition compulsions.
When your government’s survival is dependent on people like Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee and Karunanidhi, the elbow room available is little.
 Despite all that, Singh has steered the country through economic doldrums in different capacities. He is free of corruption (though not the same can be said about his colleagues and allies), a gentleman and a statesman of international standing. He has never responded to vicious criticism by stooping to that level.
He might have several shortcomings, but is still the prime minister and the hope for this country to ride out of economic and political storms. And those baying for his blood must come up with credible alternatives (no, not the BJP).
Let Indian public, and not Time, be the judge of its prime minister.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on July 11, 2012)

Swearing by Stalin’s spectre

0ne day I was at the market in my town in Kerala, picking up item after item from the long list my mother had given me in the morning. Haggling with the vendor over the price of fish, I did not notice the slight commotion in the area.
After buying few good pieces of the pisces for a reasonable sum I was surprised to see vendors packing their wares and stalls closing. I thought: “Oh, some important trader must have died. His friends must be closing their business to show their respect…”
 My thoughts were interrupted by the high-pitched squeal from a loudspeaker attached to the carrier of a car that was cruising along the adjacent main road.
“Total shutdown today… We request (read ‘better comply or be battered’) you to join us in expressing our solidarity against US led capitalists, whose puppets have executed our beloved hero of the Arab world – Saddam Hussein,” the announcer croaked.
“No. It can’t be. I heard it wrong,” I thought as I checked what I heard.
The announcement is repeated, and this time there is no confusion. It is actually, Saddam, the butcher of Baghdad.
Welcome to God’s Own Country and its ‘global’ communists.
The red revolutionaries have come a long way from the days they bled and died in the hundreds against oppression, injustice and human rights violations. The tiny state owes them a lot for almost all things progressive that have made it comparable with developed countries in indicators such as human development index, maternal mortality, literacy and political participation.
When the state of Kerala was formed in 1957, they formed the government – the first democratically elected communist government in the world. However, some historical trends do not change, especially the effect of popularity and power.
The Communist Party of India and, later when the party split in 1964, the CPI-M began to show increasing intolerance to political rivals. The northern district of Kannur, a picturesque region, has seen hundreds of bloody clashes and dozens of political murders.
There are several areas divided into ‘party villages’ by the CPI-M, Congress and the BJP; murders and revenge killings are part and parcel of life in this region which was the original communist heartland.
Over the years, people have come to reject the culture of violence and there has been calm for several years now. But looks like history is repeating itself with the recent murder of TP Chandrasekharan, who quit the party along with his supporters to float a rebel outfit.
Even as CPI-M leaders were busy denying the party's role in the murder, a district chief, while giving a passionate speech about loyalty, blurted out that the party brooks no betrayal and has been bumping off its political rivals.
For a party that boasts of (or pays lip service to) intra-party democracy, the CPI-M has a culture of intolerance towards dissent. The party expels its critics or demotes them.
 Over the last couple of decades, the party has taken cue from its Chinese counterpart – and possibly from the military forces of Myanmar and Pakistan – by developing multi-billion investments and heavily entrenching itself as a state in itself.
Naturally, all the vices and aberrations brought about by such 'expansion and diversification' has given rise in its ranks a breed of ruthless leaders who condone and facilitate corruption, violence and nepotism.
The party has been ravaged by factionalism. On one side is former CM and current Leader of the Opposition VS Achuthanadan and on the other, all-powerful party state chief Pinarayi Vijayan.
The latter and his cronies have taken control of the party organisation and has been steadily purging the rival camp's followers on one pretext or the other. VS is immensely popular among Keralites for his relentless campaigns against corruption, crime syndicates, sex rackets and several evils that have been plaguing the state.
However, the official faction ridicules him as a dinosaur that refuses to understand the 'opportunities' of capitalism and its 'benefits' for all.
The ideology is outdated and even today (despite decades of ridicule) party leaders invoke Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Fidel Castro, and of late, Hugo Chavez, to tell people why their brand of authoritarianism and thuggery is the path to 'enlightened' progress.
While leadership qualities of these people are inspiring, the question is whether it was worth the suffering of the people of those countries.
For example, more Russians were killed by Stalin's purges than by World War II. Mao's Cultural Revolution was no different.
India is a democracy that allows freedom to criticise. If the CPI-M thinks that this is not acceptable, they are free to go and join their red brethren on the other side of the Himalayas – both have a lot in common dealing with critics.
Wake up comrades, Stalin is dead; Cold War is over; Berlin Wall has fallen; dictators are being ousted and democracy is gaining in strength.
It's time for some serious introspection and path correction so that a movement that once inspired millions and changed lives for better doesn't end up being a cartel to benefit a few.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on June 27, 2012)

The last thing we want in Goa is Ram Sene

Pristine beaches, sunshine, picturesque locales and great parties; these are pictures that come to the mind of an average Indian when one thinks about Goa.
Unfortunately, it looks like all good things will be forced to end – thanks to limelight-hungry Pramod Muthalik and his saffron moral police outfit, the Sri Ram Sene.
Like many other vermin, Muthalik began his political career in mid-seventies as a swayamsevak and soon his potent venom was appreciated by ultra-right saffron outfits such as VHP and Bajrang Dal, who put him in charge of key organisational affairs.
His anti-Muslim diatribe was music to the ears of the BJP that was rapidly expanding its presence across Karnataka. His vitriolic hate speeches against Muslims helped BJP to strengthen itself in North Karnataka.
If it was BS Yeddyurappa who can be credited with steering the ship till it docked at the port of power, Muthalik was one among the several cannons that regularly pounded anything non-saffron and secular that appeared in their sights.
The local Hindutva chieftain, who was hitherto unheard of in the rest of the country, literally stole the limelight with an attack on a Mangalore pub in 2009. Muthalik and his goons stormed a pub to enforce their diktat of routing ‘Western moral corruption’ and attacked the patrons, including women.
The move was leaked to selective media groups and they were present, cameras on, when the moral police beat up, groped and molested women in the melee, as one would put it, in full media glare.
Considering that Muthalik is close to scoring a half-century in the number of criminal cases against him, his freedom and unabated activities are tributes to an impotent system that spares offenders and targets victims.
Goa is famous for its pluralistic culture where people from all religions have been living in harmony and happiness in the Goan way of life. Life in this tiny state allows you to be what you are and enjoy it to the fullest, as long as you are not a nuisance to others. And this is the reason people from all over the world flock to this tiny sun-kissed state to savour all things good in life.
The beach parties are nothing short of legendary and the environment is one of the safest in the country for tourists, especially for women. However, this may no longer be the case when bloodhounds of moral police patrol the area looking for fresh meat.
If Muthalik has his way and his outfit opens shop in Goa, all that we know as Goa and its way of life are under threat. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has ‘warned’ the outfit that it won’t be allowed to take law into its hands and has talked about ‘dire consequences’ if there is violence.
Bravo CM, but sorry no one is fooled here. Parrikar should know, as anyone with average intelligence would, that outfits like the one headed by Muthalik survive on extreme action and use of force.
If Muthalik and his cronies are so concerned about women, they should be out on the streets protecting the fairer sex from eve-teasers, molesters and rapists. Of course, that’s not possible as the moral police believes that women are to blame for attacks on them.
Every region in the country is unique in its culture, traditions and way of life. No one should be allowed to force their version of ‘acceptable behaviour’ on others.
We don’t need these saffron Taliban here. They are dinosaurs, belonging to the era when widows were thrown into their husbands’ pyres.
Media should ignore them and deny them the limelight that is the lifeblood for such outfits; and the government should crush them without mercy.
Self-appointed defenders of moral fabric, you are alone in your journey to the Dark Ages.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on June 13, 2012)

BJP must survive the battle within

The second innings of UPA has been nothing short of tumultuous, marred by massive scams in every sector from rural job schemes to military purchases.
When allies themselves are eyeing the jugular of the Centre, relief comes from an unexpected quarters — a divided BJP that is struggling to keep its house in order.
The saffron party, which in the late ‘90s emerged as a credible alternative to the Congress that had ruled the country from Independence with the exception of a few years, is now forced to spend more attention in keeping the organisation intact than serving the role of an effective opposition.
The recent Assembly elections handed a couple of emphatic victories to the party. However, it was more the corruption and anti-incumbency factor that helped it in Goa, and in Punjab it was the bigger ally Shiromani Akali Dal that led the charge.
Though it managed to slightly better its performance in Uttar Pradesh, it still to an unenviable third position; inconsequential but definitely better than the Congress which was decimated.
Elsewhere in the country, nothing is working for the party. In Rajasthan, the party constantly faces revolt from senior leader and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. In the latest episode, the party had to despatch its fire fighters to prevent the royal from walking out of the party with a substantial number of followers and MLAs.
The party’s national leadership has been having sleepless nights ever since it forced BS Yeddyurappa, who led the party to its first government in the south, to quit as chief minister owing to graft cases against him. BSY agreed to quit on condition that his pick Sadanada Gowda was made the CM.
However, the Lingayat strongman changed his mind soon and wanted to be reinstated — a demand the party leadership couldn’t concede to as it required a moral high ground to battle the Congress government at the Centre.
Ever since, it has been a war of nerves and words in Karnataka. BSY keeps threatening to quit from the party and form his own organisation and the leadership keeps shuttling between Delhi and Bangalore with varying combinations of carrots and sticks as the situation demands.
The Reddy brothers and their associate Sriramulu, who fell foul with the party after their role in illegal mining scam put the party on the defensive, have made a powerful comeback. The brothers proved their name is bigger than the party in Bellary by defeating the official BJP candidate in the bypolls.
As the foursome threatened a split, a shocked leadership had to placate them. However, what is happening in Karnataka is nothing compared to the challenge that is to emerge from Gujarat — the showcase state for the party.
Ever since RSS nominee Nitin Gadkari took the helm, Gujarat Chief Minister and a top prime minister candidate Narendra Modi hasn’t been the most co-operative. The bachelor swayam sevak CM is not happy with the way Gadkari is leading the party and has attacked his strategies in his meetings with the leadership. Gadkari’s response has been to play down the importance of Modi in the bigger picture.
The most recent example of the duo’s spat spilling out into public view was during the Assembly elections when Modi refused to campaign for the party in UP — and Gadkari entrusted the job to Modi’s arch rival Sanjay Joshi. The chill has continued ever since.
With the party’s national executive meeting barely a month away, Modi has maintained a deafening silence on his attendance. A second term for Gadkari being the main agenda of the conclave, the former’s absence will be a thinly veiled banner of revolt.
No doubt the BJP generals are fully capable of leading the assault on Congress; the question is whether they can survive the civil strife within the party.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on May 16, 2012)

Testing times ahead for Congress

It has taken a series of electoral debacles to shake India’s Grand Old Party, the Congress, from its political slumber of denial mode and complacence.
Despite cross-country hut hopping by the heir apparent Rahul Gandhi and charm offensive by his sister Priyanka, the voters chose to bring non-Congress alliances to power.
The emphatic defeat for the 127-year-old party has been in the national capital, where the BJP swept to power in the local body elections.
Long has the era passed when the public tended to forgive and forget or get swayed by the personal charisma of Congress leaders. Uttar Pradesh voters refused to buy the ‘yuvraj’s’ charm offensive of mingling with the crowds and dining at Dalit huts.
For all the efforts that Rahul put in, the party was reduced to the fourth place after SP, BSP and BJP. Even the last-moment marriage of convenience with the RLD failed to draw the caste votes to the party.
Another area where the party keeps getting beaten black and blue is its alliances with regional parties — the most glaring example being that with West Bengal. Stuck with Mamata for meeting the magic numbers in Lok Sabha, the Congress is constantly humiliated without ‘mamta’ at the Centre and state.
She blocked a river water sharing deal with Bangladesh, got a sensible Railway minister sacked, is blocking several key policies in segments such as FDI and counter-terrorism. The latest whimsical threat was a 15-day deadline to the Centre to waive the state’s debt to the tune of Rs22,000 crore.
In Tamil Nadu too, the picture is not much different. The Centre’s hands are tied on ties with Sri Lanka owing to pressure from the state’s two major parties, the DMK and the AIADMK.
The Congress is perceived as weak because of its failure to get even the UPA allies on board regarding key policies. Key areas such as legal reforms, disinvestment, FDI, counter-terrorism, anti-graft law and police reforms have been languishing without policy commitments.
The constant announcements of new policies and subsequent volte-face due to pressure from allies have hit the credibility of the party. Massive cases of fraud at the Centre running into lakhs of crores of rupees have definitely put the party on the back foot.
When senior party leader and telecom minister Kapil Sibal said the loss to the government in 2G spectrum auction was ‘zero’, whereas the CAG put it at Rs1.76 lakh crore, it came as a shock even to the Opposition.
Maybe the firebrand Supreme Court lawyer has forgotten that gone are the days when an elephant in the room would not be seen by the public.
The infighting in state units and lack of party discipline has left the party in a lurch. While loose cannons like Digvijay Singh go on the warpath firing salvos at anything that moves and manages to capture his fancy, senior leadership is forced to do the damage control.
The party’s inability to make its leaders toe its line is threatening the survival of its government in Andhra Pradesh. The Congress has been forced to swallow its pride and take the help of its rivals in Parliament to suspend eight of its MPs from Parliament as they refused to obey party directives and stalled the House demanding for a separate Telangana state.
An organisation is usually able to tide over crises when there is clarity regarding leadership and a vision for the future. In the case of Congress, there is a lot of ambiguity surrounding leadership. With the scion Rahul failing to sway votes and shying away from any executive post, the focus has shifted to Priyanka.
However, Congress president Sonia Gandhi hasn’t cleared the air about who is going to take over the party reins. For all the reform and internal democracy Rahul has been championing, the party is still practicing nepotism and favouritism in selecting its low- and middle-rung leaders — and the lack of quality is showing in its poll performances.
India’s oldest party has a Herculean task of cleaning its Augean Stables. If it fails to put its house in order, it will share the fate of several dynasties that had their share of glory before becoming extinct.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on April 25, 2012)

The king is naked, but don’t say a word

When do you find non-partisan behaviour among legislators?
When their images are at stake.
No wonder the parliamentarians were up in arms taking umbrage to Team Anna member Arwind Kejriwal’s comments on ‘criminal MPs.’ Some are planning to send privilege notice to Kejriwal for contempt of the dignity of the House.
"In this Parliament, rapists are sitting. In this Parliament murderers and looters are sitting," Kejriwal said at a rally in Ghaziabad criticising politicians for refusing to pass the Jan Lokpal bill.
Now the question is whether the legislature, State or Central, is above criticism and scrutiny.
Based on the mandatory affidavits filed by the candidates before the Election Commis­sion, several NGOs and civil society organisations have come out with disturbing statistics of our elected representatives. Almost one third of the parliamentarians (150) have criminal cases pending against them, 72 of them face serious charges.
Though the BJP could not beat the Congress in the 2009 elections, it overtook its rival in another department by getting 42 people with criminal cases elected, compared to the grand old party’s tally of 41.
There is no reason why people would not look down on the legislators considering their ‘illustrious’ conduct. An analysis of the whole bunch would require an encyclopedia-sized edition, so let us glance through conduct of a few luminaries in the recent past.

• Three Karnataka BJP ministers were forced to resign after they were caught on camera watching porn on their smartphones during Assembly proceedings.
• Twenty-six ministers have been sacked by Mayawati on charges ranging from abuse of power to corruption, from goondaism to rape and murder.
• A Trinamool minister in Mamata Banerjee’s ministry asked what a rape victim, a single mother of two children, was doing in a night club and that the rape charge was probably an extortion attempt. The CM who called the case ‘cooked up’ and her junior colleague had to eat their words within 24 hours when the police arrested the accused and found solid evidence.
• It was not long ago that khap panchayats, which are infamous for their role in ‘honour’ killings and gang rapes, found open support from the US-educated business magnate MP Naveen Jindal, who praised the kangaroo courts for their services in upholding the moral fabric of the society. 

The exalted members find time to pass doubling of their paychecks but can’t agree over key legislations that would power socio-economic change and governance — Women’s Bill and Lokpal Bill are the best examples.
A check on their finances would show that someone who entered politics with a monthly income of a few thousand rupees has become a billionaire (rupee) in less than a decade while devoting all his time to ‘serving the people’. Financial geniuses such as Warren Buffet are reduced to amateurs before the growth model of our representatives.
The legislators are human and err like humans. So what is the point in living under the self-conferred unassailable status of parliamentary ‘privilege’?

(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on February 29, 2012)

Husain laughs at saffron love for ‘Satanic’

So much drama has been unfolding over Booker-winner author Salman Rushdie’s proposed visit to the Jaipur Literary Fe­stival, with several groups pitting themselves for and against his visit.
Ironically, Rushdie had attended the Festival in 2007 and there was hardly any protest then.
This time the scenario is different, with Assembly polls to five States set to commence shortly. No wonder the love-hate soap opera over his visit has reached a crescendo.
In 1988, the author had courted controversy (and invited a prize for his head from Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of Iran) with his book The Satanic Verses, which alle­gedly made derogatory references to the Prop­het. The book has since then been banned in 12 countries including India.
Twenty-five years have passed and even Iran is no longer keen on persecuting him but the ‘guardians of the faith’ in India refuse to dilute their aggressive appro­ach.
Rushdie called off his visit over security threat inputs he received from Mumbai and Rajasthan police, only to thunder via Twitter that the Rajasthan government had cooked up the threat story to keep him off the conclave and avoid unnecessary tensions.
An angry Rajasthan CM said the threats were real and were passed on by the Centre whereas the Mumbai cops said they did not receive any threat intelligence.
In another development, four authors fou­nd themselves in a legal soup when they read out passages from The Satanic Verses at the Festival to justify Rushdie’s creative freedom — only to find themselves booked under law to prosecute inciters of communal violence.
With so many feet muddying the waters, it also triggered a great opportunity for the specialists who fish in troubled waters — the politicians.
The BJP and its allied outfits have come out in support of Rushdie and his freedom of expression, citing India’s culture of tolerance. They were also quick to point out that it was the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the policy of minority appeasement by the Congress government, which had robbed the Festival of the esteemed presence of a hallowed litterateur.
In a repeat of the several political debacles that took place recently, the move has only done damage to the BJP by exposing its doublespeak and lack of credibility.
The saffron party was vocal in its attack on MF Husain and its offshoot organisations hounded him with dozens of cases across the country and vandalised his works wherever possible. His works had to be pulled off several prestigious art shows due to fears of violence and vandalism.
The internationally acclaimed painter was forced to live abroad like a fugitive for fear of being arrested on returning to India. He bre­athed his last not as Indian but as a Qatari, lon­ging for India and homemade food. His crime — objectionable depiction of Indian goddesses in his paintings.
Even after his death, the BJP refused to go back on its stand that his artistic freedom was not acceptable to them.
Now let’s break this down to simple equations. Rushdie ‘insults’ Islam — acceptable. Husain ‘insults’ Hinduism — not acceptable. Both were exercising their creative freedom. Both are internationally acclaimed by critics and fans alike for their contributions to their respective fields.
We would like the BJP to explain the rocket science they have used to differentiate between the two and take separate stands. There is much more to India and the depth of its culture than what its self-appointed defenders project.
Step aside zealots, before you go down in history as geckos who assumed they supported the roof and stopped it from falling.

(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on January 25, 2012)

Is Priyanka the next Congress matriarch?

Priyanka Gandhi took political circles by surprise when she announced that she is willing to expand her role beyond the family-held constituency of Rae Bareli and assume more responsibilities, if asked to do so by the family and the party.
There has been a lot of uncertainty over who will call the shots in Congress in the absence of Sonia Gandhi — whose health and extent of recovery from a recent surgery is still under a cloud of secrecy.
Rahul Gandhi, projected by the Congress as the family scion and prime minister in waiting, is yet to progress beyond party strengthening and assume the role of a national leader.
His latest and much-hyped Bihar campaign to oust the Nitish Kumar government not only failed but failed at a grand scale resulting in total humiliation to the party.
Of late, there have been several voices questioning his effectiveness to deliver at the polling booth despite all the publicity advantage provided by hut-hopping and tirades against non-UPA state governments.
Post-independence, except brief spells, the Congress has always found refuge in woman leaders whenever faced with a crisis. Take a look at Priyanka’s photo in black and white and the resemblance to her grandmother is remarkable.
One can’t help but wonder if another woman, after Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, is about take the helm of India’s oldest party and ‘First Family’.
So far Priyanka has maintained a relatively low-key profile, appearing in public functions only during the time of elections. Everyone knows that she is married to prominent Delhi businessman Robert Vadra and has two children. Described by several media and political observers as a power-dresser, she carries off a t-shirt and cotton sari with equal élan.
Unknown to many is the information that she is also a Ham radio operator. Ours is a country where personal charisma is more effective in ensuring mass following than ability or willingness to govern — a factor that gives Priyanka a huge advantage that can offset her lack of experience in the hinterland politics.
Also adding to her advantage is the fact that about half of the electorate are women. Whether this combined thrust will propel her to the top office of the country is the question only a full-fledged national election battle can answer.
The Congress is in dire straits, rocked by mega scams and arm-twisting by allies. The party has also drawn flak from the industry for its ability to deliver on key policy initiatives. The only advantage is a divided Opposition, led by the BJP, who have no credible alternative to offer.
The saffron party recently shot itself in the foot by inducting Babusingh Kushwaha who was booted out by Mayawati over the NHRM scam. The party will find it tough to explain why Yeddyurappa’s nominee is ruling Karnataka and why it made peace with the Reddy brothers, all under a cloud of suspicion over multiple scams.
With Anna Hazare’s anti-graft movement fizzling out after a media overkill and parliamentary dead end, the Congress has no credible challenge to its status quo. However, in Uttar Pradesh, status quo means flash in the pan or the grass that gets trampled when the wrestler patriarch grapples with the pachyderm.
Rahul has had his chance for over a decade now and yet has fallen way short of expectations. Therefore, it’s only natural that other leaders and party members may rally around a new face. It is time for the Congress and the Gandhi khandan to take some tough and decisive measures.

(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on January 20, 2012)

How the lights went out on Anna Hazare

In contrast to the massive support he received for his first two fasts for a strong Lokpal, there are hardly any crowds at Anna Hazare’s fast venue in Mumbai. The parallel fast by his core team in Delhi could barely muster 1,000 people. In Hyderabad it was even worse with hardly 100 showing up.
What went wrong with the strategy of the man whose name became synonymous with anti-graft movement and inspired people to sport ‘Anna is India’ caps and T shirts?
From a flower seller at Dadar station who organised people against thuggery of land sh­a­rks to the patriot volunteer to the army in the aftermath of the 1962 war and the eventual metamorphosis into a social activist, Kisan Hazare has come a long way to become the towering beacon of hope for millions who had almost given up on the fight against corruption.
However, somewhere down the path the Gandhian deviated from the target and went on a bashing spree on anyone and anything political that fell foul of him — the Congress and its allies emerged as his favourite targets.
His core team, whose nom de guerre is Team Anna, was seen manipulating public su­pport for the veteran activist to promote their personal agendas. Theatrics of Kiran ‘çrane’ Bedi may have entertained crowds at Ramlila, but little did the former top cop realise how close she was to the class she was trying to ridicule.
If it was the CD controversy that dogged the Bhushans, inflated air travel bills came as a major embarrassment for Bedi. Arvind Kejriwal lost face when he was pulled up by the I-T department over unpaid dues; Santosh Hegde, the man with impressive credentials as Karnataka Lokayukta, pulled out of the team; and Swami Agnivesh was ‘expelled’ for ‘colluding’ with the government. The halo that shined bright once has vanished.
With Anna going into overdrive attacking the Congress and even resorting to political campaigning against it in bypolls, the Gandhian was reduced to a Sangh Parivar instrument — something that cost his credibility and popularity dearly.
Another factor that Anna and his team underestimated is the public support for the politicians they elected to Parliament. Arm-twisting a democratically elected body to satisfy their whims and fancies may fetch an initial round of applause, but will not suffice to ensure constant support.
When pundits list the severe winter and holiday season as the reasons for the sparse attendance at the latest fast, they are indirectly acknowledging that the public is willing to give their elected representatives time to sort things out — something that India Against Corruption has overlooked.
With all due respect to Hazare and his noble intentions, it remains undisputed that the movement is destined to collapse from within when one man and his coterie are trying to steamroll all opposition and hold a country with a million divergent voices to ransom through emotional blackmail.
The blind opposition to government’s Lokpal Bill without waiting to assess its performance looks more like an ego issue than an argument based in logic.
A Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas at state-level, bolstered with extensive legal reforms to plug existing loopholes, are essential for the anti-graft legislation to work effectively.
Polity has a way of educating leaders, even the most battle hardened one. Anna has made a wise choice by calling off his fast and jail bharo movement.
Anna should show some patience. Isn’t that an inseparable part of the Gandhian approach?