Stabbing the cause from the front

Closely after the Raising Day of the National Security Guard (NSG), several national dailies reported a rather disturbing story of discrimination of women. No. This time it’s not the male chauvinists, but the women leaders who have done their bit.

The NSG has raised a women’s division, given the same training as its men. However, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and BSP supremo Mayawati have reportedly refused to be protected by these women commandos.

Ironically, both are often cited as examples of women power triumphing in a male-dominated society. Both had towering male mentors and overcame challenges to their authority and consolidated power. As party bosses whose MPs’ support decides the fate of the government, they are also symbols of well-earned power that inspires thousands of women across the country.

However, their refusal to trust the security cover provided by women commandos has damaged the very foundation of the call for equality of women in all professions. Mayawati and Jayalalithaa have indirectly hinted that they don’t consider women commandos as competent as their male counterparts.

Not only have these politicians insulted these brave soldiers, but also they have undermined their own competence to be in positions of power.

Now how can one say Jayalalithaa is as capable as the No 2 in the party or the ministry? How can she be trusted to handle the political and administrative leadership of a crucial southern state?

For Mayawati, the questions would be even more difficult. She is not just a political leader. She is also considered by many as a symbol of empowerment for Dalits (though her biggest project was self-glorification through statues, parks and memorials). How can the Dalit community put its trust in a party and its leader, whose competence is in question because of her gender?

Even worse is the predicament of the premier security agency, whose ‘black cats’ are the most reassuring sight for the VIPs. They have put together a squad of talented, committed and well-trained women. With the VIPs refusing their services and the government policy not permitting their deployment in counter-terrorism operations, they will be reduced to mere showpieces.

Any professional who has spent substantial time ‘on the bench’ will vouch for the crushing feeling of boredom and self-doubt. So, imagine the plight of these brilliant women who have been trained for the most risky field operations, but forced to stay put at their base.

We hear ridiculous comments that degrade women from obsolete institutions like khaps and fringe groups that call themselves moral police. And we attribute little significance to their takes due to their dubious backgrounds and illegal activities.

However, what Mayawati and Jayalalithaa have done is not something that can be ignored that easily. Both must apologise, and accept protection from women commandos.

(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on October 17, 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)