Political Diary
New
Delhi, 29 December 2012
Political Gangs of
Wasseypur
WHERE IS MY INDIA GOING?
By Poonam I Kaushish
Andher Nagri, Chaupat
Sarkar aur Netagan.
Words which stand testimony to the year gone by, worse, 2013 too does not hold much
hope. Underscored, by our polity’s reaction to the gang-rape victim’s death
which ignited India as never before, the anger and indignation on the streets palpable. Sadly, the
aam aadmi’s cries for justice
boomerang as our netas ensconced in
their fortified houses emerge only to portray fake empathy. Raising a moot
point: Do they really care? How long can they go on lurching from crisis to
crisis? Is this what democracy is about?
Alas, our politicians who follow the dictum ‘might is right’
and operate like Gangs of Wasseypur have not only lost the plot but are out of
sync with the reality. Living life in the slim strip called ‘official’. Their response
telling: Impose Section 144 at New
Delhi’s India Gate, shut 10 metro stations thereby
barricading people from voicing their angst against our rulers crass ineptitude
and inured sense of justification of a dysfunctional system, operated by
morally bankrupt minds. Reactions choreographed to suit their vote banks. Any
wonder, the citizen is very Kolaveri Di!
Notably, something fundamental is wrong which makes out
leaders incapable of dealing with simple matters and complex issues. The Prime
Minister lacks authority, has no control over his Ministers who do as they
please. Nor does he enjoy his Party's confidence, Congress President Sonia who
has no views on anything and heir apparent Rahul Gandhi is “work in progress”.
Mum is the word on most issues which ignite India.
As a result, the Administration lacks a clear leadership
structure, and functions as a confused babble of vested interests, egos and
animosities. Alas, neither Sonia nor Manmohan Singh seems willing or capable of
stemming the rot wherein national interests get wantonly dumped in quest of
power.
Not only this. A weak Centre has resulted in a situation whereby
the Union’s control has slipped to the States
with the regional satraps today
calling the shots. Last week Tamil Nadu Chief Minister AIDMK’s Jayalalitha
stormed out of the National Development Council meeting. The reason? She was
not allowed to complete her speech within the allotted 10 minutes! Her Gujarat counter-part newly elected Modi used the meeting
to lambast the Prime Minister over his effete
leadership. Notwithstanding, the grave ramifications this will have on the
unitary-federal structure of the State.
Undeniably, this sad state of affairs is because asli Bharat is in the vicious grip of
the Political Terrorist. Shockingly, instead of atoning for their sins of
omission and commission, our rulers brazenly continue to plunder and how! Sans
any remorse, their in-your-face dacoity is backed by an unmatched and unashamed
arrogance of catch-me-if-you-can.
2012 will be remembered as the Year of the
Scams. From telecom, mining to Coalgate all showcased, the maximum beneficiaries are netas, their relatives and cronies. Explained away, in a ghisi-piti
tu-tu-mein-mein of your-vs-my ghooskhori. Crowned by Sonia’s
son-in-law Robert Vadra receiving undue favours and wealth (Rs. 50 lakhs in
2007 to Rs.300 crore in 2012) from India’s biggest reality firm.
Yaar, this is the business of democracy, forget the heavy
cost to the nation. We are mango people in banana Republic!
Take the Lokpal Bill. Ever since the anti-corruption crusade
gained popular support, the polity has responded by turning the Lokpal issue
into a fight to manage its public perceptions. If 2011’s Rajya Sabha “midnight drama” of a RJD MP
snatching the Bill from the Leader of the House hands and tearing it up just
prior to it being put to vote was bad news a year down the Bill continues to languish
in Parliament’s dusty labyrinth.
Underscoring that our netas have no shame, or desire to rein in corruption and be
accountable to the people. Confessed a senior MP, “Sab
mangtai hai ek sashakt Bill but chup-chap kahte hain bhai galle
main phansi kyoin daal rahe ho.
Pass maat karna hum sab
ka bhalaa hoga.”
On the social and economic front too, things are depressing.
Rising prices continue to give a tough time to the common man. Six decades post
Independence,
after spending trillions on education, health and food two thirds of our people
continue to be hungry, illiterate, unskilled and bereft of basic medical care.
Disillusionment and discontent is spiraling. Borne out by rising farmers’
suicides, chakka jams and bandhs.
The tragedy is that there does not seem to
be a rainbow on India’s
horizon. What next? Events have their own momentum. The
writing is on the wall. Our polity needs to recognize that they must deserve
before they can desire, else become increasingly irrelevant. The people want
change. He is not willing to stand as a mute spectator while the country gets
vandalized by our jan sevaks and
their goondas. They have blown
the conch against the fraud repeatedly wrought on them year after year.
The need of the hour is a paradigm shift in how Parties and
politicians function. Any attempt to stifle a new Aspirational India’s call for
an end to wanton ennui and apathy would be opposed vehemently. Our netas need to remember that leadership
is not merely an exposition of ones abilities or honesty. Intrinsic to
leadership is the ability to enforce and demand the highest standards. As US
President Obama said, “With increased power comes increased responsibility”.
It is time our netas understand
that there are moments when cynical calculations of political expediency become
repugnant. In a Parliamentary democracy, civilized discourse is the answer.
Today, India
is today at the moral crossroads.
A long and hard battle lies ahead for bringing a change in
the political system and the present political ethos. Political morality and
accountability are paramount for good governance and stability. There is no
place for damn lies and deceit in a genuine democracy. Truth is not determined
by majority vote.
At the end of the day, it matters little who wins the
elections as we the people are the ultimate losers. India’s voters must not allow
themselves to be taken for granted any more. We need to stop voting for the
shameless, self-serving netas who are
pushing the country increasingly towards a feudal democracy
Disgust, revulsion and cynicism aside, most thinking people
see nothing but trouble, travail and a dark future. Few even wail: “Perhaps,
dictatorship is our only hope”. Not a few are nostalgic about the “good old
British days.” Yet many others would be happy to publicly whip and even
guillotine their polity, where-under even the gutter today is cleaner than the
politics of today.
In sum, the country needs to find a fine balance between
street power and arrogant and tyrannical political system. Either which way,
one thing is clear it would be near impossible for our polity to continue with
the status quo.
India is too precious a democracy to be
lost in labyrinth of babbling voices With 50 per cent of the population between
18-35 years, the country can ill-afford to mess up. Our polity needs to remember: Power, breeds,
arrogance leads to defeat. How long must India suffer and bleed? ---- INFA
(Copyright, India
News and Feature Alliance)
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