Political Diary
New Delhi, 12 April 2014
NaMo’s Private Mukhota
WHAT’S BIG DEAL
ABOUT A WIFE?
By Poonam I Kaushish
Jashodaben, who? Never heard of her? Right. Till Modi filed
his filed his nomination from the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat last week. Whereby,
he ‘rediscovered’ his long lost wife of 46 years. And all hell broke loose. You
mean Modi has a wife? You kidding? Modi till date has averred he is a bachelor?
Where was she all these years? Welcome to India’s political twilight zone!
The facts are clear. Narender Modi is no blushing newly wed.
He was a dulha at 17 married to
16-year old Jashodaben from Gujarat’s Rajosana
village. According to Mrs NaMo, her
husband left her after three years of grihasti
never to return.
Yet, this retired school teacher getting a monthly pension
of Rs 14,000 who shuttles between her two brothers continues to be a true-blue Bharitiya patni. She has been keeping
fasts for some months now and even gave up wearing footwear for four months as
a penance to see her husband becoming the Prime Minister.
Questionably, is one making a mountain out of a molehill? Or
a molehill out of a mountain
of Modi’s marital status?
Two questions which are exercising-exciting political Delhi. Raising a moot point: What is the line between a politician’s
public and personal life? Is his private life any concern of the people? Has
politics become too personal or should politicians expect intense media
scrutiny of their affairs?
Do we have unrealistic expectations of our leaders? Can he
be ethical in public if he is unethical in private? Should our netagan be the epitome of morality and
probity? A notch above ordinary mortals. For us to look up to and respect.
People who will not easily succumb to human weaknesses and foibles?
Undeniably, personal
lives of our netagan have never been
part of political discourse unless it interferes into the public domain. It is
also true, that newsworthiness of is a politician’s spouse is determined by
whether she or he is remarkable and makes waves. Like former Union Minister
Shashi Tharoor’s “Rs 5 crore girlfriend” nee stunning wife the late Sunanda
Pushkar, a permanent fixture on Page 3.
Today, Modi would be eating his words.
It is also correct to affirm
that a leader’s news-value is determined by his political deeds, misdeeds and
misdemeanors and not by his personal status. So naturally, Modi had not
formally declared his marital status in his earlier poll affidavits choosing to
leave them blank. Till, the Supreme Court declared it mandatory for all
candidates to make full declarations. Advised by his lawyers, Modi followed the
rule book, lest he be disqualified.
So why make a big deal
about Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi? Specially against the backdrop of Modi’s elder
brother’s assertions that the marriage was only a “social formality”. It might be, none dispute that. But at the
same time that is precisely where Modi and his cahoots are wrong.
Importantly, the issue
is not that Modi is married or not but much more complex. Nor is it about
tit-for-tat politricking: The Congress’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too lied
by showing his residence as Assam
to fulfill the Rajya Sabha MP criteria, so why make our NaMo the scapegoat.
Two wrongs do not make
a right. On several scores. One, Modi did not make a voluntary admission. The
law demanded he laid bare all facts of his life. Two, he lied under oath. Frankly,
I am not the least surprised. The ascetic 63-year-old, times out of number at
various rallies has tom-tommed his bachelor status and taint-free reputation of
having no family to inherit. “I have no family ties, I am single. Who will I be
corrupt for?” Sic.
Undoubtedly, no leader
who aspires to be the country’s next Prime Minister can justify telling
half-truths or white lies. As it would be a reflection on his character,
integrity and values. This entails our politicians are expected to be a notch
above ordinary mortals. To be respected and held in high esteem who don’t
easily succumb to human weaknesses and foibles.
Towards that end, a leader has to pay the price of his
privacy and personal details once he enters public life which demands
accountable to the people. The aam aadmi
has a right to know everything about his netas
as their salaries are paid for by the people who need to make informed
judgments about the kind of leaders they want.
For example, how can a Minister or MP busy in jan seva, afford a Swiss bank account,
Ferrari, a yacht and a villa in Monaco on his salary? That too, without working honestly for even
one day.
Sadly, this disclosure has
put a big question mark on Modi’s credibility. Specially against the backdrop
of Modi’s tall promises on empowering women and providing safety to them. Moreover,
given our traditionally open society, the question of private life vs public persona has never arisen. The
reason why the Constitution does not have any provision for privacy, unlike
other countries.
Undoubtedly, constant scrutiny is the price of fame. If our
leaders want to enjoy the privileges of power and all the status that goes with
it then they should willingly pay the price of absolute integrity and honesty.
If a person lies in small things how can one trust him on bigger things?
One is either honest or not. Think. A politician who betrays
his wife is capable of breaking his promises and lying to his country. The
nation demands, its polity to be whiter than white otherwise they are not fit
to do the job
In America,
the Press is allowed to publish almost any true material about public figures
on the ground that “virtually all human activity reveals the true character of
the person”. Remember, ex-President Clinton who barely escaped impeachment for
converting the Presidential Oval office into the oral (sex) office, courtesy
Monica Lewinsky.
In UK
there is no right to privacy and, therefore, no right of action in the courts
for breach of privacy. However, conventions are followed strictly and
honourably. Wherein a politician bows out of office once a serious allegation
is made. No matter how important he may be. The obverse holds true in France, Denmark
and Germany
where access to privacy is an offence.
It is an offence to publish information, real or
speculative, about an individual’s personal relationships, state of health,
private finances or domestic arrangements. It is a criminal offence to intrude
on a private place by taking a photograph or making a recording of private
conversations. Keeping or using the material is a further offence.
All in all, as Modi swears by upholding Gandhian principles,
“service to the nation is my only religion”, he would do well to remember, Gandhiji
saying: A public man has no private parts to shield. The Mahatma was clear that
a man’s public life could never be clean if his private life was not. The two were indivisible. Now that NaMo has
taken a nano step by unmasking his private mukhota,
he needs to lead by example. What do you say? ------ INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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