TVR Shenoy
It is the best of parties; it is the worst of parties. It is the party of wisdom; it is the party of foolishness. It is the party of hope; it is the party of despair. Vote for it, and we are all going direct to Heaven, vote for it, and we shall all go direct the other way…

No—with due apologies to Charles Dicken—this is not ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ but ‘A Tale of Two Parties’. India’s oldest party, the Congress, is an organisation in search of an idea. India’s youngest party, the Aam Aadmi Party, is an idea in search of organisation. Both, realistically speaking, have barely two months – slightly less, actually – to achieve their quest.

Its decimation in four Vidhan Sabha polls has led commentators to write off the Congress before a vote is cast in the General Election. Through the same strange alchemy the chances of the Aam Aadmi Party are being boosted to the skies even though the party didn’t actually emerge as the single largest party – votes or seats – even in politically-charged Delhi.

The bottom-line remains that the Congress is still the only party with a truly pan-Indian presence. (The BJP is largely absent from huge chunks of eastern and southern Indian.) Contrariwise, the Aam Aadmi Party’s ability to win seats outside the political epicentre of Delhi is an unanswered question. (Even the undivided Team Anna – now decidedly divided – failed to enthuse Mumbaikars in 2011, the year of its glorious struggles in Delhi.)

But what is the use of an organisation if it cannot enthuse voters? That needs an idea to motivate the electorate. In 1971 Indira Gandhi won on the back of ‘Garibi Hatao!’ (poverty alleviation). In 1980 the Nehru-Gandhis rode back by pointing to the price of onions (inflation). Sympathy waves took the party home in 1984 and 1991. What is the one big idea that could work in 2014?

The biggest cheers at Rahul Gandhi’s speech to the All-India Congress Committee on 17 January came when he yelled, “Pradhan Mantriji, hamein baarah cylinder chahiye!” [“Mr Prime Minister, we want 12 cylinders!”] It doesn’t quite have the ring of ‘Garibi Hatao!’, does it?

Some in the Congress believe that the party should, somewhat brazenly, claim the cause of fighting corruption as its own. But the Congress’s idea of fighting corruption is nothing but tinkering with laws, it lacks the stomach to take on the corrupt.

Look at the Adarsh Housing Scandal. A report by the Comptroller & Auditor General said it was a prime example of how “select officials, placed in key posts, could subvert rules and regulations in order to grab prime government land”. Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee denounced the “cavalier manner in which the serious issue of security was overlooked”. A two-member commission set up by the Government of Maharashtra itself mentioned “greed, nepotism and favouritism”. And the Central Bureau of Investigation named a former Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan, after looking into the scam. How did the Congress deal with this disapproving chorus?

The Congress-NCP coalition in Maharashtra rejected the report from the commission headed by Justice (retired) JA Patil even though it was the same ministry that had set it up in the first place. And the Governor of Maharashtra, K Sankaranarayanan, refused to give the CBI the permission to prosecute Ashok Chavan, a former Chief Minister.

Yes, Rahul Gandhi made one of his now-famous interventions when his party’s government in Mumbai rejected the two-man commission’s report. But it was fruitless; the Prithviraj Chavan ministry decided to go after the bureaucrats named in the report while leaving the politicians well and truly alone. Does this sound like the Congress is serious about fighting corruption, leave alone make the crusade against venality the central theme of its 2014 election campaign?

The Aam Aadmi Party’s problem is the mirror image of that facing the Congress. It has the big idea, which is to combat corruption, but it lacks the organisation to work on the ground. There is a difference between an idea and an ideology. But do remember that the pre-1947 Congress consisted of people with differing ideologies who were yoked together by a single goal, namely a free India.  The difference, of course, is that the Congress never needed to fight elections until decades after it was created. The Aam Aadmi Party does not possess the luxury of time.

The Aam Aadmi Party believes that it cannot attract the dedicated pro-BJP voter. Thus, logically, it has positioned itself as a substitute for the Congress. There are people who simply cannot bring themselves to vote for the BJP, but are equally dismayed by the Congress, or the Left Front, or the Samajwadi Party.

Within the Congress itself some once thought that the Aam Aadmi Party would split the anti-Congress vote. Judging by what happened in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party seems to be swallowing the Congress. Rather than split the anti-Congress vote the Aam Aadmi Party could end up splitting the anti-BJP vote.

I started with a homage to Dickens but shall end with a reference to an even earlier English writer. Mary Shelley wrote of Frankenstein who had created a monster from bits and pieces of other humans. The creature ended up destroying his creator before disappearing for good.

Could what began as a ‘Tale of Two Parties’ end up as the parable of ‘Congresstein’s Monster’?            

  (The writer is senior columnist)

PIL against AAP leaders over derogatory words against Valmiki

The Aam Aadmi Party is into the dirty pool of racism for getting camera flashes on their faces again. A PIL has been filed against Kumar Vishwas, the AAP leader, for using abusive language against Bhagwan Valmiki, the author of Ramayana. The PIL has been filed in the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Karkardooma, Delhi by Sanjay Gahlot through his counsel Dr VP Sharma. Arvind Kejriwal has also been made another accused in the PIL, filed under Section 153(A), 295, 295-A of the IPC.

According to the PIL, on November 16, 2013 Vishwas at the behest of Arvind Kejriwal raised slogans, ‘Balmiki dakait tha’ which was pronounced on a news channel too. This hurt the religious sentiments of millions of Valmiki followers throughout the world, including the complainant who is president of MCD’s Swachchhatta Karmachari Union. This act of the accused tantamount utter defamation of Lord Valmiki and has hurt the religious sentiments of millions of people particularly the Valmikis. The aggrieved people of this community burnt the effigy of Kejriwal and Vishwas on November 21. An FIR has also been lodged against both of them in Farsh Bazar Police Station, Shahdara, Delhi.  On January 1, 2014, the accused were served a legal notice but they did not reply. The complainant prayed that the accused be summoned and punished.

Ugly face of AAP leaders exposed

AAP leaders’ public behavour has exposed the real and ugly face of the entire party. Not only the law minister Somnath Bharati but also the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other ministers or leaders are using highly derogatory languages. Somanth said “Nigerian girls and men all indulge in prostitution and drug trafficking and it is a threat to local maa, behen, beti (mothers, sisters and daughters).” Kumar Vishwas made derogatory remarks on Malayalee nurses. In another incident The pressure to remove Bharati is growing, but instead of taking action CM Kejriwal stood by him. Over 40 academicians and rights activists have asked the Chief Minister to sack Law Minister, alleging ‘racist and sexual violence’ on the African women who were targeted in the raid on suspicion of a drug and sex racket. Over Vishwas statement, Kerela Chief Minister Oommen Chandy demanded an apology from the AAP leader. BJP”s national Human Rights Cell has submitted a petition to President of India and NHRC against the cheap language used by AAP leaders.