Will Election Results Usher in a New Dawn in India?
Intro: The Civil War in the United States made Abraham Lincoln. The failure of neo-socialism in Britain made Margaret Thatcher. History is replete with names of nobodies who rose to Himalayan heights. Narendra Modi himself is a case in point.
And so it is now all over. The NDA is back in power and the UPA has been shunted out – and quite deservedly. No tears would be shed for the ignominious defeat of the Congress which has brought shame to the party and what is more, to the country at large. In its long and tumultuous history this is the first time that a party once home of the likes of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Motilal Nehru and Rajendra Prasad has been summarily dismissed for its pusillanimous record of large-scale corruption and undisguised nepotism.
Almost three and a half centuries ago in Britain, Oliver Cromwell told a decadent Parliament: “You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately….Depart, I say, and let us have done with you; in the name of God, go!” The people of India have effectively repeated those sentiments and thrown the Congress out. And quite rightly so.
Can’t a nation of 1.25 billion people produce a leader who can resuscitate the Congress and save it from the vicious clutches of the mother, son and unholy daughter of the Gandhi clan? We need a vibrant two party system to function and make India democracy wholesome and respected.
For that, first and foremost, it must vote out the dynasty, lock, stock and barrel. It will be the biggest service to the country. A wiser course would be for the dynasty itself to submit its resignation without outside pressure. We have had enough of scams to last a lifetime. The professional arrogance shown by UPA Ministers has had no parallel in recent times. The name of the Nehrus must be cleansed of the mud in which it has been thrown in. Importantly the business deals of the son-in-law must be put under the microscope. This should not be considered as a show of vengeance but the beginning of a cleansing system that has had no parallel in the past. Nepotism, sycophancy and associated sins must be ruthlessly exposed so that never emerge again in the future
Priyanka Vadra on her part has abused those who raised the issue in all good faith as a bunch of scurrying rats, language unbefitting any self-respecting household. It only shows the depth of degradation that the Gandhis have reached. Fancy someone starting with a meager investment of one lakh rupees making a profit of Rs 300 crore in the bare space of under three years!
On April 27, the BJP released an 8-minute video graphically showing how Congress Chief Minister Bhupindra Singh Hooda and Ashok Gehlot had helped Robert Vadra “enriching himself by violating all manner of rules and regulations”. BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also released a booklet detailing how political dynasties had become enormously wealthy by misusing power. According to a well-known daily “the case against Vadra is so strong that any fair investigation would have no difficulty in concluding that he did solely rely on the misuse of the discretionary powers of the Congress Governments in Haryana and Rajasthan to rake in big money.”
To argue that as of now there are no leaders of stature to lead the Congress is, to say the least, self-defeating. It is always the situation that make the man. Given a chance aam aadmi can rise to great heights time and time again. History, in this respect, is an excellent teacher. Greatness is not inherited like ill-gotten wealth. It springs out of necessity. The Civil War in the United States made Abraham Lincoln. The failure of neo-socialism in Britain made Margaret Thatcher. History is replete with names of nobodies who rose to Himalayan heights. Narendra Modi himself is a case in point.
If a foreigner of no standing can become a leader of Congress for the mere asking, surely one can find a new set of men or women who can step into her shoes and give the Indian National Congress a new birth from within the organisation? Only we have to give up our concept of raja pratyaksha devata and be ready and willing to throw out any leader who falls short of values we honour most. This is the lesson that the just concluded general elections has raised and we must give it the right reply.
(The writer is senior columnist and former editor of Illustrated Weekly)
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