Smriti Zubin Irani
I have always believed that the perpetuation of dynasties negates the very concept of Democracy. Dynasties rely on a feudal mindset, personality cults, non-ideological positions and believe that only those belonging to a privileged family are entitled to rule. There is no place for merit, commitment and ability to deliver in a dynastic democracy.
The other danger about the dynastic parties and the dynastic rule is that the aberrations of different generations of a dynasty become a part of the ideological positions of that party.
The excessive regulated economy, the Kashmir blunder and the China war disaster during the Nehruvian era are historical events that the Congress would still defend. These aberrations have become a part of their ideology. The less glamorous and non-dynast Lal Bahadur Shastri’s successful leadership in 1965 war would always be played down by the Congress. Imposition of Emergency, the destruction of institutions, the disastrous 1984 during Indira Gandhi’s tenure would continue to be defended by the Congress. Rajiv Gandhi’s passionate weakness for his friends over the party, which led to the corrupt defence deals, witnessed the Congress throwing its weight behind corruption to defend the dynasty. However, the service rendered to India by the economic reforms enabled by the best ever Congress Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao would remain unrecognized in a dynastic party, even though the country would hail them.
Let us analyse a glaring aberration in the current representative of the dynasty. Unquestionably, he is a congenital liar. The political system is increasingly realizing that it is dangerous to even maintain social contact with him in terms of basic political courtesies.
“Deep concerns” led him to a courtesy visit the Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s residence. He concocted a conversation where he alleged that Manohar Parrikar distanced himself from Rafale. Speaking in the Motion of No Confidence against the Government, he concocted a conversation between him and President Macron of France which the French Government promptly denied. Earlier he had concocted a pleasantry exchange between him and Sushma Swaraj as a conversation with a political slant. He had similarly, in the past, concocted a conversation with Arun Jaitley claiming that the Minister had told him that he knew very little about Jammu & Kashmir. Is he India’s first post truth politician? From an imaginary Rafale, to a loan waiver scam, he is now into hallucinating conversations.
What does one make out of this? Does he have a mindset of a college-level election contestant or is he a congenital liar? Yet those who depend on dynasties for their survival find themselves looking the other way even when the above aberrations may well be psychiatric in character. Ordinarily, such psychiatric aberrations as hallucinating conversations would rule a person unfit for public life. Persons suffering from them need help and not political rewards.
This in no way deters those who believe that only dynasties in the 21st Century can save nations. They go on shamelessly. If one dynasty member cannot deliver, keep a back-up ready. That seems to be the current strategy.
The real strength of democracies surfaces only when persons of merit coming from humble background are able to demolish the myth of dynasties. This was the strength of both the Prime Ministers, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Shri Narendra Modi. They succeeded where others were reluctant to tread upon.
