The much-awaited, big-ticket cabinet reshuffle that the prime minister once created disproportionate hype in media circle has finally ended in a jocular political musical chair trivia, nothing exciting or forward looking given a poll-bound government three years down the line. What our prime minister was initially claiming that the rejig could weed out the non-performers and tainted ministers has eventually sent a message that political and coalition compulsions outweigh the merits of reshuffling and probity in governance.
In the same vein, he once again painted him a subdued follower of a political leadership who neither has vision nor tact in managing the most complex political coalition with iron fists. Every time when political crisis lambasts governance, we hear a well-rehearsed cliché – coalition dharma. But the moot question here is how long this coalition dharma would mar the future of an emerging democracy? No one has a legitimate answer to this. The problem here is that either this government has a serious fear psychosis against the present scenario or there is something serious flaw in the political leadership in this country, both ways the Congress party is a loser.
Well, if cabinet reshuffling is a prerogative of the prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh has given a blatant disservice to the nation in terms of subjugating to the political compulsions. As the prime minister, he could have endorsed to inducting a couple of brilliant technocrats like Montek Singh Aluwalia to his cabinet through lateral entry or he could have infused some capable young leaders by entrusting them with certain major responsibilities. On both fronts, he failed to achieve that. When inflation, corruption, decelerated FDI, and subsided industrial growth have plagued the macro economy of this country, as a renowned economist he has deliberately overlooked at them and simply accommodated changes a layman can perceive in the current political turmoil.
On the contrary if we believe that the cabinet reshuffle is a give-and-take gesture between the prime minister and the chairperson of UPA II, then the latter has completely failed to understand the complex political war that would quite predictably bring disastrous to the future prime minister of the Congress party, Mr Rahul Gandhi, on many counts. Primarily Ms Sonia Gandhi has failed to understand is the pulse of the nation. If at all she has played a role in advising the prime minister to marginalize his wisdom, then she has restored some inheritance of loss for her son Rahul.
For a poll-bound government, the primary political compulsions do not comprise appeasing the present coalition elements, rather it's the high time to restore the faith of common man in overall governance. Beyond stringent political compulsions there are plenty of ordinary issues those have extraordinary impact of the next elections. Nonetheless, both Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi have failed to perceive the truth and showed their naivety again.
Showing posts with label Coalition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coalition. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
An Open Letter to Prime Minister – Part II
Dear Mr Prime Minister,
India is the largest democracy of the world, it's not a monarchy or autocracy where the excess of government can be tolerated by its citizens without blinking an eyelid. What happened on June 4 midnight at Ramlila ground, New Delhi not only reflects the extreme brutality of police forces and atrocities on innocent women, children and old people, but at the same time it exposed the collective base mentality of a government (read a bunch of diehard sycophants of a political dynasty) towards the universal democratic principles that once upheld by the forefathers of our Constitution. It's not only shocking that over five thousand police forces swarmed into action at the midnight to evict a yoga guru who just two days before the incident received a red carpet welcome by the cabinet ministers of this country, but it's equally deplorable that this kind of miscalculated action by your government landed you in a situation where you again committed a glaring blunder by admitting to the fact that “the excess of police action was though unfortunate but unavoidable as there was no alternative” and subsequently lost your credibility as the prime minister of this country.
What your government has done in this incident not only reflects the naivety of statecraft, but also it corroborates to the fact that the collective knowledge of your cabinet on the fundamental rights of citizens empowered by our Constitution is null and void. This is a dangerous proposition for a parliamentary democracy. No amount of argumentation however powerful can justify the brutality of police forces on innocent, unarmed, sleeping women and children that these critical mass can be dangerous to the law and order situation of the capital city of India by immaturely drawing a parallel between Babri masjid incident and an unfounded similar dangerous situation that maybe lurking in the hindsight of your government. No, Mr Prime Minister, this argument doesn't hold any water in the current scenario. What your government has done here to the democratic fabric of this country is irreparable. No amount of apology even from all ranks and files of your cabinet including you can't repair the humongous loss that it has done to the families of victims in this police atrocities.
Mr Prime Minister, there are scores of alternatives to handle the worst dangerous situation even with grace and within the ambit of democratic principles. The Ramlila ground incident is a murder of democracy, which you can't understand it, forget about acknowledging the blunder because you are not an elected representative of people of this country, rather a representative of a dynasty for political convenience. Perhaps, that's the prime reason as to why political compulsions have always overshadowed your intellect and conviction during national crisis whether it's all-pervasive political corruption or crushing of democracy in the recent event. It's still live in public memory when you justified systemic corruption as “coalition dharma” and “political mandate” can even wash away the democratic sins like “horse-trading in the Parliament.” No parliamentarian can claim such immature, unconstitutional statement.
Mr Prime Minister, it won't be quite surprising to notice another emergency during your tenure given the uprising of civil society against systemic corruption and black money issues that have entangled your government in deep soup, and subsequently you will give the same lame excuse that “though this is unfortunate but unavoidable as we don't have an alternative” a cliché that you have got by your heart to fire it whenever condemnations on your actions from public or political parties loom large.
Sir, we are living in 21st century, not in an era of colonial rule where all actions, however dangerous or anti-human or antagonistic, of a ruler stand legitimate. People of India are not subjects of British Raj. We are living in a vibrant democracy where every citizen has fundamental rights to lead his or life with human dignity and grace. Any excess by the government is extremely deplorable and condemnable. As head of the government, you must first oblige to the democratic principles and the Constitution of India, and then probably you can discharge your duty as a prime minister. If you fail to uphold the democratic principles, people of this country will not hesitate to consider you a man of no reason.
Yours sincerely,
An honest citizen
India is the largest democracy of the world, it's not a monarchy or autocracy where the excess of government can be tolerated by its citizens without blinking an eyelid. What happened on June 4 midnight at Ramlila ground, New Delhi not only reflects the extreme brutality of police forces and atrocities on innocent women, children and old people, but at the same time it exposed the collective base mentality of a government (read a bunch of diehard sycophants of a political dynasty) towards the universal democratic principles that once upheld by the forefathers of our Constitution. It's not only shocking that over five thousand police forces swarmed into action at the midnight to evict a yoga guru who just two days before the incident received a red carpet welcome by the cabinet ministers of this country, but it's equally deplorable that this kind of miscalculated action by your government landed you in a situation where you again committed a glaring blunder by admitting to the fact that “the excess of police action was though unfortunate but unavoidable as there was no alternative” and subsequently lost your credibility as the prime minister of this country.
What your government has done in this incident not only reflects the naivety of statecraft, but also it corroborates to the fact that the collective knowledge of your cabinet on the fundamental rights of citizens empowered by our Constitution is null and void. This is a dangerous proposition for a parliamentary democracy. No amount of argumentation however powerful can justify the brutality of police forces on innocent, unarmed, sleeping women and children that these critical mass can be dangerous to the law and order situation of the capital city of India by immaturely drawing a parallel between Babri masjid incident and an unfounded similar dangerous situation that maybe lurking in the hindsight of your government. No, Mr Prime Minister, this argument doesn't hold any water in the current scenario. What your government has done here to the democratic fabric of this country is irreparable. No amount of apology even from all ranks and files of your cabinet including you can't repair the humongous loss that it has done to the families of victims in this police atrocities.
Mr Prime Minister, there are scores of alternatives to handle the worst dangerous situation even with grace and within the ambit of democratic principles. The Ramlila ground incident is a murder of democracy, which you can't understand it, forget about acknowledging the blunder because you are not an elected representative of people of this country, rather a representative of a dynasty for political convenience. Perhaps, that's the prime reason as to why political compulsions have always overshadowed your intellect and conviction during national crisis whether it's all-pervasive political corruption or crushing of democracy in the recent event. It's still live in public memory when you justified systemic corruption as “coalition dharma” and “political mandate” can even wash away the democratic sins like “horse-trading in the Parliament.” No parliamentarian can claim such immature, unconstitutional statement.
Mr Prime Minister, it won't be quite surprising to notice another emergency during your tenure given the uprising of civil society against systemic corruption and black money issues that have entangled your government in deep soup, and subsequently you will give the same lame excuse that “though this is unfortunate but unavoidable as we don't have an alternative” a cliché that you have got by your heart to fire it whenever condemnations on your actions from public or political parties loom large.
Sir, we are living in 21st century, not in an era of colonial rule where all actions, however dangerous or anti-human or antagonistic, of a ruler stand legitimate. People of India are not subjects of British Raj. We are living in a vibrant democracy where every citizen has fundamental rights to lead his or life with human dignity and grace. Any excess by the government is extremely deplorable and condemnable. As head of the government, you must first oblige to the democratic principles and the Constitution of India, and then probably you can discharge your duty as a prime minister. If you fail to uphold the democratic principles, people of this country will not hesitate to consider you a man of no reason.
Yours sincerely,
An honest citizen
Saturday, March 26, 2011
An introspective period for the Congress
Everything is not hunkydory in the current hot political space of India. The ruling party is literally battered by a series of corruption scandals, many have been unfolded internally and many are peeping out of the holes of WikiLeaks, and the most astounding fact aligned to these trails of corruption is the support of Congress in the UPA alliance in betraying the trusts of a billion plus people and forcing this great nation to a state of despair. The shimmering political instability due to the furore over wide-ranging corruptions, coupled with idiosyncratic disillusioned coalition partners, has tightened the noose around this government. There are many reasons to the evolving political turmoil that has bugged the UPA in general, and the Congress party in specific. If we can remember the history of Congress, as the frequented ruling party at the Centre, it's quite conspicuous that the last three coalition governments led by Congress including the current one have been involved in large-scale corruptions. That said it also doesn't suffice the sanctity or integrity of the Congress as a political party either led by Indira or Rajiv. India has been a silent observer of highhandedness of this party at different points of history including the internal emergency during 1975.
The coalition government, as initiated by the then VP Singh, the crusader of political corruption in India, has lost its true sense. Now it's more dangerous a political option to govern the largest democracy of the world with whims and fancies of regional parties which in every now and then gamble the political decisions in difficult times, whether it's civil nuclear bill or any other bill. The recent government, despite being headed by an honest, intellectual, wise statesman like Dr. Manmohan Singh, has revealed the wildest dark zones of coalition politics. Instead the cognizance of many political offenses happening under his nose, he stands helpless and stoic, for the simple reason that he has to follow his coalition dharma. And the irony is that despite all corruption charges against various UPA coalition partners, he still manages to share a mysterious smile that reveals much of his expression than what he intends to hide from public. That's his eternal magnanimous character to stay cool and keep a blind eye to the political rampage stirred by the coalition partners, and perhaps that's his most preserved strength, which has impressed Sonia Gandhi for last two elections and compelled her to choose him the right candidate as the prime minister. At least, he understands the reality, and has also experienced it many times, that he, being the prime minister of the largest democratic country, is still not an elected representative of people. What could be more exciting than this? But the Congress party will never accrue any long term benefit as Sonia Gandhi aspires a smooth dynastic power transition to Rahul Gandhi in the next election. It seems, as the current political equations are brewing up, Rahul will be the most unfortunate scion of Congress losing a golden chance to rule this nation.
The evidences are clear now. Rahul Gandhi's down-to-earth personality and hardwork haven't even charmed the states across India. Over these years the Congress has lost contacts with the states, and if the regional political upsurges are any denominator of current power matrix, it's quite evident that the next Parliament elections will be disastrous for the Congress. The major states including UP, Bihar, Gujrat, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are either ruled by a regional party or BJP. UP most of the times was ruled by Congress; however, in last two decades, the regional parties took control of the state politics. So, if we seriously analyze the political dynamics of India, the mushrooming regional parties in reality have understood the pains of state citizens, and hence their continued success is an indicative of drastic failure of central parties like Congress and BJP. If anybody in the Congress could seriously understand the importance of state political leadership was none other that Rajiv Gandhi. His unfortunate demise was a turning point in the political aggressiveness of the Congress. And the post-Rajiv Congress party has been absolutely directionless, nonstrategic, and tactless. Both Sonia and Rahul have failed to understand the gravity of reorganization of the party at the state level. Sonia's selection of Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister for consecutive terms was a grave mistake, especially in the lights political standpoints. Though Sonia's fear of losing her leadership control over the party could have been imminent given an alternative to Manmohan Singh, but her worst fear has yet to come, when Rahul will be betrayed by Indian voters in the next election. Though I don't vouch for any senior leadership in Congress for the post of Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi could have been the best bet at least for the 2009 elections, despite his naive and immature stint in politics. Moving away from this option was the grandest mistake executed by Sonia Gandhi, maybe due to fear for some unknown reasons, but those were necessarily irrational. In India, and exclusively in political race, the charisma of any dynasty has been highly effective. If Rahul could have been the Prime Minister, he would have immense power not only in drawing policies effective for state levels, but also could have helped reorganizing the state leadership for the Congress party. The so called grassroots development and especially state concerns have been sidelined by the Centre in last two elections. Being just a remote control of power, Sonia Gandhi has under-weighed the serious reasons in political game, which could bring in devastating results in the next Parliament elections. Still she has time for course correction to evade the imminent danger, if at all she wishes to do. Are you listening, Sonia Ji?
The coalition government, as initiated by the then VP Singh, the crusader of political corruption in India, has lost its true sense. Now it's more dangerous a political option to govern the largest democracy of the world with whims and fancies of regional parties which in every now and then gamble the political decisions in difficult times, whether it's civil nuclear bill or any other bill. The recent government, despite being headed by an honest, intellectual, wise statesman like Dr. Manmohan Singh, has revealed the wildest dark zones of coalition politics. Instead the cognizance of many political offenses happening under his nose, he stands helpless and stoic, for the simple reason that he has to follow his coalition dharma. And the irony is that despite all corruption charges against various UPA coalition partners, he still manages to share a mysterious smile that reveals much of his expression than what he intends to hide from public. That's his eternal magnanimous character to stay cool and keep a blind eye to the political rampage stirred by the coalition partners, and perhaps that's his most preserved strength, which has impressed Sonia Gandhi for last two elections and compelled her to choose him the right candidate as the prime minister. At least, he understands the reality, and has also experienced it many times, that he, being the prime minister of the largest democratic country, is still not an elected representative of people. What could be more exciting than this? But the Congress party will never accrue any long term benefit as Sonia Gandhi aspires a smooth dynastic power transition to Rahul Gandhi in the next election. It seems, as the current political equations are brewing up, Rahul will be the most unfortunate scion of Congress losing a golden chance to rule this nation.
The evidences are clear now. Rahul Gandhi's down-to-earth personality and hardwork haven't even charmed the states across India. Over these years the Congress has lost contacts with the states, and if the regional political upsurges are any denominator of current power matrix, it's quite evident that the next Parliament elections will be disastrous for the Congress. The major states including UP, Bihar, Gujrat, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are either ruled by a regional party or BJP. UP most of the times was ruled by Congress; however, in last two decades, the regional parties took control of the state politics. So, if we seriously analyze the political dynamics of India, the mushrooming regional parties in reality have understood the pains of state citizens, and hence their continued success is an indicative of drastic failure of central parties like Congress and BJP. If anybody in the Congress could seriously understand the importance of state political leadership was none other that Rajiv Gandhi. His unfortunate demise was a turning point in the political aggressiveness of the Congress. And the post-Rajiv Congress party has been absolutely directionless, nonstrategic, and tactless. Both Sonia and Rahul have failed to understand the gravity of reorganization of the party at the state level. Sonia's selection of Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister for consecutive terms was a grave mistake, especially in the lights political standpoints. Though Sonia's fear of losing her leadership control over the party could have been imminent given an alternative to Manmohan Singh, but her worst fear has yet to come, when Rahul will be betrayed by Indian voters in the next election. Though I don't vouch for any senior leadership in Congress for the post of Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi could have been the best bet at least for the 2009 elections, despite his naive and immature stint in politics. Moving away from this option was the grandest mistake executed by Sonia Gandhi, maybe due to fear for some unknown reasons, but those were necessarily irrational. In India, and exclusively in political race, the charisma of any dynasty has been highly effective. If Rahul could have been the Prime Minister, he would have immense power not only in drawing policies effective for state levels, but also could have helped reorganizing the state leadership for the Congress party. The so called grassroots development and especially state concerns have been sidelined by the Centre in last two elections. Being just a remote control of power, Sonia Gandhi has under-weighed the serious reasons in political game, which could bring in devastating results in the next Parliament elections. Still she has time for course correction to evade the imminent danger, if at all she wishes to do. Are you listening, Sonia Ji?
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