Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi appears modest and pretty sound-reasoning when he says, Strength to me is not brute force or the ability to bulldoze your way through decision-making in an autocratic manner. He may say what he feels would be a morale-booster for him and his party that was so miserably decimated in the last assembly poll. But how far can he bulldoze his way through the UPA hierarchy comes straight from the style he demonstrated while trashing the ordinance to nullify a Supreme Court order disqualifying convicted law-makers, an issue on which Rahul seemed to differ from the govt view. He went out of the way to say the ordinance must be torn and thrown away. That, too, at a time when his Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, was travelling abroad. In the first place, that remonstration of young Gandhi was apparently contrived and invested with politically expedient and markedly insidious take on the issue, creating the perception that Rahul was the ultimate power centre within the ruling system which meant business, moving to a cleaner, finer path of governance. Months later, Rahul Gandhi now somewhat on the defensive, explains in an interview that he had trashed the ordinance to articulate the public opinion. What Rahul Gandhi and his mom, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, conveniently forgot in the process was that the voter today is sufficiently aware of such wiles. PM was terribly miffed and felt dwarfed over Rahuls surfeit, but as a protege chief executive in governance, hardly had a choice to beat an arrogance that had the potential to go overboard in greater measure. Dr Singh was apparently flustered, more so because the Cabinet had cleared the draft duly blessed by Mrs Gandhi. Here the question is not one of an issue involved, but is one of the style of functioning. Incessant inflow of power generates autocratic influences and arrogance. BJPs prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi is no exception. Its in his nature not to brook much of dissent when it comes to decision-making and administrative functioning. Maybe, he has done well in Gujarat on developmental front and is strong and progressive in thought and action, but since our democratic system involves inclusive approach to issues and problems, Modi too is seen pronouncedly wanting, partly due to his temperament and partly also due to the continued flow of Chief Ministerial power into his third term, something that has inflated his ego to a critical level. Modi as the chief contender for power at the Centre and Rahu Gandhi as a key prospective challenger have to land on the ground. Let any of them assume power after the next round of poll, but it would be essential for the eventual winner to overcome his basic temperamental infirmity, which may look insignificant now, but may prove disastrous for the nation when the things gain steam for the victor to carry his ego further to an alarming level, irrespective of the presence of hundreds of minions around. Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party is well poised as a serious game spoiler for the national parties, but may not spoil it too badly. As for the regional conglomerates put together, loosely under yet-to-be-formed federal front, power looks a distant dream. But they may gain individually in coalition partnerships with the winning combination !
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 10:07:25 +0000
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