Fifth Column: Hankering for political power

Only recently did Rahul Gandhi admit publicly that he needed to speak with respect when he spoke of Narendra Modi because he was Prime Minister of India.

Written by Tavleen Singh | Published: March 4, 2018 12:18 am

fifth column: Hankering for political power

Only recently did Rahul Gandhi admit publicly that he needed to speak with respect when he spoke of Narendra Modi because he was Prime Minister of India.

Political power is the ultimate intoxicant anywhere but more so in half-made democracies like our dear old Bharat Mata. And, nobody has been more intoxicated with it than the Dynasty that has ruled India for more than half our life as a modern nation. So it took Rahul Gandhi more than three years to accept that his birthright had been snatched away from him by the son of a ‘chaiwallah’. Only recently did he admit publicly that he needed to speak with respect when he spoke of Narendra Modi because he was Prime Minister of India. His courtiers have never accepted this simple truth and lately accept it even less because they believe that the game is up for the man they continue to see as a lowly usurper.

Already, they have started behaving as if the Congress has won Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and possibly later even Uttar Pradesh. It is true that states run by BJP chief ministers have performed no miracles in terms of either ‘parivartan’ or ‘vikas.’ As I have pointed out ad nauseum in this column, if the Prime Minister wants a second term he must call his chief ministers and demand why there is no sign of real change in their states? Why do they govern as if all that has changed is the political party in power? Why have they not understood that the massive mandate they were given was because it was massive change that Indian voters hoped they would get?

What we must also start asking though is if the Congress party has in the past three years come up with anything to offer India other than the Dynasty. Has it come up with education and health policies that would give India’s poorest citizens the tools to rise above the poverty line? Has it come up with ideas on administrative reform that would reduce the size of government? Has it evolved an economic policy that goes beyond saying that Congress is on the side of the poor? Does it have a foreign policy that would save us from China’s expansionist presence in our neighbourhood?

These questions rarely get asked by my brethren in the media (most of us continue to despise Modi), so Congress acolytes and spokesmen get away with telling us daily that Modi has failed on every front. They have become so good at spreading this message that Amit Shah was comically defensive last week when he said that Rahul Gandhi was demanding an account of the BJP’s 48 months in power without noticing that he should be giving an account of his family’s 48 years in power.

A comment that is neither interesting nor relevant anymore. It was relevant in 2014 but now India’s voters want to know the answers to much more important questions as does your ever humble columnist. On my travels in BJP states I am constantly asking myself why so little has changed. In fairness, it must be said that the Swachh Bharat campaign is showing results on the ground and there is some evidence that roads are being built more speedily and that there has been investment in connectivity. I am pleased to report that 4G pops up on my cellphone almost everywhere I go and most small towns now have public facilities that provide Internet services.

Where there is a frightening absence of change is in the state of rural schools and healthcare. What is more frightening still is that in rural parts of BJP states the most basic of human needs, clean drinking water, remains unavailable. When I return to Delhi from one of my rural tours what annoys me most is the smug disdain with which BJP leaders treat the reports I bring them. They bang on about how every Indian will have a house by 2022 and how it will have electricity and running water and perhaps even Internet connectivity. I listen in amazement and notice that they appear as intoxicated with political power as the men and women they replaced.

Well it is time they noticed that those men and women are now eagerly anticipating their chance to return to political glory. India’s tragedy is that if their dreams come true they have nothing to offer us except more of the things that kept India poor and our democracy feeble. Take a close look at the faces in the inner circle of Rahul Gandhi and you will see that they are nearly all heirs to some political dynasty. Then listen to the things they say and all that you hear about are the failures of Modi.

What we need to start hearing more is what new ideas we can hope to see them come up with. Are there any that will benefit India? Not just their families and friends? If so then can we please hear them?

Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter @ tavleen_singh

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