Last week, I was alerted to two excellent initiatives: Jaago Re! and ADR.
Jaago Re!’s focus is to get India’s one billion voters to register and participate in the electoral process.
Its uniqueness lies in exploiting technology “…to make registering to vote online a possibility. It also serves as a one-stop-shop solution to all your voting needs.”
On top of that, “…it gives you the opportunity to run your own voter registration drive and be a part of the movement to get the entire country registered!” I whole-heartedly support this initiative and recommend everyone to at least have a look at the website.
I believe Jaago Re! is also partnering with Loksatta in Maharashtra to accelerate voter registration in the state.
ADR or Association for Democratic Reforms was formed almost 9 years ago by a group of academics from IIMs at Bengaluru & Ahmedabad and NID, Ahmedabad. The story of its “birth” is interesting:
It came into being with the filing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court asking for mandatory disclosure of criminal, financial and educational backgrounds of candidates contesting elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures, prior to the polls. The Delhi High Court in 2001 gave a judgment in favour of ADR and the same was challenged by the Government in the Supreme Court. Several political parties also intervened in the matter opposing the Delhi High Court’s judgment.
After a long hearing, the Supreme Court in a land mark judgment upheld the High Court Judgment and directed the Election Commission to issue orders making it mandatory for candidates contesting elections to Parliament and state assemblies to submit affidavits along with their nomination papers giving information about criminal cases pending against them, if any; financial assets of the candidate, his/her spouse and dependents; financial liabilities and educational qualifications of the candidate.
In a bid to dilute the full effect of the judgment, the Government issued an Ordinance amending the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951, partially implementing only the Supreme Court directions. ADR challenged this ordinance and amendment act before the Supreme Court.
In September 2003, the Supreme Court struck down the amendment as unconstitutional and restored its earlier directions. Several State Election Commissions have also passed orders making such declarations mandatory even for Panchayat/local bodies’ elections.
ADR also conducts “Election Watch” activities throughout India, spending considerable time and effort to dig into the backgrounds of political candidates and their antecedents.
Again, I would request everyone to spend some time on their website and think how we can help and work with them.
***
I have an introduction to Prof Trolochan Sastry of IIM-Bangalore, one of the founders of ADR and I hope to speak to him in the next few days.
I do not know Swati and Ramesh Ramanathan of “Janaagraha” (who are behind the Jaago Re! movement) but if any of you know them and are willing to make an introduction, I shall be grateful…otherwise I will “cold call” them in the next few days.
Related Posts:
Politics & Corruption: Here’s how to “fix the system”
What is stopping you from joining active politics?
Fixing the “system” - getting down to the nuts and bolts
Lets come together to build a *new* and proud India
November 2nd, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Corruption in India, Elections Analysis, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance in India |
one comment
*** UPDATE ***
You can still participate in the poll by clicking on clicking on this link. Thanks
***
A few weeks ago, I requested you to take part in a poll on “What is stopping you from joining active politics?“.
I am very pleased with the level of participation. I got over a 100 responses and also some though-provoking comments e.g. “…Fear that at the end I will be forced to be corrupt for survival sake” and “no inner party democracy in any party…”. But first, the results…
Poll: What is stopping you from joining active politics? (only one response was allowed)
Inability to raise funds for campaigning: 24%
Family responsibilities: 20%
Loss of income: 18%
Worry about personal safety: 15%
Fear of not succeeding: 8%
Risk to personal reputation: 6%
Not worth it: 5%
Other: 4%
The single biggest reason(s) stopping good, thinking, committed people from joining active politics are
- inability to raise funds and
- worries about family responsibilities and loss of income
Sanjay of Freedom Team conducted a similar poll on the FTI website for FTI members. The results from that poll revealed that although members were keen to contest elections, 60% of them cited “lack of funds” as the prime reason of dropping out.
Surprisingly, only 10% gave “family reasons” as a reason for not contesting (I guess this is because most FTI members are senior professionals in various fields and are less worried about potential loss of future earnings).
Interestingly, 20% (as against 8% in my poll) mentioned “pessimism of winning” (fear of not succeeding) as a reason for not considering joining active politics. Does this mean there are more pessimists amongst FTI members - or are they more realistic? I will look forward to thoughts and comments from Sanjay, Sanjeev Sabhlok and others on this.
I will add my thoughts and analysis (hopefully) later today…
In the meantime, please share your thoughts, suggestions and ideas on the results…and what would you do to change people’s perceptions re. active politics.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
Related Posts:
What is stopping you from joining active politics?
Fixing the “system” - getting down to the nuts and bolts
Lets come together to build a *new* and proud India
October 26th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Corruption in India, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance in India |
10 comments
Some of you would remember NDTV’s “Big Fight” from a few weeks back where the topic was “Younger politicians - time to take over“.
I had taken some notes while watching the programme and what struck me was that none of the participants (mainly leaders from mainstream political parties) identified what I felt were the *real* reasons why you dont see more “young politicians”…
While I was discussing this with a friend last week, he suggested taking a straw poll on my blog to find out why youngsters (or anyone else for that matter) do not consider politics as a conscious (or a realistic) career choice.
But before that, some quotes from the “Big Fight”:
Abhishek Singhvi: “(we)…need to change the system so that people with alternative talents can get into politics…we have to make politics somewhat of a meritocracy”
Rajiv Pratap Rudy: “…politics has become discredited…No one wants their son or daughter to become a politician today…
Shahid Sidiqui: “…stop demonising politics and politicians; media only shows (the) negative face…that is not true…there are good things in poliics…”
Tavleen Singh: “…we must have younger politicans…but young people who are interested in politics…in doing something for the country…we don’t have that yet…
I have maintained for a very long time that you will not see more people into politics unless you make it pay and it becomes less *risky* (in a real, physical danger sense of the word).
So one of the first challenges is to redefine the way “politics” is currently understood and practised in India…
To check that I am not living on another planet - and following my friend’s advice, here is a quick straw poll:
UPDATE: You can still participate in the poll by clicking this link:
http://www.polldaddy.com/p/969643/
***
Poll continued on sidebar…It will remain open for a few more weeks (I have got about 80 responses already)
Please indicate your votes on the sidebar widget.
***
I will keep this open for a few weeks and then publish the results. Please actively participate and forward this link to your friends. Thanks.
Related Posts:
Fixing the “system” - getting down to the nuts and bolts
Lets come together to build a *new* and proud India
Politics & Corruption: Here’s how to fix the “system”
Do we deserve the politicians we get?
October 4th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Corruption in India, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Politics and Governance in India |
9 comments
Some links for weekend reading:
1. From the Telegraph, an excellent article by Ambassador K Sibal on why borders are (still) relevant.
2. A revealing interview with Govindacharya: Jaitley is BJP’s best, Rajnath saboteur
3. Why Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam may not mean what you think it does and finally,
4. Why India..while enjoying all the characteristics of great power, is unlikely to become one (a 2005 article but still relevant, in my view).
Excerpts from all the three articles are below. Enjoy the weekend.
Keep Reading…
September 5th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Hindu Political Philosophy, Ancient Indian History, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), India & Its Neighbours, Jammu & Kashmir related, Politics and Governance in India |
no comments
Amidst the outpouring of years of pent-up anger in Jammu, I came across this vivid, very sad and intensely poignant first-hand account of living in the shadow of terror and the forced migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley… Please read and circulate widely…
*** Cry of the Valley ***
A cold winter night has fallen outside and the power cut makes it all the more gloomy inside. Huddled together in the warmth of blankets and a kerosene lamp we just sit silently watching each others expressions. I am too young a kid to understand the full implications of what is happening and my younger sister is busy watching a small bug circling the candle our mother had lit in the gallery just outside the kitchen. My thoughts drift from game of cricket I’d played earlier that day to how bright the snow makes outside look. Among all these childish thoughts is a nagging feeling that I’m just not able to get rid of. I feel I’m never going to be in this house again. Never ever in my life will I play cricket with these friends again. Never ever will mother and father have the careless laughs that I so love. Never ever will the things be same again.
It started a few months before in summer when I came home after an extended play session with my friends. Father was waiting for me on the porch of our relatively new house. We were still building the second floor and it already looked like the biggest and the most beautiful house in the community. I especially liked the way the roof was built. There were multiple parts slanting over each other and I couldn�t wait for winter to see the snow sliding off these. I knew father had worked day and night to take us from a one room kitchen-cum-bedroom place to this house. The evidence of his hard work was on his callous fingertips that had hardened by continuous writing on multiple carbon separated sheets of paper that he used while teaching. I met him at the porch of our house and my instincts had sharpened enough to know that I was in trouble. But usually I knew beforehand. This time did not have the slightest of clues. The day had been good so far and I had behaved within reasonable limits. The bigger issue was not that I was in for a tough time, the problem was that I did not know the severity of the mischief I was going to be accused of and therefore couldn�t estimate the severity of the punishment. Anyway, I sat down with a feeling of a lump in my throat. Then he told me something that surprised me. He had heard me arguing with a couple of friends over a game of cricket a few hours earlier. He told me that I was to stop doing that I should either play without arguments or stop going out for fun altogether. I couldn’t understand this. From the time I could remember, these small arguments were the part of fun we kids had. Elders never cared to comment on such silly things and now I was facing an expression on my fathers face which was as serious as it I’ve ever known it. If I didn�t know my father better I’d have argued to get to the bottom of this but wizened with previous unpleasant thrashings I decided against that.
I didn’t have to wait long to get the cause of my father’s concern. In a couple of weeks one of my cricketing buddies was missing from the game. When I suggested that friend we should go to his home and call him, one other friend said that he was not home but had traveled across the border to get training in handling weapons. Without me knowing so at that time, I’d just had my first brush with the extremism that would change our lives forever. Suddenly the world around me had changed in a way that I could never imagine. My friends one-by-started going missing. Muslim kids went across the border and Hindus mainly started to migrate across to other parts of the country. I started spending more and more time at home. When the schools closed the previous fall for winter break little did anyone know that they would never reopen. As a child that was a welcome development for me. I could have all the time in the world to myself for play and mischief. But the irony was that I couldn’t go out anymore and there was nobody else to go out with.
Keep Reading…
August 4th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
A Hindu Identity, An Indian Identity, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Hindu Dharma, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Jammu & Kashmir related, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Post Independence History |
10 comments
Like most of you, I watched and read about the proceedings of the last few days with a sense of sadness and great shame…Amidst all this, these words by Radha Rajan touched a raw nerve… Please read and think…(emphasis added)
*** The Nation as Draupadi ***
Parliament on 22nd July resembled the court of the Kauravas with the Speaker playing Dritharashtra. Every individual in parliament on that day, notwithstanding the party to which he or she belonged, was some character in the shameful court and I was the nation.
When the Prime Minister scornfully tabled his written response to the two-day debate with the Speaker instead of facing the Members of Parliament and addressing their concerns verbally, he was only underscoring parliament’s irrelevance in concluding international agreements and treaties.
This is a serious deficiency in the country’s democracy in theory and in practice because when parliament is rendered impotent to influence government decisions impinging on national security, it amounts to disregarding the sense of the House and the will of the people. It is a chilling truth that on that fateful day not one member in the august house, in the treasury or the opposition, faithfully represented the voter who put him or her there. As the end results proved, many of them were disloyal even to the party to which they belonged.
�
The Lok Sabha voted, not on the nuclear deal (it has no locus standi, as pointed out, to decide on international treaties) but on a trust vote sought by the Prime Minister on behalf of his government. Had the Prime Minister lost the trust vote, the country would have been faced with premature elections with the distinct possibility that several sitting MPs may not return to the House.
Not surprisingly, while the government did not want to fall, MPs fearful of not returning to the next Lob Sabha, also did not want the government to fall. The game of dice began and in the bizarre context of the ruling party and a section of the opposition sharing the same anxiety, the players staked the nation’s resources, her interests and eventually her dignity.
Keep Reading…
July 23rd, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Indian History, Corruption in India, Current Affairs, Debates & Discussions, Elections Analysis, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), Indian Economy, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Technology in India |
11 comments
If you thought that the N-deal had nothing to do with religion, think again…
After being labelled as anti-Islamic, the N-deal has now ruffled the feathers of Sikhs (or to be more precise, a fewSikhs)…
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) said on Saturday…The Sikh Prime Minister of India has never consulted us (the community) on this (nuclear deal) issue. Then, how can we support him? [ link ]
I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry…
Asked aboutthenuclear deal,Sardar Simranjit Singh Mannsaid: we do not mind the deal if India denuclearises, signs NPT and CTBT and puts all its reactors under IAEA controls. Great. Does ShriSingh realise the implications of what he is suggesting?
But then this comesfrom a party that proudly proclaims it is”fighting for Sikhs rights and (an) independent, sovereign, buffer state between nuclear Hindu India and nuclear Islamic Pakistan”…That however does not prevent most of the office bearers from living happily in “Nuclear Hindu India”.
I wonder what are the grounds for charging someone with sedition and/or treason in Bharat?
Meanwhile there are signs ofsome confusion within the “other” (mainstream) Shiromani Akali Dal…
While it is commited to support its allies in NDA in opposing the UPA government, there is“a view in the SAD to support PM Manmohan Singh on the deal on the son of the soil plank [ link ]
Stupid me..Ithought this was about national interest and not petty politics…Wonder what Shri Amar Singh-ji has to say.
…and I am now waiting for someone to label the N-deal as anti-Hindu!
July 13th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Politics and Governance in India |
7 comments
Sh. Amar Singh:
We are not wheeler-dealers…All our politics is about national interest…
:-|
Have a restful,enjoyable weekend…
July 4th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Elections Analysis, Indian Economy, Politics and Governance in India |
one comment
I am no fan of Ashis Nandi and disagree strongly with many of his views but I just cannot accept the argument that his writings or thoughts should be banned/censored.
There are other (better) ways of dealing with his arguments and deconstructing them…
Calling for a ban on his writings or calls for his arrest puts us in the same league as fanatics calling for Taslima’s blood.
For those of you who missed it, here is the original article- which started it all. Many of you will find the comments on this site interesting too.
Some of you may have also read this statement signed by the big and the famous amongst our activists protesting against Ashis Nandy’s harassment…
Unfortunately the mask slips halfway through the press release:
“The harassment of well-known intellectuals and artists hides we fear, the daily intimidation being faced by members of minorities and especially the Muslims in Gujarat…”
No mention of Taslima, Kashmiri Pandits etc etc…
Having said all that, I am curious as to what Ashis thinks of his younger brother’s ideological leanings.
P.S. Personally, I did not find anything “objectionable” in the article…Some of the arguments were invalid, yes; It contained some sweeping generalisations, yes; It smelt of armchair analysis, yes…but objectionable content - I dont think so.
What do readers think?
Related Posts:
UPDATED: Is Taslima being treated differently from MFHusain?
Will Arundhati Roy pl. stand up for Francois Gautier?
MF Husain, Artistic Freedom and a sense of djvu
My Personal View on MF Husains Paintings
July 2nd, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Hindu Dharma, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Indian Media, Media Related, Politics and Governance in India |
2 comments
Finance Minister unveils the Budget.
But maybe not.
“If you have nothing else to say about the Budget, then you can call it election-budget,” he said in a tone tinged with sarcasm at the customary post-budget briefing.
I picked up these couple of *interesting* items.
Interesting tidbit # 1:
Farm loan waiver revolutionary step: Sonia
“Today is a very happy occasion. The waiver of loans on farmers by the UPA government is a revolutionary step…I congratulate the UPA government and Finance Minister P Chidambaram for it”
The interesting bit is”a large gathering of farmers…descended at her 10, Janpath residence soon after the announcement of the relief in the Union Budget 2008-09” !!
I wonder where they were hiding until the budget was announced.
Interesting tidbit # 2:
FM doubles allocation for minority welfare
Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced that the allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs has been increased from Rs 500 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 1,000 crore in 2008-09….
A total of 256 branches of public sector banks have been opened this year until December 2007 in districts with substantial minority population. He also said that 288 more will be opened by March 2008*.
The bit that caught my eye: “Chidambaram further announced that more candidates belonging to the minority communities will be recruited in the Central Para-Military Forces.”
Hmmm…Do the paramilitary forces come under the control of Finance Ministry? Last I heard they were still under the MHA…Just curious.
If any of you noticed something else in the Budget that I may have missed, please share it here.
* In this context, some of you will find this post interesting: Specious Arguments and FalsePropoganda
.
March 1st, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Indian Economy, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement |
2 comments
…but there is no मराठी in there.
This was the thrust of a�discussion I had with a group of Maharashtrian professionals earlier this month when the “Maharashtra saga” was just beginning to unfold. See some of the slides here (CAUTION:�800k download A Question of�Identity).
Then Anil Sharma-ji of Freedom Team alerted me to this article by Pratap Bhanu Mehta (”His freedoms and ours”, Feb 18) which I felt best captured my thoughts on the going-ons in “Aamchi Mumbai” (excerpts below; emphasis mine).
“…Thackeray deserves all the blame he is getting. But it is also time to be blunt and graceless about one disturbing fact. The response of the political class as a whole has been deeply disturbing in its own way along more dimensions than one.
…most prominent Maharashtra politicians have been at best very tepid, at worst downright equivocal, in their condemnation of Thackeray�s underlying arguments. This is the kind of issue that requires politicians from Maharashtra to express unequivocal outrage. Not one major leader, from Sharad Pawar to Vilasrao Deshmukh, has expressed the requisite sense of outrage or engaged in the kind political symbolism that can assure all Indian citizens that they are not quietly complicit in this dangerous madness.
…The absence of such signals suggests that the rot in our polity is deeper.
Second, we seem to be fundamentally confused over what this crisis represents….On the one hand, we want to boil it all down to politics. But in democracy when we say that there is a political logic behind some move, it is as much of an indictment of the voters as it is of politicians. On the other hand, we want to reaffirm our fundamental virtue. This is a fringe movement, we want to claim. The daily practices of life, the great ability to live with difference that most Indians embody, so the argument goes, are far too robust to be damaged by marginal elements.
But either way we are in trouble. If indeed, such ideological mobilisation can get mass traction we are in trouble. But even if this is a marginal movement, the fact that a lakshman rekha around what citizenship means in modern India has been crossed portends danger.
We can lose, because large numbers of people turn over to the dark side; or we can lose, because large numbers of people, even though they have not turned over to the dark side, are willing to let the fringe run riot. Either way we lose.
Third, this crisis reveals yet again the colossal leadership vacuum India is facing.
We have assorted chief ministers protesting at the goings-on in Maharasthtra. But they also use a language that refers to their particular constituencies…But no one at the national level is a credible, consistent and forceful embodiment of the basic constitutional values we need to defend.
The symbolic functions of leaders, whether they be leaders of parties or holders of high office, is that they consistently remind the nation of the boundaries that cannot be breached. But most of our leaders deal with these sorts of crises in avoidance mode.
…But we are now in a political environment where the refusal of our important leaders to express outrage will only embolden every two-bit leader to occupy centrestage.
Fourth, and perhaps most seriously, we need to move away from a discourse of diversity to a discourse about freedom.
Of course diversity is something to be cherished, but all the talk of diversity can also lead to some fundamental confusions. For one thing, diversity is quite compatible with segregation and even hierarchy. We often cherish diversity so long as everyone is in their rightful place. The minute implied boundaries are breached, populations mixed, cultures transformed, we scurry back to the protection of our enclaves….”
At least one political leader though has taken a “stand” on this…and I admire him even more for his forthright honesty:
Here is George Fernandes on Raj Thackeray�(excerpts below; emphasis mine)
“…In a letter written to Mr Raj Thackeray, Mr Fernandes said, �The road you have chosen is by making it known that your politics is going to be through violence…
…Mr Fernandes (also) said, �Do be from Maharashtra but be an Indian first...”
Well said, Shri Fernandes and I salute you for being outright and unequivocal in your condemnation.
February 19th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
An Indian Identity, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Politics and Governance in India, Post Independence History |
97 comments
Came across Barun Mitra’s excellent article in Mint re. theideology of “socialism” that all of us are forcedto adhere to.
Excerpts:
“…under the Representation of the People Act, all political parties in India (also) have to pledge allegiance…to socialism.
…The socialist intent of the Preamble has been extended by law to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, (RP Act) through an amendment in 1988…Rajiv Gandhis government introduced this amendment when the ruling Congress party enjoyed three-fourths majority in Parliament.
…at the root of this change, was the infamous 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, enacted by the Congress government under then prime minister Indira Gandhi during the days of national emergency, in 1976. The Bill had proposed nearly 60 amendmentsone of these amended the Preamble to the Constitution to term India a sovereign, secular, socialist democratic republic.
When the Janata Party formed government after the Congress lost the 1977 election, it sought to undo a lot of the draconian provisions of the 42nd Amendment, but retained the section that pertained to socialism and secularism in the Preamble.
…However, B.R. Ambedkar, the man who helped draft the Constitution, specifically gave his reason for the non-inclusion of the word socialism when it was sought to be inserted into the Preamble by another member during the deliberations.
Ambedkar did not want the Constitution to tie down future generations. He said in the Assembly on 15 November, 1948 :
(H)ow the society should be organized in its social and economic side are matters which must be decided by the people themselves according to time and circumstances. It cannot be laid down in the Constitution itself, because that is destroying democracy altogether It is perfectly possible today, for the majority people to hold that the socialist organization of society is better than the capitalist… But it would be perfectly possible for thinking people to devise some other form…which might be better than the socialist organization of today or of tomorrow.
…there is now an opportunity to seriously reconsider this whole issue.
…What is at stake is not whether one believes in the tenets of socialism or secularism.
At stake is the democratic and political process, which includes campaigning and convincing the people of any particular political ideology; and the freedom of the people to choose from the competing policies.
Democracy is not just about majority rule, it is also about the freedom enjoyed by those who hold a minority opinion today to win over their fellow citizens. Without that freedom, democracy cannot have any substance….”
Keep Reading…
January 25th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Elections Analysis, Indian Economy, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement, Post Independence History |
no comments
Extracts from Shri B Raman’a article in the recent edition of Outlook (Dec 24 ‘07), “The Secular Hypocrisy“:
***
…The pathological dislike–even hatred–that some of our journalists–particularly in the electronic media–have for Modi could be seen or sensed as one watched the TV coverage of the counting of votes on December 23, 2007. Initially, as it appeared that the BJP might not do well in the final tally, there was excitement among many of the TV anchors. They thought they had tasted blood. After an hour, the BJP candidates started racing ahead and it became clear the the Congress (I) was in for a drubbing.
The disappointment on the faces of some of the anchors was to be seen to be believed. A five-star lady anchor could not help remarking: “Modi might be able to win the elections in Gujarat, but he still can’t get a visa to go to the US and other Western countries.” Some consolation!
Keep Reading…
January 1st, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
A Hindu Identity, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Hindu Dharma, Identity, Impact of Islam on India, Politics and Governance in India, Politics of Minority Appeasement |
19 comments
When Shri Manmohan Singh became Prime Minister, several people - me included, applauded the decision believing that at last India had a credible and respected face to present to the world.
Over time, this hope began to give way to disillusionment - as Shri Singh’s performance began to fall short of expectations…and he seemed to get deeper and deeper into the cesspool of Indian politics.
It got to a point where I began to wonder whether Shri Singh had any personal convictions left at all- or was he just holding the position and the seat for the heir apparent.
But worse was yet to come…
In October, after a false show of bravado, the PM finally succumbed to the Left’s threat on the N-deal…
It is a pity that he has chosen to continue as a Prime Minister even though his personal convictions may not be aligned with the powers that be - and it is a shame that he continues to let himself be the front man for a government that is driven by remote control.
I will repeat what Acorn said in a post a few weeks back:
“Dont shatter the illusions of hundreds of millions of people who overlook the follies of your government because they take your sincerity at face value. Please resign, and through the manner of your exit, prove your criticsThe Acorn among themwrong.”
Unfortunately Acorn is unlikely to be proven wrong and Shri Manmohan Singh’s is likely to go down in history as just another power-hungry politician…which is the real shame.
It did not have to end like that.
Karan Thapar, who was convinced that the PM would resign should the nuclear deal fall through wrote at that time:
“…If something as important as this is jettisoned for another 18 months in office, the verdict of history will be that the PM has opted for his own interests and his party’s interest over his country’s interests…“
Jettisoning the deal wasexactly what the PM did…and that is Bharat’s real misfortune.
In a recent story about Indian Politics, The Economist noted(at the time when the communists’ opposition to the nuclear deal became clear):
…neither Mrs Gandhi nor Mr Singh had the nerve to take such a gamble (calling for early general elections) against the wishes of their coalition partners.
Most of these want to cling to their power and perks until nearer May 2009, the latest an election can be held.
I had hoped better from Shri Singh… but I have been disappointed.
Will we ever have leaders who put national interest above selfish gains and party politics?
Related Post: Do we deserve the politicians weget?
.
See also: An Open letter to Smt Sonia Gandhi
November 3rd, 2007
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), Politics and Governance in India |
7 comments
