Men, Matters & Memories
M L Kotru
Much as I dislike the idea of having the bristling, bearded saffronite bigot, Mr. Narendra Modi as my country’s Prime Minister, a shiver runs down my spine when someone suggests Arvind Kejriwal, the self-righteous political parvenu, a walking-talking monument to sanctimoniousness, as a possible substitute; mention Rahul Gandhi and I get goose bumps all over, scared stiff to hear him mouthing his constant refrain “We/I gave you RTI, MNREGA, Food Security”, a presumptuous 43-year-old who genuinely believing that listeners are really taken in by the paens he showers on his ‘dadi (Indira), father (Rajiv) and mother (Sonia). His authoritarian “aur sunno” (listen to me, you), followed by that affected repetition of sounds, like “We (Gandhi’s) gave you the RTI. MNREGA, Food Security, mobile phones and computers,” leaves me (the audiences) cold.
So, come to think of it, there is hardly any choice for me. Yes, it is and take your pick : tweedledum or tweedledee. And yet I am confronted each evening on the idiot box by self-proclaimed analysts, from the media, academics, “analysts”, sociologists and assorted know-alls. The news channels, of course, have already, or almost, made up their minds who the winner will be. And there are panelists galore waiting for that wink of recognition from a TV studio and I don’t include designated party spokesmen in the list, who keep on hammering in their “considered thoughts” for the day.
All in all, I find the campaign so far distressingly predictable. Which is only to be expected from partisans and the party men alike? And it’s the predictability of the discourse that leaves you wondering whenever you tune in to the evening programmers. They are truly a bore, particularly when the panelists appearing on various channels are virtually the same, one after another. At the end of the day you are no wiser, except the “competing” channels and the expert panelists appearing each night and making a respectable package each at the end of the day, some driving up to the studios, and others speaking from the comfort of their offices or homes.
And, this I believe, will be our staple for the next ten to 12 weeks as India moves to poll-wards, ardently hoping and praying that the people will elect a qualitatively different lot this once.
The ides of March, are synonymous to most with the fall of the Roman Empire and the assassination of Julius Caesar. In our case too the odds appear to be heavily loaded against the present dispensation, empire, not to mention the assassination of civility and good behaviour that has marked the campaign so far, the prime gladiators already in the arena, all primed up for the battle of the ballot. I mentioned the uncivil tone of the utterances of some of the combatants which to my mind was set right at the beginning by the man who many believe may head a future coalition in New Delhi, the mauler from Ahmedabad, Mr. Narendra Modi, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial face. Of course, it will be argued that Modi mentioned Sonia Gandhi’s Italian links earlier on because Sonia had once not hesitated in describing Modi as ‘Maut ka Saudagar’.
There will be more of such unbecoming banter as the prime movers and shakers gird their loincloths and ghararas to give a dirtier edge to an already rancorous campaign.
Corruption, as Kejriwal’s AAP tells us is the single most important issue, Modi is all for good governance and Rahul harps on inanities like woman’s empowerment, RTI and the Opposition parties’ failure to let the UPA pass reformist legislation; he won’t explain why the UPA failed to get all these Bills passed in the preceding four and half years and how come his party had saved these for the last working day of the outgoing Lok Sabha and why it was particularly keen now on a backdoor entry for the bills via the ordinance route.
The UPA is currently waging a desperate battle to see the Lokpal in place. Two very eminent jurists, Mr. Fali Nariman and retired Supreme Court Judge KV Thomas have refused to serve on the selection committee. In Mr. Nariman’s words anyone who applies for appointment as Lokpal, as prescribed by the Act, obviously does not deserve even to be considered. People deserving of such onerous offices do not apply for the job. That simple.
The Modi campaign is in a class all its own. For it would have us believe that he is the chosen one of the gods (and the RSS) to transform India in “sixty months” (five years) from its present ‘dire straits’ to a world beyond the American, Chinese and Japanese. Prosperity would flow like milk and milk products do from Gujarat’s famed Amul works; power and water surpluses would be a common place as allegedly in Modi’s Gujarat. His State’s model would be replicated nationwide. Kejriwal, likewise, would put corrupt politicians and hated corporates, Mukesh Ambani especially, behind bars. That he believes would usher in a hitherto unknown era of prosperity, so Kejriwal believes. He has yet to tell us how exactly he will provide for the subsidies he needs to supply water, power and petrol at rock-bottom prices. Probably, he is convinced that the likes of Ambani’s will cough up the money to ensure their acceptability in the AAP durbar. Then we have the third front. What the Front does have in plenty, apart from the grand illusion, is prime ministerial hopefuls led by J. Jayalalitha, Mulayam Singh Yadav and even the Nitish Kumar whose party’s fate appears uncertain. They promise a secular utopia or just utopia with truck-loads of gifts like TV sets, computers, bicycles and even liberal supply of rice at throwaway prices.
And if you have any doubt about the Front’s ability to produce a leader of genuine stature just recall how Jayalaliltha celebrated her birthday in Chennai the other day. The eternal film star, she had her life-size portraits displayed alongside those of world leaders including President Obama and George Bush. Did you say you saw the portrait of the North Korean leader there Kim Jong-un? Yes he was duly represented. How could Amma have forgotten the dearest leader from North Korea.
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