At one of the most pity democratic circumstances of Kerala,
Jayalaxmi was the only woman able and available to represent 18 million women
of Kerala in the state ministry. By any chance, if the constitution of India
directs that, logically every state should have a women chief minister for half
of its term…We will think about that when that time comes. But it is the time
to think about India, it has either a Hindu fanatic who has perpetrated to kill
thousands of innocent Muslims; or the great grandson of Nehru, who has proved
himself as a flop leader, to become the Prime Minister.
Congress, a party that was formed over a century ago for
certain other purposes at a very different social context has lost its
ideological existence in more than one reason. Moreover, the mass response in
the assembly polls reveal that the huge welfare programmes and policies of the
centre could not cover the big blot of corruption the party is carrying. Its leader Rahul Gandhi, who has always shown immaturity in his outbursts, can
never be imagined as the Prime Minister of India. It is awful to imagine him rolling
his sleeves up in an international forum to make his points heard.
He is no more a naive politician, but he is not an efficient
leader, as he has proved in his performance in the parliament and in his
leadership in the party as well. Wherever he went to speak, people not only
deserted the meeting but also failed the party candidate. Despite his bad
reputation of leading the party to failure after failure, he is not only hanging
on the top position of the congress party but also going to be the prime
ministerial candidate of the party or UPA only because of his lineage in the
dynasty. As a late consciousness, if
congress party is going to field Rahul as the Prime Ministerial candidate, not
only the people of India are not going to accept him but even the congress
workers are also not going to accept him. Let him restrict congress to win two
digits in the parliament Loksabha election!
But is Modi the alternative? To rule the largest democracy in
the world, is there no one other than a tainted man of a pogrom that killed
over a thousand innocent Muslims; who is known as the merchant of death? By
racing a unity run, can the sins of a holocaust or the shame of a genocide
meted on our great nation be undone? Anyone who is proud to be an Indian and
proud to live in the country of Gandhi should feel regret to see a Hindu
fundamentalist autocrat like him becoming the prime minister of India.
Religious extremism and materialistic growth are the two
hallmarks of Modi. For sure, in the hands of Modi, who has not given a single
seat to any non-Hindus in Gujrat, the secular fabric of India is going to be
shattered into pieces. The much propagated Gujarat model of development, that
is contract, construct and campaign will only increase the gap between the
haves and have-nots. It was Chandra Babu Naidu who experimented this kind of
cosmetic development approach earlier; his rule was propagated inside and
outside the state, and he made sure that his glory is covered by other countries’
media as well. But even before the end of his rule, thousands of farmers
committed suicide. It took years to
revamp the dilapidated rural economy of Andhra and Naidu became the least
preferred leader of AP today.
Modi’s campaign of Gujarat model can only be compared to
Vajpayee government’s shining India campaign. Gujrat has a long history of
trade relations, industrial growth, natural resources and all kinds of economic
prosperity, yet it is one of the least performing states in terms of human
development index, literacy, universal education, health care, infant mortality
rate and many other indicators of social development. Although Kerala was one of the poorest states
of India in the early years of
Independence, it invested in people and in social development, thus Kerala has
now become the most developed state in India according to the 2013 Raghuram Rajan
committee report, whereas Gujrat did not show up within the top 10 states. While
knowing that Gujarat is one of the least performing states in the ‘Aadhar’
drive, we can understand that how far administration goes to the masses beyond
the smoke screen of tar and concrete. Then, to bluff whom is this bandwagon?
Indeed, India doesn't have a single politician with the guts
to fairly collect the tax and spent for the decent living of its citizens. Industrialist
lobbies and middlemen are actively gearing for Modi’s advent, for the
celebration of the private sector as the Ambani brothers are already enjoying
in Gujrat now. Well, with the ‘nano’ saga even Tata is a Modi fan; all the
capitalists foresee a fertile soil in Modi’s land!
No one is sceptical about BJPs ability to do corruption as their notorious leaders have proved wherever they came to power. It is only an ongoing argument in the country that which party is more corrupt. But we all know that they are together for corruption. Modi’s nation-wide advertisement for unity run and ambition to erect 150 feet tall Patel statue show that he lives in an utopian India, not in a country of the largest number of extreme poor in the world.
No one is sceptical about BJPs ability to do corruption as their notorious leaders have proved wherever they came to power. It is only an ongoing argument in the country that which party is more corrupt. But we all know that they are together for corruption. Modi’s nation-wide advertisement for unity run and ambition to erect 150 feet tall Patel statue show that he lives in an utopian India, not in a country of the largest number of extreme poor in the world.
Here arises the question; are we ready for a ‘broom
revolution’? The ripples of jasmine revolution of course came to India;
millions took to the streets. It was not
just a protest against crime against women but resentment to the anarchy and
corruption that people are fed up with. AAP, that raised a few slogans and
messages that everyone wanted to say, dashed to power without any politicians in
it, within months after its formation. That means, despite political allegiance
people of India are desperately looking for someone who can clean up Indian
political scene.
The resonant of Jasmine revolution heard in India in the form
of a mass movement for Lokpal bill, a very democratic form of demand for a
corrupt free India. Anna Hazare’s popularity as a reformist and Gandhian added impetus
to this movement. But it was Aravind Kejriwal who made it as a massive movement
due to his skills as a great coordinator and die-hard fighter against
corruption. When Aravind went a step ahead with forming a political party Anna
Hazare parted away. Ideological differences of Hazare as a moderate can be
understood, but had that movement not become a political party, that wouldn't be
a making a serious impact in the fight against corruption. Anna Hazare team has not yet realized that politics is the logical culmination for every movement.
Now Aravind Kejriwal has proved that he was right in his
decision, it is the time all others including Anna Hazare to join hand together
with them if we are against corruption. A disenchanted electorate is clearly behind
the sounding mandate to AAP which made an ambitious lap from the
anti-corruption (Lokpal) movement. We need to realise that they are an
instrument for us to realise our aspirations to restore power to the people. Beyond
congress Parivar, sangh Parivar and the local selfish Parivars we need a group
of learned and committed people not to lead themselves but to lead us; lead our
nation.
In the wake of the nation heading into the hands of either to
a dreaded criminal fanatic or to an inept inexperienced dynasty successor,
Yogendra Yadav a well-known psephologist, social scientist and former
university lecturer and a leader of AAP said “an election between Modi versus Rahul Gandhi will be a
tragedy for the country”. If you and I agree with this, it can be the right
time to mobilise a political alternative. As Aravind Kejriwal once said, history
will never forgive us unless we utilise this opportunity to cleanse the corrupt
Indian political system.
Michael Manjalloor
michaelmanjalloor@gmil.com
