Will National
Herald case weaken Gandhis?
The allegations of misuse of funds of the
Indian National Congress to buy Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), a firm that
published the National Herald, a now defunct publication linked to the party,
has put the spotlight on the Gandhis. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are the main
shareholders of Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL). The National Herald case has today
indisputably acquired a political dimension.
This case reminds one of the arrest of
former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in October 1977 on charges of abuse of
power brought forward under the Janata Party government. She used it to
mobilise her defeated party and revive sympathy for the Congress amongst the
people, heralding a political comeback. The major difference has been that
unlike the 70s when the central government set the national narrative through
state-controlled media, news sources have become largely democratised. It has
become infinitely difficult for vested interests to set the national agenda and
thereby control people's minds.
In 1977 the Janata Party was the main
reason for Congress returning to power. It was filled with geriatrics who were
simply not team players. Their preoccupation was the humbling of Mrs. Gandhi
and then become prime ministers themselves. Mrs. Gandhi was a seasoned
politician who joined the political process when India was not even free. She
knew the state leaders, she knew to campaign and she was not averse to mingling
with anti-social elements. Neither
Sonia nor Rahul are cut from the same cloth. Also, the National Herald case is
tawdry and regardless of their noble motives. They will still have to prove
that their actions were legal in the court and they will still have to show
that their actions were in the party's interest to the general public.
The show of party solidarity with the
Gandhis when they appeared at Delhi’s Patiala House court was evidently
genuine, drawing from a feeling that the future of the Gandhis is inextricably
linked to the future of the Congress. It is not understood as to why the whole
Congress party sticks with the Gandhi mother and son duo despite their
failings. There are better and more sincere stalwarts in the Congress who deserve
a better deal.
When people in government in other
countries face corruption charges, they face legal action against them and
fight it in their individual capacity. But nowhere are common people in their
hundreds and thousands joining together to express their solidarity with the
accused leaders or mobilised to demonstrate the strength of the accused leaders
as we find in our country. This culture is more prevalent in Tamil Nadu and
Delhi. It is simply sycophantic if not intimidatory. It is also sheer waste of
man hours for crowd to collect just to shout slogans which are not going to
influence the course of events.
If you study the tactics adopted by
Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to keep India under their control you will find that Nehru
allowed division of India, Indira showed only muscle-power while Sonia-Rahul
and extended family are ensuring that all assets belong to them. India has
changed a lot from 1977 to 2015. Congress had tried hard to make political
point out of national herald case, both in parliament and outside, but failed
miserably. Today's Congress does not have charismatic leader like Indira Gandhi
to cash in on such issues. So instead of making it political issue, Congress
should fight legal battle and come clean on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment