CONGRESS’S BIGGEST WORRY: THE COMMON MAN

During the general election of 2009 the Congress manifesto’s cover page had two opening lines that encapsulated the campaign theme for the party. The lines were –

Aam Aadmi kay badhtey kadam
Har Kadam Par Bharat Buland

This essentially means ‘As the common man moves forward, India gets stronger with every step’. And fortunately for the Congress this theme did find resonance amongst the masses which voted for them in huge numbers. But today barely eighteen months after the elections, the above message has changed to- ‘The more the common man tries to move forward, the more he will get punished’.

The events that have unfolded in the last six months have left the common man completely disillusioned. The series of scams that have unearthed, the price rise of essential food items, the growing inflation and now the second price increase of crude oil in a month has left the common man battered. The various scams that have been erupting from time to time have been disturbing, because of which the common man is saying, that first of all the hard earned tax payers money has been gobbeled by corrupt ministers and if that was not enough the price rise has become a constant phenomenon. But the bigger worry is the government’s inability to control price rise. All these events are compelling the common man to question himself –whether it was a mistake to vote for the Congress & allies for the second time?

The emergency cabinet meeting which took place for over two days and ended without any guarantee from the governement to contain the price rise has left everyone even more bemused. The government message that it can do little to bring down the prices in the immediate future but can work towards a more secure future has suddenly shaken the confidence of the common man.

There are two stark messages that the government has send out in the last six months.Firstly that ministers and bureaucrats who are involved in corruption will be brought to book only when they are proven guilty. It is easier for us to take action against our own ministers (e.g.- Tharoor, Chavan, Kalmadi etc) but difficult to take action against ministers from other parties who are our coalition partners. But how much time will it take to finish these investigations is still not known. Second, that our intention is to control price rise but there is very little we can do as most of the stock is with private players. Suddenly the common man’s confidence and faith in the Indian growth story has shaken. Now the questions is that – what is the use of this 9% growth if the we have to suffer due to due price rise and the extra wealth that is created by the government is eaten up corrupt politicians and ministers.

This sudden change in the national environment is really disturbing. The last time the country went through this phase was way back in the 90’s. But suddenly after the Kargil war the nation found renewed confidence and after that the rise in the economic growth completely changed the mood of the nation. But when ordinary citizens start questioning the growth and prosperity of the nation then it means that the government is in serious trouble.

Analysts’ believe that if elections were to be held today then the UPA will suffer a huge defeat. And for the Congress the timing could not have been worse as it is losing political ground in one of its key states - Andhra Pradesh.
The unfortunate part is that this govenrment has some very reputed ministers who have a great image and are genuinely good administrators. But the overall performance of this government is in question. The Congress cannot blame its allies because evntually it is the big brother of this coalition.Manmohan Singh is still considered an honest man and his integrity is still intact but now people want him to take some tough steps to change this mood.

If the governmet fails to act quickly, it may find it difficult to last for a full five year term. And all the ground that the Congress had recovered in the six years it may just get undone in a matter of few months. It’s time that the Congress fulfills its campaign theme on the back of which it came to power otherwise those very lines which it used as its campaign theme will become its nightmare in the next election.

DANGEROUS POLITICAL GAMES

Indian polity has always been considered the reason for all major problems in the country. History is a testimony that Indian politic’s proximity with religion and money has proved to be the most dangerous. Last week three major controversies occurred in different parts of the country exposing the volatile nature of our polity yet again.

The Koda Scandal-The Madhu Koda case exposes yet again the nexus between politics and corruption. People are not startled or bemused at this exposure as they have got used to these scandals which have been part & parcel of our polity since independence. The only thing to watch out for is that, was Khoda actually involved in the multi crore scam or is he a victim of a political conspiracy.


Investigating agencies claim to have strong evidence to nail Koda and his associates. This investigation might throw up more political names in the days to come.

The Karnataka Shame -The most shameful poltical story of the week was the Karnataka political crisis. The strong Reddy brothers from Bellary held the whole state at ransom for two weeks. Chief Minister Yeddyurappa was stationed in the national capital to save his job. Meanwhile 57 shameless BJP MLAs who were supporting the Reddy brothers were enjoying 5 star luxaries in Hyderabad. All this drama was happening at a time when the state of Karnataka was trying to get back to normalcy after the floods exterminated northern part of the state last month. The floods claimed more than 200 lives and affected 18 lakh people. Instead of working together along with the bureaucacy to rehabilitate the citizens, the Bellary brother were busy in political bargaining with the BJP central leadership in New Delhi. The series of events saw CM Yeddyurappa breaking down in tears in front of the television camera for not been able to work for the flood victims blaming the Reddy brothers. Surprisingly the very next day he was feeding cake to Janardhan Reddy in front of the media after truce was called by the two warring sides. The Reddy brothers played a principal role in this whole reprehensible act but Yeddyurappa’s leadership would have become immortal had he resigned during this period and got back to Karnataka to concentrate on the rehabilitation work. Probably the government would have fallen given that the 57 shamless BJP MLA’s supporting the Reddys would have withdrawn
support from the Yeddyurappa led government but his stature would & credentials would have bolstered several folds. But alas!! These things are only a mirage in Indian politics.

To sing or not to sing?: To sing or not to sing?-Lastly, the most dangerous contorversy of all was the Vande Matram song issue. The issue which emanated again thanks to Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind’s ‘Fatwa’ against ‘the singing of Vande Mataram’. This issue is not new and has been doing rounds in political & religious circles for centuries. According to some Muslim clerics, certain stances in the song ‘Vande Matram’ are against the basic belief of ‘Islam’. In order to avoid this controversy, the Congress had set up a committee after independence which dropped the objectional stances from the song. The issue should have been settled there, but this latest Fatwa was definitely un-called for. Despite knowing right wing Hindu groups’ fascination with the Vande Matram issue the Ulema initiated the controversy. Not only did it create an unwanted controversy which many Muslims don’t agree to but also gave a chance to some elements to raise communal temperature again.

The question of singing or not singing Vande Mataram violates the very basic right of an Indian citizen. The right wing Hindu groups want Muslims to sing Vande Matram to test their loyalty which is absurd. Similarly the Ulema issuing a ‘Fatwa’ not to sing is ridiculuos, especially given that the corrections to objectional parts were made long back. It’s an individual’s right to sing or not to sing. No one can impose its stand on any individual.

All the above issues are a chilling reminder of the vulnerable nature of our Indian polity & society. And it also underlines the fact that no matter how much as a nation India achieves on the global level, the real battle is to conquer these domestic viruses which continue to be our biggest weakness.