The
following article was written for Niti Central. Pasting it here for reference
:)
There was
a bizarre article in the op-ed page of The Hindu - "Narendra
Modi's Patel test". While it is still difficult to fathom what exactly
the article wanted to convey, there are 2 very key takeaway points from that
article.
1. Why
Congress functions the way it does?
Any
Congress Legislature Party meet in the country passes a single line resolution
that authorises the "high command" (Sonia Gandhi for the last 15
years) to choose it's leader. And then the "high command" appoints a
leader who will then proceed to either become the CM or LoP and just a floor
leader. It always baffled many analysts as to why this outdated practice is
still carried out. Today's article shows us the foundation of this practice.
The
author first rues that "A little reminder from history seems to be
in order here because most people remain blissfully unaware of it throughout
their lives."
Most
people are blisfully unaware because these things are *not* put in our
textbooks. We are only taught the viritues of certain leaders; not their
shortcomings. And then we get blamed for remaining "blissfully
unaware".
The
"reminder from history" that the author talks about is this - When
the time came to choose the Congress president who will eventually become the
Prime Minister, the onus fell on the 15 PCC chiefs. 12 out of the 15 voted for
Sardar Vallabhai Patel. The author says no one knows who the other 3 voted for,
but they definetely did not vote for Nehru! Common sense would suggest that
Sardar Patel would become the Congress President. But for reasons best known to
him, Gandhi *desperately* wanted Nehru to lead the Congress and imposed his
choice on the party (when clearly the mandate was for Sardar). That Sardar
Patel accepted Gandhi's machinations is testimony to the greatness of the man.
The "high command" culture of the Congress party began with the machinations
of Gandhi to make Nehru the Prime Minister. From that day onwards, barring a
very few exceptions - there was a single power command centre for the Congress
- The Nehru-Gandhi family. But since both Nehru and Gandhi are supposed to
beyond criticism, we should merely accept this turn of events and blame
somebody else for the evils our country faces on account of this choice!
2. The
bankruptcy of ideas of those who oppose Narendra Modi
This
article has blatantly exposed the bankruptcy of ideas the anti-Modi industry
faces right now! The article seeks to tell us that should such a situation
arise, will Modi step aside for a person that the party chooses. There is a key
difference in this hypothetical question - Sardar Patel was chosen by the party
but rejected by one individual. In the hypothetical situation that the author
discusses, he asks that if the party (not an individual) chooses a leader other
than Modi, will Modi oblige? Surely, comparing chalk and cheese comes very
easily to left liberal publications!
The
amusing arguments that the critics of Modi come up have started to become very
boring - with the riot-industry out of job now, they fell back on
mal-nutrition. When countered with hard facts; they fell back on
"dictatorial attitude". And then they moved on to some imaginary
intolerance in taking questions. With nothing succeeding they came up with
"is not acceptable to all allies". And with today's analysis of a
hypothetical situation just to potray him as a selfish guy longing for power,
they have plumbed into further depths.
Sample
this conclusion: The problem, however, is that there is no one in
the BJP with the moral authority of Gandhiji. This means that if the party has
to choose between Mr. Modi and someone else, Mr. Modi will have to show a degree
of selflessness not usually seen in politics.
The
"moral authority" does not exist in any party - leave alone BJP. And
more importantly, any leader will have to fall in line with the party's choice
- there is no option here, unlike in the Congress where any leader has to fall
in line with the Gandhi's choice.
The last
line of the article is supremely baffling - That, truly, will be his
real test, the one thing that will truly set him apart, and make him an even
bigger and unstoppable force to reckon with the next time around.
What
exactly does the author mean by "next time around"? He should give up
the post now and make a case for it at a later point of time? And what exactly
would change in that period of time? Or is the author setting up a ground to
start blaming Modi for making a case while someone else is in power? Truly
amazing as to how such formulations are printed in widely circulated
newspapers!
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