We get what we deserve
B L Saraf
” It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices .” John Roberts , Chief Justice of the U.S , opined so when he upheld President Obama’s health care law . Put it along with what our noted jurist Nani Palkhivala once said the matter will fall in a perspective . He said, “We get the Government we deserve most .” Both mean that the people who make a voluntary political choice have to live with the consequences- good or bad . And what we deserve is brought out unambiguously by one of the important members of the Union Council of Ministers . That is ; a single family rule fortified by self serving sycophants , with the sole purpose to rule till eternity – no matter the country goes to the dogs .
Salman Khurshid , the Union Law Minister , reportedly described the Congress as short on ‘ direction ‘ best provided by party ” number two ” Rahul Gandhi . Faced with the storm his remark created, he explained that he had merely urged Generation Next (read Rahul Gandhi) to come forward to lead the party and the Government . In simple words the Minister is begging to the heir apparent to salvage the Congress party which to all the Congressmen / women is synonymous with the country. Never mind the implied castigation of his own Prime Minister ! This is another proof – if ever one was needed- of a Congress party worker surrendering to the Gandhi family’s pre -eminence . This attitude has made country suffer a lame duck Prime Minister . No wonder ,we witness policy paralysis in all spheres of the governmental activity .Most people , though , feel that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is well intentioned person, capable of doing so many good things . His role as Finance Minister in 1990s and Prime Minister in UPA-1 are recalled in this regard. Those who see him faltering in UPA -2 , largely, attribute it to the lack of support from the party boss . So much so , the knowledgeable feel conflicting signals emanating from the party chief have weakened his prime ministerial authority. Surely , when men like Digvijay Singh and extra- constitutional bodies like NAC are unleashed on him P.M. feels hamstrung .
Rahul Gandhi is projected as the Congress great hope , both as party boss and the prime ministerial candidate . Time Magazine has in the latest issue , while describing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ‘ The Underachiever ‘ and raising question whether he is up to the job , noted , ” .. other players in the Congress, most notably Rahul Gandhi , Sonia’s son are positioning themselves to take Singh’s place… .” Salman Khurshid’s comment has to be seen in that background . One has yet to see Rahul Gandhi’s credentials to lead the party and the Government . Till now , as rightly pointed out by Khurshid , people have seen his occasional appearances only . That too during the elections – where such appearance did not help his party to garner the votes . He is perceived to be a reluctant politician . Analyzing reasons for Prime Minister’s non-performance the Time magazine writes ” The laws that help create growth and the jobs are stuck in the Parliament sparking concerns that politicians have lost the plot in their focus on shorter term populist measures that win votes .” True, men in the NAC , lead by Sonia Gahdhi, are, undoubtedly , proving the stumbling block for PM to govern effectively . Rahul Gandhi is in politics for a decade now. Courtesy wild card entry- acquired not on merit but due to the lineage , he has been at the top to decide fate of billion of Indians, though without any responsibility . What has been his record ?Quite dismal . He seems to be bereft of ideas on the vital economic issues ; has no policy to tackle security concerns of the nation . His intriguing silence on the scams like 2 G , CW Games , Adarsh building etc show him in a very poor light . Thus far , the country has had no inkling of the ‘ direction” which the heir apparent would give to it . Yet , the family retainers see in his stewardship a panacea of our all ills.
When a party which has eminent men like Manmohan Singh , P Chidambaram , Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid feels directionless and entreats the untried and reluctant novice to give them a direction to navigate the country of India’s size , we can only rue our fate . And when we allow these men of ‘ eminence ‘ to rule us till eternity – thanks to the vote bank politics of appeasement of various sorts – we most certainly deserve the government we get and the fate country consequently comes to .If that is the political choice we make then , as aptly said by the U.S Chief Justice , it becomes job of no body to deliver us from the rot we land in .
(The author is former District & Sessions Judge)
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