Pressure mounts on Congress Party

Though media speculation that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is going to resign on January 3, 2014 to make way for Rahul Gandhi has been junked by the Congress Party, one thing is certainly clear that the party will have no option but to announce its prime ministerial candidate for 2014 Lok Sabha elections very soon. With falling popularity graph as reflected in the defeat in just concluded assembly elections, the Congress party has been put in a tight spot. The main opposition BJP has already announced the name of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate and he with full support of his party has been campaigning for the elections strongly all over the country. In the given situation, the Congress Party has to announce its candidate that may be none other than Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The media speculation about PM resigning on Jan 3 may be the handiwork of the Congress leaders who are strongly pleading for Rahul Gandhi as their prime ministerial candidate. Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambram also favours the announcement of party’s prime ministerial candidate. As far as media speculation about the resignation of Prime MInister is concerned, it is now no longer any issue. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is certainly nowhere in the reckoning for the third consecutive time. Even if PM Singh resigns now and Rahul Gandhi is made Prime Minister by the Congress Party, there would be no improvement in the electoral prospect of the party in Lok Sabha elections due to paucity of time. Falling popularity of the Congress Party due to misgovernance, price rise and corruption in its government at the Centre clearly reflects that the Party can not win majority or emerge as the largest political party in Lok Sabha after the elections in 2014. This is the main reason behind reluctance of Rahul Gandhi to take the responsibility of leading the party as its prime ministerial candidate. It is clear in the nation that the Congress party can not move even a step without the consent of Nehru-Gandhi family. Moreover, it is also clear that the member of Nehru-Gandhi family is not compatible to lead the coalition government at the Centre. So, in the given situation of impossibility of the Congress Party to win majority of the seats in 2014 Lok Sabha elections to form government on its own, Rahul Gandhi is not enthusiastic at the idea of his name being announced as party’s prime ministerial candidate in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. BJP has already painted 2014 Lok Sabha elections as straight electoral fight between its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. With good gathering in Modi’s meetings, BJP is in upbeat mood and appears to be self assured of the power at the Centre in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. So, Congress leaders mounts pressure on the party to announce the name of Rahul Gandhi as party’s prime ministerial candidate to counteract the BJP’s onslaught led by Modi. Rahul Gandhi as party’s prime ministerial candidate will undoubtedly galvanize and energize the party cadres and workers to fight with confidence in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Insensitivity of SP Govt

The insensitivity of Samajwadi Party Government has crossed all limits. On the one hand, Muzaffarnagar riot victims are shivering in biting cold with no roof over their heads in relief camp and Saifai Matotsav is being celebrated with all pomp and shows in the home district of the Young Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of Uttar Pradesh on the other. UP CM Akhilesh is the son of Samajwadi Party Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. Mulayam Singh Yadav has been a seasoned politician and he claims to be the torch bearer of Samajwadi movements in India after late Ram Manohar Lohia and Charan Singh. Now, he has set his eyes on the chair of the Prime Minister of India. That is why Mulayam made way for his son Akhilesh Yadav to become the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh after his party recorded landslide victory in the last assembly elections. Samajwadi Party government of Mulayam Singh Yadav in the past is remembered for deteriorating law and order and Goonda Raj. Even after that, the people of the state reposed faith in his young son Akhilesh and elected him to power with massive mandate with the hope that this young man would not follow the path of the previous regime of his father and set an example of development and peace with modern mindset. But all the hopes of people in Uttar Pradesh were dashed to the ground when Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav miserably failed to come out of his father's coterie and shadow. The old Samajwadi fellows of his Father Mulayam Singh Yadav have misguided him that resulted again in the Goonda Raj in Uttar Pradesh. SP government in Uttar Pradesh has always pursued a politics of division between Minority and Majority community under its scheme of vote bank politics. SP leaders always impressed on the Muslim minority that it is only because of them that they are protected and privileged in the state. However, matter of the fact is that in the name of benefits for Muslims during the reign of Samajwadi Party are mostly availed by the so-called Samajwadi Party leaders and followers from Muslim community and the common Muslims get nothing from SP government. Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is also called Maulana Mulayam because of his excessive affinity at least avowedly for the Muslim community in 1990s. But he has shown his insensitivity to Muslims’ plight when he said that the victims in the Muzaffarnagar relief camps are Congress and BJP workers who deliberately make much hue and cry to defame the Akhilesh Yadav Government of Samajwadi Party. The insensitivity of SP government has come to the fore when UP Chief Secretary said before media that no death is caused by cold and if that was so no body could be alive in Siberia. The Chief Secretary was refuting the charge of children's death from cold in relief camps of Muzaffarnagar. The mockery of Samajwad is made by none other than the Samajwadis, which is seen when luxury and comfort at public exchequer are displayed in Saifai Mahotsav on one hand and abject poverty, helplessness among riot victims in camps and callousness of the UP govt towards them on the other.

Cong election exercise

Congress Party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi appears to have realized that the rising prices of essential commodities, food grains, green vegetables and corruption have caused humiliating defeat of the Party in the recently concluded assembly elections in five states. That is why he is holding meeting with top party leaders and Chief Ministers 12 Congress-ruled states to prepare strategy so that the humiliation of defeats in assembly elections may not be repeated in Lok Sabha elections. Congress Party tally in Lok Sabha can only improve if its government at the Centre reins in price rise and corruption forthwith. Misgovernance and corruption of the Centre have also played key role in Congress party defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections. Congress party also needs to galvanize the organization all over the nation for fighting Lok Sabha elections. It is in disarray. The unbridled price rise and the corruption during the Congress-led UPA-II regime have given the message among the common people that Congress Party leaders and ministers are completely unconcerned about their plight. That is why they have reflected their anger in the just concluded assembly elections in four states where Congress Party has been badly routed. If the Congress Chief Ministers failed to act against hoarders, black marketeers, agents and touts to bring down the prices of essential commodities, party is sure to be wiped out in Lok Sabha elections next year. Congress leadership must think that the common people have nothing to do with the downturn in economy all over the world. Their main concerns are prices of essential commodities including food grains that should be avail to them at cheap and affordable price . Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself assured the people umpteen times that he would bring down price in hundred days. His government failed to do. So, he has lost credibility among the people. The message has gone loud and clear among the people that it is beyond Congress-led UPA government to check price rise and corruption. So if Rahul Gandhi has to be in reckoning in the race for Prime Minister of the nation, he must first put pressure on Manmohan Singh government to act to check price rise and corruption immediately. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi held meeting with 12 party Chief Ministers in Delhi to prepare strategy to fight the coming Lok Sabha elections. There is no doubt that the Congress workers are badly demoralized in the states where it has been thrown out of power in the recently held assembly elections and also in the states where it has been out of power for more than two decades. UP and Bihar are among them where Congress Party is out of power for more than two decades. These two states are politically most important and play a vital role in the power play of the nation. The twelve states where Congress Party is in Power are relatively small states. Party's first strategy would be to win all Lok Sabha seats from there and stop the wave going against it in other states of the nation. He must galvanize the party organization and put life into it in the state of UP and Bihar to take on opposition in LS elections with full confidence. Time is running out. So, UPA-II govt. must act fast. Otherwise, Congress is doomed to lose LS elections.

Time for Left to introspect

There was a time in Indian politics when the Left parties were considered a strong political force all over the nation. The decline of the Left started gradually after 1990s. The Left leaders never paid any attention why their support base was declining and they were disconnecting with the people at the grass root level. As long as they identified themselves with the poor villagers and urban dwellers, they were reckoning in politics of the nation. The Left were very strong in West Bengal and Kerala and these two states were their strong bastions. Now, they are ruling only in Tripura. West Bengal was the strongest bastion of CPM and they were in power there for more than 30 years. But Trinamool Congress Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee threw Left out of power in 2011. It has not only been thrown out of power in West Bengal and Kerala by Trinamol Congress and Congress Party respectively but also made politically irrelevant in Bihar. Bihar was also the strongest bastion of Communist Party of India (CPI) in 70s. CPI leaders were very popular in the state. But with the demise of old stalwarts like Chaturanan Mishra and Bhogedra Jha, there is hardly any leader left in the party from the state who could be known at national level. The disconnection with the people at the grassroots level has been the main cause of the decline of the left. With the fast changing time and economic scenario, the political stage has changed. The Left failed to be compatible to the changing political and economic scenario of the nation. The Left leaders should have thought that now there were no takers for their principles of Marx and Angels. The Stalinist attitude is no longer acceptable. Old and out-dated approach in managing the economic affairs of the state will throw the nation into isolation. Left leaders are no longer prepared to accept the changing economic trends of the world. And this is the main cause that their support base is shrinking very fast day by day. What worse can be expected of the Left when no political party in the state of Bihar shows any interest in aligning with them. The Left leaders must read the writing on the wall that if they failed to recognize the changing economic scenario of the world and continued to preach the people about the principles of Marx and Angels and their views on economy, they are bound to be reduced to negligible importance in the politics of the nation. Undoubtedly, the Left leaders are considered honest and sincere to the cause of the poor and downtrodden. But because their leadership has become disconnected with the people, they fail to reach to them. If there is one political party, which raises voice against price rise, corruption and the cause of people first, it is certainly the Left. Until and unless, the left leaders reconnect with the people at village level and convince them by their action that they are their saviours, they cannot retrieve its position in Indian politics.

Lesson for political class

By rejecting VIP culture and saying no to government security and bungalow, CM-elect of Delhi and Aam Admi Convener Arvind Kejriwal has set a lesson for the political class whose standing has fallen to the lowest level because of its pomp and show on the expense of public exchequer. It is not only Arvind Kejriwal but all his ministers would not move to government bungalow and take security. They will live as Aam Admi as they lived before being elected to the legislative assembly. Opposition parties may say it symbolic but Kejriwal’s rejection of VIP culture will have lasting impact on the common people of Delhi. Aam Admi ministers, MLAs and government officials will also not use cars fitted with red beacon and hooter. They will identify themselves with the Aam Admi. It was the first promise made to Delhiites during election campaigns and they have kept it before the oath-taking ceremony. The leaders of two major political parties-ruling Congress and Opposition must learn a lesson from Aam Admi, though there are a few Congress leaders also who have taken neither any government security nor big bungalow. The chief characteristic of Aam Admi Party leaders is that they are easily connected with Aam Admi, which the Congress and BJP leaders fail to do because of their lavish living style at the expense of public exchequer. The lavish lifestyle of the leaders of these major political parties causes aversion among the commoners for them. Their appearance in the public with posse of security personnel repels the commoners from them. Their VIP culture on the basis of public mandate and at public exchequer has also been exposed by the Aam Admi during Delhi election campaigns. The common Delhiites found the leaders of Aam Admi as their part and parcel. That is why they voted for Aam Admi Party on the large scale. Aam Admi’s stunning success in Delhi assembly elections is a very clear message for the political class in general and Congress and BJP leaders in particular that if they failed to understand the strength of Aam Admi in democracy, the days are not far off when Aam Admi party will send them bag and baggage from the entire nation. CM-elect Arvind Kejriwal is most probably going to be sworn in on 26 December at Ramlila Maidan as Chief Minister of Delhi. With his swearing in ceremony, a new chapter not only in politics of Delhi but also of the entire country will begin. Kejriwal’s sincerity to work for Aam Admi itself reflects that he will leave no stone unturned in fulfilling his commitments to the people. Though Kejriwal is going to form his government with outside support of the Congress Party against which he has fought elections and won, stability of his government will always be in question.

Kejriwal evades responsibility

Aam Admi Party Convener Arvind Kejriwal appears to be in Hameletian Syndrome over the formation of government in Delhi. He is in two minds on taking support from Congress. It also appears that the AAP is itself divided on the issue of government formation with outside support from Congress. It has defeated Congress very badly on the issue of corruption and price rise. AAP also appears to have realized that it is not only very difficult but almost impossible for it to fulfill the promises it made in elections. That is why it is going to stage drama of consulting 25 Delhiites to know their views on government formation issue with Congress support. Arvind Kejriwal also must think that democratic system demands that there must be government formation on the basis of single party or multi-party majority to serve the people. If Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP fails to form the government in Delhi, a clear message will go to the people that AAP is deliberately evading responsibility for fear of its inability to deliver on the huge promise it had made in elections. While the situation in Delhi demands up on AAP to form government and deliver. It has undoubtedly got the stunning victory in its debut elections. It has achieved rare feat in winning the confidence of Delhiites in so short time. So, it must respect Delhiites’ verdict and form the government. Despite the unconditional support of Congress Party and its unanimity on 16 conditions out of 18 conditions put forward by Kejriwal to form government, he is still dithering on the issue. Public pressure is mounting on him and his party leaders for forming the government. Delhi elections have thrown up hung assembly. BJP won 32, AAP 28, Congress 8 and others two in the house strength of 70. It is necessary to win at least 36 seats for working majority in Delhi assembly, which no party has got. In the given situation, either first or second largest political party has responsibility to form government and deliver on the promises it made to Delhiites in elections. It is simple thing to understand that BJP despite emerging as the largest party in Delhi assembly, it refused to form the government because no support for it was forthcoming. As far as the AAP is concerned, it can not evade responsibility to form the government when it get outside support to prove its majority. Only taking high moral ground in speech can also prove to be disastrous politically for AAP if it does not form the government in the obtaining situation after the election result in Delhi. AAP must not linger to keep its grandstanding issues alive up to the Lok Sabha elections to exploit the situation politically in its favour in other states of India like Delhi.

Launch diplomatic offensive against US

The arrest of Deputy Consular General Devyani Khobragade reflects the US highhandedness and tendency to impose its over lordship on the citizens and officials of other countries. The US authorities arrested Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade in public on charges of visa fraud. 39-year-old Khobragade, a 1999-batch IFS officer, was taken into custody last week on a street in New York as she was dropping her daughter to school and handcuffed in public on visa fraud charges before being released on a USD 250,000 bond after pleading not guilty in court. The US authorities have deliberately let down the prestige of India by arresting Khobragade in public on the street of Newyork. There has been sharp reaction and public outrage all over India over the undignified behaviour meted to Indian consular IFS Devyani Khobragade in US. India must take it very seriously and ask the US that no relation is more important than its prestige. The US authorities must have thought that given the good and friendly relation with India, their rude and undignified behaviour would cause sharp public outrage and could strain in the relation between the two couuntries. If the US authorities had given any importance to US relation with India, they would not have mistreat Devyani Khorbragade. It is right that Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi did not meet the US delegation visiting India. India’s sentiment is so hurt and bruised over this type of Shoddy treatment to Indian Consular by US officials that Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar also did not meet the US delegation. Diplomatic row between the two nations is bound to arise. US is only required to know that it must not treat India so lightly as it treats other countries of the world. Self dignity, civility and gentlemanliness are kept above all considerations in India. How the US authorities dared insult an Indian woman IFS officer in public. Why did not they consult with high-ups in the Indian Embasssy in US before arresting Deputy consular General Devyani Khobragade? India must raise the issue of dignity with the US at the highest level as soon as possible and ask to behave with it on equal footing. The action of the US authorities is completely unacceptable to India. India has rightly said that it has taken very seriously the treatment meted out to its Deputy Consul General in New York Devyani Khobragade by the US authorities and that it has put in motion the process to deal with the issue in an effective way.