Nation’s interests lost in politicking

New Delhi: When the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was talking about a 'Muqaabla" in store in the next edition of the Parliament session, he was talking of a STORY. It is the story of political rivalry with the Congress. He was referring to sharing the stage with veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad at a meeting in J&K on Friday. This bonhomie would vanish soon, once the Monsoon session of the Parliament begins and there would be a contest - of words, wit and one-upmanship – among the leaders of different parties and the duel would be quite interesting, Modi meant.

There was also a reference to political 'Damaads', an obvious finger-pointing towards Robert Vadra, the Achilles heel of the Gandhi family. Vadra is, in fact, the physical weakness of the family; the very way the family tries to defend him is yet another weak point. Modi knows about this vulnerability and spares no chance to provoke the family. Came the response within an hour or so, when Rahul Gandhi referred to Modi's 56 inch chest - chchappan inch ke chaati - and said in six months it would be reduced to 5.6 inches when the Congress stalls the all-important Land Bill in the Parliament. "We shall not allow it to be passed,” he reiterated.

That is a PLOT. The difference in literature is quite simple if we look to E M Forster who says "we have defined the story as a narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence. A plot is also a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality.” He goes on to explain that ‘a king died and the queen died’ as a story. “The king died and then the queen died of grief,” is a plot. The time sequence is preserved, but the sense of causality overshadows it.

The descriptions could be expanded to take the story to its limitations. The contours could be ever bulging. A very large number of plots could be covered within small confines. Lost in the present story and the plot is the cause of democracy. Each of these leaders is warming up the nation to a spectacle. Their speeches are as good as allegories. It has a double meaning: one the primary meaning and a secondary or under-the-surface meaning. Hence, their announcements, proclamations and speeches could be understood at different levels.

Let us ask them about our own level, the people's level. Sirs' what about the people in democracy? What about the larger good of the society? Is it entertainment that we are seeking in the Parliament? Or, some useful business? After all, it is about an all-important Land Bill. A Bill that could change the face of the country. A Bill that could usher in, along with industrialisation, a far more serious challenge of food insecurity. Millions of farmers of this country want to know why their land will be taken away, if it is taken away. They would also like to know how the proposed industrialisation and development would benefit them. They seek to know how all this impacts not just theirs, but their children's future and their children's.

The proposed Land Bill so far has only thrown up more questions. If Modi is bent upon getting the Bill passed in a spectacular 'Muqaabla' these voiceless people would like to know 'why' he is so keen to do so. When Rahul Gandhi bravely assures the nation that he would stall the same, these very people would like to know why he proposes to do so. What is central to their interest? Because, here is where the story and its plot blend beautifully ignoring people's interests. Will they please explain their intent to the nation?

By W Chandrakanth