‘Impotent' Potency

Since when, we have been hearing about political ideology nowadays? Social commitment? Answerable to the people? Adherence to moral code? These are the concepts which have long lost their face value and are taken for a ride. I am not a political animal. I am a mere columnist. How many people are changing their labels- not keeping the welfare of the community in perspective but only their political survival? Salman Khurshid has wasted a beautiful word –‘impotent’ on a wrong man for altogether wrong reasons. The Yuvaraj of the Congress party Rahul Gandhi did not like the word ‘impotent’ also for the wrong reasons!

Let us be fair to the person to whom the word has been aimed at and wasted. In spite of the massacre of 2002 Narendra Modi has not changed his party. He survived the onslaught and came out clean- at least for the time being- from the courts. Atal Bihari Vajapayee, L K Advani, and Sushma Swaraj did not change parties. This can be termed as the single great trait of a party. One may argue that leaders cannot have the choice of jumping the fences. But even Neelam Sanjiva Reddy changed his party once. Remember Janata Congress of yester year? We are nowadays hearing of almost all the leaders of the ruling party leaving Congress. I am refraining from mentioning the names of the party leaders who are jumping away from the main party like cats on hot tin roofs because it will eventually only make the list of the leftovers of the ruling party in the state.

Talli Telangana has become Tandri Telangana for whatever may be the reason. Many leaders are jumping into different bandwagons with electrifying speed. This reflects the panic of the leaders of their political survival than anything. And there was an unbridled aphorism of Bal Thackeray when he said, “there is no ideology in politics!”

Ram Vilas Paswan of LJP who vehemently condemned the 2002 killings, particularly Narendra Modi, and left the NDA in 2002, but came back like a bad coin into the alliance fold with flying colours with his son beaming, standing next to the party leadership. Yedyurappa joined the parent party not aspiring for a post- at least for the time being. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s niece has joined Congress. Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson joined Aam Admi Party. Former Chief of Army Staff V K Singh joined BJP. Dadi Veerabhadra Rao who was in TDP since its inception and was handpicked by NTR in those days has joined another party. Kiran Kumar Reddy left the party with which his family has been associated for decades. Two MLAs and an MLC from TDP joined Telangana Rashtra Samiti. Everybody is anxious to share the bread that has sumptuous cheese on its side.

You cannot dissociate yourself from one person- your mother- because you are part of her until the umbilical cord is severed even after you are born. But you can have a different father. In politics there is nothing ‘umbilical’ about anything. Only survival matters. That makes at least leaders like Mohan Bhagawat or Narendra Modi positively ‘potent’. Even Sharad Pawar, Jaipal Reddy, Chidambaram, Sushil Kumar Shinde switched sides. The present electrifying political polarisation is an indication of ‘collective’ impotency of the ruling dispensation rather than the individual.

The families whose main investment was the leadership of their ancient predecessor some generations back and whose failing competence or lack of it is largely responsible for the decadence of the moral stature of the polity at large, I am afraid, its entourage has no right to talk about the ‘impotency’ of their opponents. At least, the last vestige of the family hierarchy and an apology to a leadership-Yuvaraj- perhaps is conscious of this truth when he disagreed with Salman Khurshid. Sometimes belated wisdom reflects the ground reality than the subjective outpouring of a disgruntled mantri.

Political survival has become the order of the day. No leader is talking about the larger picture, the ideology, welfare of the community. But please fasten the seat belts-the time is ripe when they will be going into this rigmarole very soon. The elections are around the corner. We hear more about ‘welfare’, ‘commitment’, ‘progress’ from roof tops or for that matter that oft repeated coinage which has long since lost its face value - ‘sacrifice’.

I will, ultimately mention about one person, who went into political oblivion when the party served its purpose, not leaving the party but advising the leaders to dissolve the very party altogether. He said the Congress had served its purpose after achieving the long cherished dream of the masses - the freedom of the country. It is time that it was shelved so that it will be commemorated for its greatest achievement in the annals of history. The leaders were reluctant. And then he severed his relationship with the party, though keeping his filial bonds with its leaders and turned towards moral upbringing of the society to his last breath. His name was Mahatma Gandhi.

(gmrsivani@gmail.com)