lalu’s crying foul, citing conspiracy theories. Cheap politicking won’t lead him anywhere
When it comes to centres of excellence like AIIMS and IIT, which are prided internationally too for their pursuit of healthcare and innovation, any move to trivialise their worth or question their dedication is highly condemnable. And when it comes to politicising them, that effort should not only be nipped in the bud but roundly controverted. The least we can do is to let these institutions function in a healthy neutral space. So RJD chief lalu Prasad’s claim that AIIMS had discharged him although he had not recovered fully and that his release was unjust and a political conspiracy, is a ridiculous attempt at milking a delicate situation and ascribing motives to doctors sworn to the Hippocratic oath. Would any doctor or institution compromise the health and well-being of a mass national leader, considering they are under pressure to retrieve even the intractableIJ Equally disgusting is the assumption that AIIMS took orders from some tinpot dictatorial authority to eliminate political opponents, in this case of one serving a jail sentence, in the name of treatment. The attendant ruckus by lalu’s supporters was downright reprehensible as it forced the AIIMS director, who had put a multi-disciplinary medical board in place to look after the VIP patient, to clarify that his condition had “improved significantly”, that he was fit to travel and that further follow-up could be done in Ranchi. However, lalu claimed that he was frail to go back to jail, the implication being that doctors were allowing his condition to slide further and deteriorate naturally.
A couple of days ago, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, too, attributed his close shave in a helicopter to a conspiracy to eliminate him. Coincidentally, Gandhi met lalu a day before the latter wrote a letter protesting his discharge, fuelling speculation whether political vendetta and victimhood would be the Opposition’s strategy to get some sympathy wave in its favour ahead of the election in Karnataka and in the run-up to 2019. But the seasoned politician that he is, lalu should understand that such gimmicks do not work with an evolved electorate anymore. If he is legacy hunting for the RJD and hoping to take on the BJP, then he would have to plan a solid counter-strategy and groundwork to get going. Crying murder won’t help in either galvanising support, buying an excuse to get out of jail and most importantly washing off the corrupt tag. Predictably, the BJP rushed in as soon as pictures of Rahul meeting lalu flooded social media, saying the Congress, in its quest for political relevance and power, didn’t mind a truck with a convicted lalu. It even used it to remind people how the Manmohan Singh Government had issued an Ordinance nullifying a Supreme Court order disqualifying convicted MPs. And lalu should remember that with this one allegation, he is exposing himself to the counter-charge that he was stirring up a “frail health” drama to stay out of jail. If he really wants to steer the party out of a morass that his son Tejashwi Yadav has difficulty negotiating, then lalu must realise that governance and corruption have become two equally dominant templates in politics beyond caste loyalties. And Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has an upper hand in both these areas on home ground. As an aspirant for the federal front, he stands little chance against a gallery of leaders each of whom is positing himself as the face of change based on performance rather than theatrics.