It’s high time for the political class to come together and work on issues surrounding human development instead of throwing tirades at one another
Indian leaders are not only famous for their vote-bank skills and dramatics, but they also entertain the voters with their tirades, expressed through their interesting poetic simile. The politicians' tantrum and high drama always make news headlines — over the years, the Indian media too has contributed to revive the political circus in our democracy.
Earlier this month, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, lalu Prasad termed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as ‘Rajniti ka paltu ram’ (turncoat of politics). Few days back, the RJD chief also said that he would crush Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah's ego. It is also known that the Nitish-lalu duo were hopeful that the Bihar's mahagathbandhan would take on the BJP in the 2019 lok Sabha election. However, everything has now fizzled out when Nitish Kumar bowled an unpredictable googly ball to lalu Prasad. Sometime back, West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, had referred gau rakshaks as gau rakshas (cow demons) after she failed to stop communal strife in North 24 Parganas district. A BJP leader in West Bengal termed Mamata Banerjee ahijra (eunuch).
long back, in 2012, BJP ideologue and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) thinker KN Govindacharya had called veteran leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a mukhota. Govindacharya lost his job. The vilest tirade came from Congress president Sonia Gandhi when she accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a ‘maut ka saudagar’ (Merchant of Death). Congress leader Digvijaya Singh too had called the Prime Minister a feku (braggy) after he failed to stop the Congress’ sharp decline. BJP leaders termed Digvijaya Singh ‘a joker’.
Besides, Indian mythologies and folklore provides our leaders with lots of ammunition too. Maharshtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, equated Amit Shah to lord Ram after the BJP formed a Government in Maharashtra. BJP leader and now Vice President of the country, Venkaiah Naidu called Prime Minister Narendra Modi as god's gift to India and a messiah for the poor. BJP's firebrand leader Uma Bharati termed the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Surpanakha. Aam Aadmi Party chief, Arvind Kejriwal called Manmohan Singh as the Dhritarashtra, alleging that the Congress was not taking action against scam stars.
Politicians have also invented very good compliments too. BJP patriarch lal Krishna Advani was called the lauha purush (the iron man). Vajpayee was given the title of vikas purush. Manmohan Singh was called the father of Indian reforms. Politicians have compared their party leaders and Opposition leaders with Vidur, Sakuni, Hanuman, Duryadhona, Mahisasura and Draupadi etc, thanks to Indian mythologies.
Comparing people with animals, birds, mythological characters show Indian politicians' imaginative skill and their inability to identify human development issues at the grass root level. Social activist Anna Hazare once called Indian politicians as Ravana, eating public money with 10 mouths and 20 hands. A ruling party cannot be blamed for corruption and poor governance only. The Opposition is equally responsible for poor governance, corruption and mismanagement. If quality food is not being served in Indian rails, it is the responsibility of the Opposition to highlight the same and offer a solution to the problem.
Majority of Opposition leaders do not understand the farmers' issue and abruptly demand for loan-waivers. There will hardly be a leader who can tell the total surface area of water in the country, or the extent of damage done to surface water and the ground water in the last 10 years. Nobody will be able to give an authentic presentation on crop diversity loss in the country in the last two decades. A few of them may speak about crop diversity in their respective villages. But a few can tell how many water bodies have disappeared from their constituency. This way, how can they build the nationIJ
India has the largest number of people suffering from malnutrition. Has any politician set a dead line to set free India from food adulterationIJ Has anyone worked to protect the country's bio-diversity. India has the largest number of people suffering from organ failure. Is it not the duty of public representatives to eradicate the main causes of organ failureIJ One out of three women in India suffer from malnutrition and India's human development index is as low as the sub-Saharan countries.
Instead of equating political leaders with characters in Ramayana and the Mahabharat, they should thoroughly read the scriptures. How lord Ram lived in villages, hills and forest for 14 years to get a feel of the problems faced by aam aadmi. Practical experience alone helped him establish good governance. The Pandavas wandered 13-long years across the country to have a clear understanding of the people's problems. It helped them establish good governance. The Gupta kings used to sneak out of the palace, in disguise, to know the problems of their subjects.
Mahatma Gandhi moved around the country for about five years after he returned from South Africa. He wanted to experience people's real problems. He picked up two very relevant issues during that period: The Salt movement and the Swadeshi movement which sent the British empire in a state of shock. It’s high time for the Indian political class to converge on basic human development issues instead of throwing tirades at one another.
(The writer is a freelance commentator)