The Congress and its democracy

The Congress and its democracy

According to Jairam Ramesh- the Modi government by passed democratic institutions in its one year rule. This is the assessment of the Congress and its leaders. One cannot blame Jairam Ramesh and the Congress because it has no idea of democracy and democratic norms. It does not even respect Parliament. This is not a new insight –let us look back into a few incidents of the Congress’ democracy .Right from the time of Indira Gandhi who called for a ‘committed judiciary’ who wanted a rubber stamp President and hence manipulated the whole democratic process and made Giri the President. She imposed Emergency holding the Constitution in abeyance.  This is the Party which talks of democracy and the lack of it to the Modi ruled government? She sent ten of thousands of those who opposed her-be they political leaders-writers-scholars to prison. Right to Freedom and Freedom of Speech was something not in the governance book of Indira Gandhi.

What about her son Rajiv Gandhi? He had scant respect even for human decency in Parliament leave alone democratic norms. Did he not tell Arun Shourie-(whose son was handicapped) ‘no wonder you have such a son.’ Rajiv Gandhi made a remark in Parliament against Jaipal Reddy who was then in the Telugu Desam and stated-“his mind is as crooked as his body”. Will any person with an iota of decency make such a remark and that too in Parliament? Rajiv Gandhi had scant respect for the President-Zail Singh and hence did not even bother to meet him to update him periodically. This is respecting democratic norms? Poor Zail Singh should not have revealed that he was writing a book which would be a time bomb when published. Zail Singh met with his death in a road accident-when a lorry ran over the former President’s car. Should we believe that it is a coincidence? What about Rajiv Gandhi’s famous inhuman and heartless remark when thousands of Sikhs were slaughtered after the assassination of Indira Gandhi -‘When a big tree falls all the plants around it will die’ this is democratic probity?

Now look at his son Rahul Gandhi- whole time suffering from anti-Modi phobia and foot in the mouth disease-unable to comprehend the Indian economics or history of India-why even his own family history. It has always been slogan shouting. Remember the ‘shouting brigade’ during the time of Rajiv Gandhi headed by Mani Shankar Iyer Jayanthi Natarajan and others. They did not allow Parliament to function. The Congress had also prevented George Fernandez-the then Defense Minister from speaking in Parliament. This is also democracy for the Congress. The Congress has no substance and is only all hollow. Now the Congress is accusing Modi of ‘running a one man government’ This because the Congress under Man Mohan Singh was accustomed to run the government as a one woman show.It has the myopic biased vision of democracy when under Man Mohan Singh there were two power centers. What was Mrs Sonia Gandhi-a super Prime Minister-an unconstitutional power center? How could she form the National Advisory Committee and chair it. Who formed this NAC and why?Why should it erode into Parliament’s duties and powers.Why did the NAC draft the bills and Mrs Sonia Gandhi dispatched these to Man Mohan Singh.Is this democracy. She found Man Mohan Singh very malleable and hence after a thorough study picked him up as the Prime Minister naming this her renunciation. Is this democracy? It is this culture that forces Jairam Ramesh and Kapil Sibal and their likes to down grade the one year rule of Modi. What they could not achieve in 10 years Modi has achieved and this has irritated them nay even angered them to no length. So the slogan shouting – the propping up of Rahul Gandhi and his suit –boot- ka- sarkar. This amuses the Congress leaders no end and is a justification for his 57 day sabbatical holiday abroad.

The Congress is groomed in the culture of dynasty not democracy. It has lost its moral and political right to say that Modi is a one man run government. What is annoying them? Do the Congress leaders have the courage to take their own decisions? Do they not always look to No 10 JANPATH AND THE High Command? Even the term High Command is not democratic Even if the Congress leaders had to sneeze they should get permission from the High Command-namely from No 10 Janpath Road .Are these the people who realize what democracy is all about..

The Congress strategy is Divide and Rule. The Congress is the mother head of communalism in this country. Look at its history. Even the spirit of Subhas Chandra Bose has come to haunt it. It has nothing substantial to say against Modi and so its media has to talk about the cost of Modi’s monogrammed suit, that Modi rejected RTO queries when it was known that the RTO queries were rejected during 2013-14 during Man Mohan Singh’s tenure. Then it is the 56inches-it is the expenditure on Modi’s visits to the foreign countries. The electronic and the print media keep mum when it comes to the Gandhis. It does not mention of Rahul Gandhi’s foreign trips nor does it mention about Sonia Gandhi’s unrevealed illness and the amounts spent on her stay in the USA for the so called treatment. What the Congress is suffering from is acute amnesia. It forgets that we have a democracy. This because it has a culture of dynastic rule hence cannot accept the fact that in a democracy anyone can become a Prime Minister. No, for the Congress only one from the Nehru-Gandhi family can and must head the government .Man Mohan Singh was only made the PM to keep the PM’s chair warm and to allow Mrs Sonia Gandhi to call the shots.So now that Modi is the Prime Minister-he who was a tea vendor the Congress  finds this difficult to digest; hence all the accusations and allegations.

 What was score card for the UPA’s ten year tenure -almost zero. Look at the scams during its period but now how critically the Congress leaders are out to fault Modi and accuse him of one man’s rule. The Congress is accustomed to only one woman’s rule. Hence it is throwing up all kinds of gimmicks and is bent on obstructing the functioning of the government. Is this democracy? The Congress can never learn to be a responsible Opposition? And yet it talks of democracy. The land acquisition bill the Congress is determined to obstruct. Rahul Gandhi’s heart bleeds for the farmers. He should first advise Robert Vadra-his brother-in-law. He should go back in history and then he will realize that it was Nehru who put land beyond judicial review. And it was Nehru who was heartless and made the most insensitive remark to those who were displaced for the Hirakud dam, ‘if you have to suffer, you should suffer in the interest of the nation”. It was his daughter Indira Gandhi who amended the law to declare that the land taken forcibly from the farmers by the government is entitled for no compensation-but only an ‘amount’ decided by the government. So when Rahul Gandhi and the Congress obstruct the Land acquisition bill they must remember that it was Nehru and Indira Gandhi who grabbed the land from the farmers. Now Rahul Gandhi’s heart bleeds and hence he and his party are determined to obstruct it. This is democracy for them.

Everything the Congress failed in and every scandal it indulged in- every scam it abetted is now thrown at the Modi government. Hence we have Anand Sharma accusing Prime Minister of promoting crony capitalism. Look who is talking. What had the Congress party done in its 50 years of rule-initiated, injected abetted and encouraged crony capitalism? Now it wants to accuse Modi for this. And this is democracy for the Congress. This we call ‘projection’ in psychology. You project what you are on to others and see that in them. This nation is sick of the Congress and its lies and its inability to alleviate poverty. In one year this democratic Congress leaders want Modi to perform what it could not in 50 years. Jairam Ramesh can say that MODI stands for murdering of democracy in India. Great discovery!. Sonia Gandhi called Modi the merchant of death. If the letters in Modi’s full name-Narendra Modi is jumbled and rearranged  we get ‘Rare Diamond’. Yes, that is what Modi is and this irritates and angers the Congress and its leaders. .

Remember how Sonia Gandhi occupied the chair of Sitaram Kesari- remember how Rahul Gandhi became the Vice President and now waiting for his coronation. Where is the inner democracy in the Congress party? What you do not have you cannot give. So let the Congress leaders stop blaming Modi for murdering democracy. That happened under the Congress and its leaders. Now Modi-the rare diamond- is trying to revive democracy and bring in a people’s oriented development-and this Congress cannot digest. Hence it has decided to obstruct every move the Modi government makes. This is democracy for the Congress.

The Congress and its leaders must understand what democracy is all about. It must accept history –the truth and realize how the Congress leaders especially under Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Mrs Sonia Gandhi had dented, fragmented and changed everything that stood for DEMOCRACY. So sitting in a glass house it cannot throw stones at others.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,

Vadodara, Gujarat