IN POLITICS, FALL OF TWO WICKETS

By Prem Chandran

The more the politicians try to undercut the anti-corruption movement’s existence and growth, the more it sprouts and the more it impacts – and in myriad ways. Those who thought the politicos had the better of the movement have been treated to two sweet surprises this week. One, the exit of Nitin Gadkari from the leadership of the BJP; and two, the jailing of the abrasive, scheming and corrupt Chautala clan. The movement set in motion two years ago with Anna Hazare as its mascot and Arvind Kejriwal as the energizer is having its echo in so many ways if only for the reason that corruption has been turned into the central issue of our times today.

Why, even in the anointing of Rahul Gandhi as the heir apparent or future leader, one might be tempted to see an indirect admission of the psychological sweep of the anti-corruption movement; that, despite Sonia Gandhi’s iron grip over the party and the government, she is no more trusted as one who could lead this nation in a healthy way; as people today see her Congress party and the government that it leads as a curse on this nation and its people as far as the growth of corruption under her direct and indirect stewardships are concerned. There is little reason to ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to share the blame: if the Congress party had the temptation to turn him into a puppet, all along, and to have his hands tied – justified on the ground the party is accountable to the people -- it should squarely take the responsibility also for all that would go wrong as a result. These were the times prominently of the 2G; of the coal block scam; of the total sellout of the national airliners, of the degradation of the railway system; and of a corporate entity terming the Congress Party as its ‘dukan’ – and of corruption devastating the entire governmental system. The result: a black money economy is in virtual control; and much of this money is passing through political wheelers and dealers.

No one contests the view that the Chintan Shivir was as much a farce as farce could ever be. If wishes were horses and the Congress party had a magic wand to turn those dreams into reality, India would have been a paradise long, long ago. The party has taught us through decades that words and deeds, or promises and performances, have little to do with each other. Reason why we were skeptical about the drama that unfolded in Jaipur last week – no more than a verbal marathon – even as it might have given a new kick to the ‘chamcha’ brigade that surrounds the party.

This party, through its avatars, was never short on promises; it was never short on ideas; and yet, past the Jawaharlal Nehru - Indira Gandhi phase, all what we give credit to it – or its new Indira-Avtaar, the Congress(I) -- is for the about-turn its government took, when, under the leadership of Narasimha Rao, his finance minister Manmohan Singh got the freedom to dump the Nehruvian Socialism and chart a new course for the economy. Yet, the Congress leadership, caught as it was in a time warp, failed to carry the reform process forward. The rootlessness of its leadership profile has only aggravated the crisis.

In all fairness, corruption was not Sonia Gandhi’s gift to the Indian politicos. Its first manifestations were evident in the time when her popular mother-in-law held the reins. The degeneration of the political process in the country had begun ever since she was installed as the president of the Indian National Congress, through a manipulation of the organizational process by Jawaharlal Nehru. The ‘chamcha’ brigade in the INC made the task easy for Nehru. Yet, in other respects, suave and western-educated Nehru had his strong points: which meant that he had a vision for India’s future; that the educated, civilized, intellectually oriented men and women occupied a space in his scheme of things; and that he laid solid bases for industrial and agricultural processes by launching major steel plants and irrigation projects. Indira Gandhi took politics to base levels, with the result the culture of discipline and good conduct got separated from the political process. Sonia Gandhi’s silence, aloofness and a lack of understanding of the political process only aggravated the scenario.

Today, thanks to the Indira-induced culture and the abject failure of the present leadership in matters of moral turpitude, the Congress party is infested with men of free-wheeling corruption, with no one to keep a proper check on their nefarious activities; these unscrupulous men being upstaged in the extent of corruption only by those who lead the small-time parties that are a part of the UPA alliance. For them all, here now was a golden opportunity to wield power and effect a progressive sell-out of the national interests, to their individual advantages. Who was there to keep a watch on them, or rein them in?

For Sonia, big, parrot-like talks apart, the Chintan Shivir was an occasion to press her immediate agenda forward: namely, to better position the heir apparent Rahul Gandhi; and to sound the poll bugle for the upcoming parliamentary polls that will decide the fate of not just the nation but also of the Nehru dynasty in remarkable ways. For, if the Congress and its alliance win the next polls, the dynasty will thrive – with the family (or the clique that surrounds the dynasty) getting one more opportunity to cement its base, and lead the family-driven party and through it the government -- as Rahul Gandhi's mother and her aides have been doing. If not, the other scenario is part hazy and part clear.

Signals are already emanating from the BJP headquarters -- which remained practically rudderless for the past few years, when it has crafted its own stories of corruption, also a la Karnataka style -- of a reactivation its leadership. It is a moot point whether it has a right to question the Congress on the issue of corruption, other than for the clean image that Narendra Modi has projected for himself and for the party from the western state of Gujarat. Yet, with just months left for the next polls, the party is set for a new lease of life. LK Advani has put the RSS in its place, a coup of sorts, and made it clear to them that it's he who called the shots in the party – a party that he built from scratch to this level -- than the Khakhi Nikikerwallahs in Nagpur, who, no doubt, provided ample support for its upkeep at the grassroots level. And with one hit down the belt, both Nitin Gadkari and Mohan Bhagwat are gasping for breath. One is out of his post; and the other is turned into a ghost of his former self, having lost his moral ground to continue in office -- his boy having been made to eat a humble pie. Gadkari would not have made this exit but for the “expose” anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal has done over a live nation-wide TV telecast a couple of months ago.

All the same, to challenge an establishment that is steeped in corruption is no easy task; especially as it has spread its tentacles deep and wide, bringing into its grip the entire power structure of a nation. In today's India, there is no denying the fact that vested interests are more powerful and engaging than they were at any time in the past. But, in small but significant ways, a la the Chautalas and Gadkaris, the cleansing process is making some headway. --premcee@gmail.com