Editorial...

Manmohan on Rabri way ?

Smt. Rabri Devi was a simple housewife. When Laluji got involved in criminal cases and was left with no alternative but to resign, he declared that he would quit but his (house)wife shall be the Chief Minister in his place. No persons other than her, in his view, were more capable than her to run the government in his place. And it happened. Laluji made his pilgrimage to the jail and Smt. Rabri Devi straightaway shifted from Laluji’s chulha-chauka (kitchen) to occupy CM’s chair to preside over Laluji’s kitchen cabinet. Those days – it is repeated even now every now and then – it became a common talk of the town: If Smt. Rabri can be a chief minister and run the government of a large State like Bihar, what remains impossible in the country and the world? These words exposed the weakness of our democracy and helplessness of our political leaders. Not a single MLA of Shri Lalu’s RJD had the guts to ask: What are you doing? How will the poor Rabri run the government? And till then she had played no role in the party. The question arises: What made them keep silent? If you go deep into the matter, you find that whoever was an MLA or a leader in RJD, himself was nothing. None of them had his own personal identity or existence on their own.

It may, to many, look odd to rake up this question today after so many years. But this is being done only because the question has become more relevant today. The situation as it stands today is worse than that when Rabri donned the crown of chief ministership. The person occupying the chair is powerless to do anything and the person who is without the chair calls the shots and gets things done with just a nod of her head or a frown on her face. Running a government seems to have become meaningless requiring no intelligence and experience. If Dr. Manmohan Singh is running a government for the last 20 months, there is nothing to feel surprised or proud of. Smt. Rabri Devi too did run a government and that too for two consecutive terms. The only reality is that the government was just running on routine and nothing else mattered. The point is whether those for whom this government is being run are aware of this fact or not. No doubt, there was a government in Bihar, but only for Lalu-Rabri clan or RJD family and not for the people of the State. Ultimately, the government not meant for the people was shown the door by the people themselves. The matter did not end there. The Congress Party which was the mainstay of the Lalu-Rabri family government too was not spared by the people. In the end, it ended up as a loser greater than RJD.

The Left parties supporting the UPA from outside seem oblivious of the fate that awaits them. They think whatever misfortune will befall, it will only hit the Congress. Who, after all, are the parties supporting every wrong done by UPA though always accompanied by a threat? Are they not the Left parties? They may try to wriggle out of their responsibility for the anti-people policies of UPA government on the plea that they are not part of the Alliance. But who will be taken in by these platitudes of the Left? People are not fools. The Left may take them so; they may try to make a fool of them, but people know each and everything. The ever rising prices have sapped the sweetness from sugar; rice has started losing its taste; atta is going out of reach and kerosene oil is burning the hearts, not the hearths of the aam aadmi; and diesel is decelerating life. UPA has made it costlier to live and cheaper to die. In connivance with Congress, the Left has made the common man bleed from the torments inflicted by UPA while, on its part, the Left is enjoying the sweet pleasures of power.

The Communists are happy that they have the best of both the worlds – of the ruling and opposition alike. But people always keep a close watch on those who believe in “Heads I win, tails you lose”.

During the last about two years Congress has stooped even to that level it had so far refrained from in the past. In its anxiety to continue sticking to power it has prostrated itself before the Leftists. The latter too had not, to that extent, compromised with their principles and ideology, as it is doing these days. Far away from whatever they had in the name of principles, they are enjoying and relaxing themselves in the luxury of five-star power.

The Leftists are blackmailing UPA by airing their plan to revive the Third Front. But, at the same time, they are also not doing anything in that direction. It is just a threat, a ruse to keep UPA in fear psychosis. They do not wish to burn their bridges with the Congress and at the same time they want just to flirt with Samajwadi Party without entering into a formal political alliance. Their only aim is to strengthen themselves by weakening the Congress. They have a set agenda and they are moving as per their plan. They continue to thrash Congress and at the same time don’t allow it to cry too. It is a great paradox that the one who is calling the shots from outside the government is getting stronger and the one who runs it is getting weaker day by day. So far we had heard of the big fish devouring the smaller one but in the current political set up, it seems the small fish is gulping down the big one. A scenario never seen before!

The way UPA government is conducting itself, it appears it is held hostage by the Left parties. This bandhua (bonded) Congress will one day have to face the hard realities of politics and make up its mind in unequivocal terms to decide its priorities. It has to tell everyone whether it preferred the people or the pleasures of power. It is time Congress took a decision. Otherwise, the people will themselves have to decide and they will do with Congress what they did with RJD in Bihar a few months earlier.

Soon there will be elections to assemblies in five States. BJP is performing its role of an effective and constructive opposition. Yet the parties in power in these States too will not have an easy going in elections. They will have to face people’s wrath for not coming up to their expectations and not honouring the pledges made to the electorate during last elections. BJP must take advantage of the bursting out of people’s anger against the ruling parties to make people realise that neither the future of their State nor of the country is safe in the hands of Congress and the Left parties. BJP needs to jump into the fray in these States with full strength and vigour. With sincerity of purpose and dedication, it can certainly move mountains. There is no doubt about it.