Vivek Gumaste
(Courtesy trail mail)
The l’affaire
Vadra brings to the fore a far more serious malady than the ostensible crony
capitalism that it suggests; a rot that strikes at the very heart of our
democracy; an ugly affliction that portends disastrous consequences for the
nation’s long-term stability: namely, the extent and depth of sycophancy that
pervades India’s premier political party.
Sycophancy is the reigning currency of the Congress party.
The scene was
reminiscent of medieval times with bumbling court jesters rushing in to outdo
one another in their demonstration of loyalty to their master, or mistress to
be precise. No sooner had Arvind Kejriwal listed his charges against Vadra that
a posse of apologists sprung to Vadra’s defence; a defence team that comprised
top-ranking members of the Union Cabinet such as Corporate Affairs Minister M
Veerappa Moily and Finance Minister P Chidambaram; even the governor of a state
far removed from New Delhi chimed in to join this chorus of bootlicking
flattery.
In an exercise
that depicted the worst of toadying behaviour, these self-appointed guardians
of Vadra’s virtue hurled vicious counter-accusations at members of India
Against Corruption, and hallucinated about dark conspiracies in a fit of
indignant rage. But the basic premise was clear: how could anyone dare target
the son-in-law of the Congress’s First Family. To drive home this point
further, the upright IAS officer Ashok Khemka probing the matter was promptly
transferred.
Sadly, what was
missing in this entire defence operation was what mattered most: a fact-based
rebuttal. Allegations cannot be countered by merely ratcheting up the decibel
of refutation; they warrant a direct logical response. By this knee-jerk
response, the Congress party bared itself to reveal its true persona: the
fiefdom of a single family; a polity that places a premium on the interests of
its First Family than on the principles germane to the well-being of the
country.
Sonia Gandhi’s
uninterrupted, election-free 14-year tenure as the President of the Indian
National Congress is a unique achievement—one that is unmatched by even past
stalwarts. Jawaharlal Nehru was a giant who strode the Indian political scene
like a colossus, yet his tenure as Congress party president included three
terms of one year and two terms of two years for a cumulative total of seven
years. Even Indira Gandhi, despite her dictatorial streak, found it prudent to
restrict herself to two terms—one lasting five years and the other two. From 1885
to the late 1960s, it was the norm for party presidents to have a term not
exceeding one year with rare exceptions. An entrenched leadership not subject
to internal elections thrives on and sustains servility.
Sycophancy is a
tool that seeks illegitimate ascendancy by pandering to the ego of insecure
weak leaders, thwarting ethical values and displacing merit in the process.
These two entities feed into each other to engender a warped culture of debased
values. A ruling party afflicted with this canker spells disaster for the
country. The gubernatorial deficiencies of the Congress-led UPA government is
testimony to the ill-effects of this scourge.
The party that was
built up by the likes of Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru
needs to be restored to its former self to fulfil its role as one of two
national parties.
Gumaste is
a US-based commentator and academic
No comments:
Post a Comment