AN ANALYSIS OF CONGRESS

In the utter chaos that has taken over the national psyche over the past few days, I, like my billion other brethren, have borne witness to a combination of unsurpassed greed, unabashed arrogance and sheer brutality that has hijacked the grand old party of India – The Indian National Congress. If Gandhiji were aware that the party he used as an instrument to fight injustice would one day be reduced to a petty ‘front’ patronized by smugglers and thieves driven to defraud and destroy the nation he loved so dearly, he would probably have fasted unto death to rid this country of the scourge that is the Congress Party.

As a concerned Indian citizen, I shall make a humble attempt to put forth the unbiased, unadulterated and uncomfortable truth amongst all of you. I will also allow you to be the judge of what you consider to be the truth, unlike many in the ruling establishment, who would much rather preach to you than sit down and have a civilized discussion. The Congress has always believed that it possesses an exclusive right to run this country like its personal fiefdom, under the name and seal of one of the most revered sons that India has ever produced. A semantic coincidence led to a very convenient proposition for one particular family, and they have exploited that clever wordplay to its fullest ever since. The 5th of June 2011 may well be the last time that tyranny will be allowed a free hand in this country.

The surreptitious midnight laathi charge of Baba’s peaceful congregation, ordered at the behest of the Congress President Sonia Gandhi was perhaps one of the most brutal acts of state fueled tyranny that independent India has ever seen. It may be unnecessary to make shrill comparisons between this incident and what transpired at Jallianwallan Bagh or for that matter Indira Gandhi’s dictatorial imposition of the Emergency; but it is bad enough that this incident is being compared to such horrific chapters from our history. When a heartless government chooses to throw tear gas and resorts to police laathis to beat up sleeping women and children gathered to protest for a just cause, it is time to be very, very worried. Digvijay Singh would like us all to believe that Ramdev is a thug – very well, but then he must also explain why three cabinet ministers from his Government chose to receive him at the airport prior to engaging him in numerous closed door conferences. Incidentally, Digvijay Singh, the Congress General Secretary, is also the same person who publicly denounced Osama Bin Laden’s death and held a prayer meeting for his soul.

When these discussions with Ramdev amounted to naught, the Congress Plan B sprung into action with Kapil Sibbal leading the charge to discredit the same man they were fawning over just a few hours prior to their failed negotiations. The nation was also made privy to the fancy farce pulled off by Sibbal and Janardan Dwivedi, who claimed that Ramdev backtracked on his word, and betrayed the Government – which they proudly proclaimed by waving a sheet torn off from a spiral bound pad. At first this seemed like a legitimate complaint of the Government – after all a man should stand by his word. The truth that emerged later, however, was less than savory for the Government. Ramdev was coerced into writing a ‘draft’ letter for the Prime Minister, which comprised of the minutes of the meeting as well as his acquiescence to call off the fast when and if those demands were met. Little did Ramdev know, that this letter would be used by the shrewd cronies of the party to legitimize their midnight attack on the old and infirm. Very crafty indeed. The Congress has always prospered by conjuring images of a fascist regime taking control of the center and thereby ruining the ‘secular fabric’ of the nation.

As a liberal and educated Indian, I find the Congress’ attack on free speech and the Constitutionally protected right to peaceful protest most alarming. So grave is this attack on democracy and the Constitution, that even the Supreme Court was forced to take suo motu action and has issued notices to several functionaries of the Government to explain why this gross injustice was perpetrated upon the protesters. The White House issued a statement last night condemning the brutal police action against unarmed agitators in the harshest terms possible. Soli Sorabjee was even more scathing in his reproach – he equated the acts of the Government to Tianmenn Square in China, and wondered when the tanks would roll in to quell the people’s dissent. Even Anna Hazare has not been spared the vitriol by venom spewing party spokespersons of the Congress. Quite laughably, he has been called a fascist and corrupt element trying to mislead the nation. This is the same man they cajoled and swindled into giving up his fast unto death, negotiated with, and then finally buckled down to. Anna was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian honors for his ceaseless service to humanity in India; but the Congress’s double speak and hypocrisy become all too apparent with their recent attempts to discredit him. Anyone familiar with debating circles will be well acquainted with the Ad Hominem rule of argumentation. It is a frowned upon tactic taken up by those who have weak positions and involves attacking the opposition’s character and maligning his image, instead of arguing on the core issues in question. Manish Tewari, Kapil Sibbal and Dwivedi all excel at this type of argumentation.

The Congress Party has always placed the interests of the Gandhi family above those of the nation; this they have done quite unabashedly, and openly proclaim their love and loyalty to the scion of this family, no matter what be the cost. This sycophantic display of crony-ism has to be looked at in the larger context of what is happening in the country. The Lok Pal Bill contains within it the tools to bring to book elected representatives of the people for their excesses and illegalities while in power. Even by conservative estimates, it has been suggested that tens of billions of unaccounted wealth belonging to Indians is stashed away in foreign banks. A renowned foreign newspaper published a report that the Gandhi family has $21 Billion dollars stowed away in these havens. Suddenly, it becomes crystal clear as to why the Congress is so apprehensive about issues such as black money and the Lok Pal Bill capturing the nation’s imagination.

Just think about it – if we succeed in bringing about a law which will bring under its ambit the Prime Minister and the Judiciary, it would open the floodgates to a new India, where corruption would no longer enjoy political or judicial immunity. Let us also not forget, that the current Government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh, is the most corrupt and rudderless excuse of an executive that this nation has ever seen. The taint of corruption and misrule rides so heavy on the party, that it is forced to seek new ways to discredit the opposition. Let us also not forget, that this is the same Government that took twenty five years to give up on the Bofors Scam, six years to open cases in the 2G Scam, three years to wake up to the Commonwealth Games Scam, but magically took just four hours to strike down a peaceful movement that was protesting all of the above. Full marks to the efficiency of the Government.

Several Congress leaders and an irrelevant bollywood actor have been crying hoarse that a yogi should stick to teaching yoga, and not attempt to enter the political arena. This pathetic logic assumes great importance when one realizes that Rahul Gandhi lists himself as a farmer in his election application, leading one to conclude that farmers have an inherent birthright to talk about national issues but businessmen and yogis do not. By that estimation most Congressmen should stick to the Courts and their farms, and allow politics to be dominated by self-perpetuating dynasties; something the congress takes great pride in doing.

The Congress finds itself heading down an extremely slippery path, with public opinion dead against it, and their own arrogance reducing their legitimacy to lead the country with every passing minute. I would like to appeal to all of you to take an objective view on what is transpiring in our beloved country today, and not get misled by the loudest voice in the room. Jai Hind ! J.A.D.

BY JAI DEHADRAI