Too Harsh Too Late

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On 27th September, something the whole population of our country had been waiting for since 2004, took the form of reality. Rahul Gandhi emerged as the new Congress Head and came to the forefront when he rejected the contentious ordinance which would save convicted legislators, embarrassing PM Manmohan Singh hours before his meeting with US President Barack Obama.

Stunning the press, along with the nation, Rahul said, “I’ll tell you what my opinion on the ordinance is. It’s complete nonsense. It should be torn up and thrown away. That is my personal opinion,” effectively undermining PM’s authority and conveying a shift of power in the Congress. Or so it seems.

The whole nation has been going gaga over the ordinance controversy and the shift of power it showcased, which basically means that the people are excited to see the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty scion finally take up on his legacy, because as they say, better late than never. But does this incident really show that? Aside from the Congress Vice-president giving a statement which left our mum Prime Minister red in the face, does it really mean anything else? Let us see.

Rahul Gandhi’s declaration of the ordinance as “complete nonsense” comes a month after the Cabinet cleared a bill to protect convicted politicians, more than three weeks after the government led by his party attempted to secure parliamentary sanction for the legislation, two weeks after the core group headed by party president Sonia Gandhi directed the Cabinet to pass an ordinance and a week after it was submitted to the President for his sanction. In his defense, he had written to the PM regarding his displeasure over the ordinance, albeit in a politer manner. Even if we believe that, doesn’t this incident show another reaction that is one too late rather than a ‘shift in power’ in Congress, as it is being seen?  For, we all have an idea about which person is running the country, no matter who is sitting on the seat of PM, and that person is not who was publicly embarrassed.

If seen from that angle, all of it seems like a big sham for the benefit of 2014 election rather than a “game changer” or even a “leader’s revulsion of being drenched in the stench of status quo politics”, as quoted from various sources.

What the Congress does not realize, is that our country is in a condition where we need a stable face to be the leader. BJP has already at least given a face to the masses, going by the name of Narendra Modi. Whether he will prove to be stable for our country’s turbulent condition, only time will tell. On the other side, Congress is not declaring anything and is being extremely ambiguous about their PM candidate. This is risky for them, as the voters won’t go for a repeat of 2004, where the person who in reality got votes did not become the PM.

It is extremely vital, in my view, for them to declare a PM candidate, as the people have a right to know in whose hands are they giving their nation and if it is Rahul Gandhi, he needs to get his act together as there can be no more risks or fiascoes as in past, if Congress wants to come back in power. He needs to realize that too harsh comments won’t always be taken lightly by others and too late outbursts won’t always be overshadowed by the former in the guise of a ‘game changer’ event.

About the Author

sonakshi Sonakshi Faujdar

Sonakshi is a first year law student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune. She completed  her schooling from CJM Convent St. Anthony’s Junior College, Agra, where she was  the Head Girl of the student council. Her interests include reading, writing and  debating and she enjoys good music, appreciates humour, thrives on sarcasm and  generally annoys the hell out of her friends (that last bit is unintentional, well most  times anyway). Currently, she is experiencing and surviving through the first year  of law school and is extremely excited about the opportunity to share her views on the platform provided by the Alexis Foundation.

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