It is not often that the
members of Congress party’s first family interact with media. Media also has
accepted that it is perfectly fine. One does not hear ‘Nation wants to know’ type
questions thrown at Gandhi family members. If and when they interact, it is
with so much preparation and so selectively done.
Therefore, it came as a
surprise when media reported that, today, Rahul Gandhi walked into an official
Press briefing of AICC and made some suo
moto comments on the Draft Ordinance on protecting membership of convicted representatives.
Nobody in the Media would have expected him to come out and make a strong
statement against his Party’s own government. He said, "My
personal opinion about the ordinance on lawmakers is that it is complete
nonsense, it should be torn and thrown away. I personally think that whatever
the government is doing on this ordinance is wrong” (as reported by http://indiatoday.intoday.in)
Well,
my personal opinion perfectly matches Rahul’s version. However, there is a
difference. I am an individual with an opinion on so many things, but they are
personal and accountable to no one. Rahul Gandhi is the Vice President of the
Party that heads the Government and the cabinet that approved the Draft
Ordinance in question. He is also the heir apparent and future Prime Minister,
if we go by the words of even the present PM. More importantly, he represents
the first family of Congress that holds the exclusive right, to the last word
in Congress.
Expectedly, what
followed was Ajay Maken’s official statement that said, "Rahul Gandhi has put forth his views on the
ordinance. Rahul Gandhi's position on the ordinance is the Congress' position.
Rahul has taken this step on high moral and principle ground.” It should have
been known to Rahul that when he speaks, it becomes official version of the Congress
Party.
That leaves his party’s
Prime Minister and the Cabinet that that approved the draft resolution with a lot
of rotten egg on their face. That too when Prime Minister is on a foreign tour,
meeting and interacting with world leaders. The statement also leaves Rahul
Gandhi himself looking immature and unpolished. There was no need for such a
brazen behavior. There was a much better way to do this.
The President of India has
sought clarifications on the Ordinance from the concerned ministers. The
President’s refusal to sign should have been taken as an indication and Rahul Gandhi
could have given a statement, as follows:
Congress
Party has taken note that the President of India has expressed some concerns
and sought some clarifications on the Ordinance. We have also received feedback,
expressing outrage on the proposed Ordinance, from the public and party
workers. While the Ordinance was brought with a limited purpose, to bring a
clause passed by our own Parliament and subsequently held unconstitutional by
the Supreme Court, back into force as we in the Party and Government considered
it the right thing to do. However, considering the outrage from various
quarters, Congress Party and I personally, request the Prime Minister and
Cabinet to reconsider the draft of the Ordinance. We believe, in a democracy
the public opinion must be given utmost importance and, therefore, I am sure PM
and Cabinet will be happy to reconsider the Ordinance.
We
also realize that while it may be unfair to the persons who are convicted but
the conviction is stayed by the court of appeal, to unseat them before appeal
if decided, such an Ordinance will be seen as endorsement of criminals in
politics. Even such a perception will not be in the interest of our democracy. “If
you want to fight corruption in the country whether it is Congress party or
BJP, we cannot continue making these small compromises. Because if we make
these small compromises, then we compromise everywhere”.
But alas…it was not to be! A thing that could have
been done with utmost finesse and élan was reduced to such an unacceptable
level. In public life, especially when you are being projected as the future
Prime Minister of this country, not just what you say, but how you say it also assumes
lot of importance.
