The Rajasthan Congress took one day to expel Manchand Khandela, vice president of its Intellectual Cell, after his 250-page polemic against the ‘dynasty’ made it the laughing stock of Indian politics. Although Mr. Khandela didn’t tell us anything new, he did shine the spotlight on two unsavoury aspects of Gandhi Family politics, viz., Mom keeps mum and Baba blabs too much.
For Congress, these home truths were the equivalent of the “mukhauta” episode that grounded Advani acolyte K.N. Govindacharya. But whereas Atalji proved on several occasions that he was no “mask” and Madan Lal Khurana’s return settled the issue of supremacy in the BJP, for Congress the Khandela episode could signal the unravelling of its premier family.
I can understand the panic of Rajasthan PCC chief B.D. Kalla once it became known that “Sonia Gandhi and Indian Politics” called the lady a “manipulative maharani.” Since the BJP was as shocked, though delighted, at the unexpected salvo, it is obvious Mr. Khandela acted independently. His attack on dynastic politics probably reflects the suffocation party workers feel at the limitations the family imposes on their careers. Some issues mentioned in the book merit attention.
Foremost is the statement that “Sonia’s decision to decline the Prime Minister’s post was not a sacrifice but political compulsion. The decision was not the voice of her conscience.” This is true, as Ms. Gandhi went to meet the President with Dr. Manmohan Singh only to stake her claim to the job; she returned ashen-faced within minutes, barely able to speak to the media. Some hours later her “inner voice” was announced and “national mourning” orchestrated: “The entire scene in Parliament’s Central hall was like a darbar, where the Maharani was listening to her praise surrounded by sycophants. If Sonia really wanted to decline the post, what was the need for all this tamasha?” The question remains pertinent.
As for Amethi MP, Rahul Gandhi, Khandela says: “a young prince, who likes to talk big, has also become part of this darbar. He has the illusion that he has the divine right to rule India.” As if on cue, the heir to the dynasty quest to return to Race Course Road gave newsmagazine Tehelka (24 September 2005) an hour-long interview, which so scandalized the party that it made him deny giving the interview. Congress also forced the champion of ‘sting journalism’ to accept that no interview had been granted.
Since Rahul Gandhi is unlikely to be permitted free interaction with the media again, it is worth examining what he said to journalist Vijay Simha, as the hollow questions and vacuous answers convince me that the interview is genuine. What does the Harvard-educated Baba have to say about his constituency? According to Rahul Gandhi, “An MP can’t do much. I get Rs 2 crore (under MPLAD). That allows me to lay 8 kilometres of road. That’s it.” If this is true, it works out to a staggering Rs. 2500,000/- per km., and calls for an immediate end to the scheme! The MP adds: “But we have been able to get 500 kilometres of road laid in Amethi. To me that’s an achievement. What can I do beyond that? Nothing.” Yet this also works out to a healthy Rs. 40,000/km. I think there is need for a CAG enquiry in each MPLAD, especially the VIP pocket boroughs.
Following his illustrious parents, Rahul Gandhi is ignorant about India and proud of it. He tells his admiring interlocutor: “I do not arrogate to myself the belief that I am the repository of wisdom. I do not believe in the Indian tradition that there is one repository of knowledge, and that this repository is going to do everything.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but normally when we speak of repositories of knowledge in the Indian tradition, we mean the native Hindu tradition. Now this Hindu-Indian tradition does not believe there is only one repository of knowledge. That, Rahul dear, is a monotheistic mania which the Indian (Hindu) tradition has refused to imbibe. So next time you speak about tradition, do tell us if you mean your ‘fatherland,’ your ‘motherland,’ or your future ‘sasural’.
The piece de resistance is Rahul’s reason for entering politics! He says: “My goal is to take India to the number one slot… For that, my family taught me to be humble… Without humility I would be nowhere. I could have been prime minister at the age of 25 if I wanted to. But I decided I wouldn’t do things in that fashion. I would not go around yelling at my seniors, boy you guys, you can’t do this or you can’t do that. I could easily have done it. But I believe that unless I am able to bring something to the table, I must not take up anything.” Since Rahul is now 34, becoming prime minister at 25 would coincide with the time his mother led Congress to it’s lowest-ever tally; the young man is hallucinating in broad daylight!
Asked by his breathless interviewer if that meant he would not enter the Congress Working Committee, the could-have-been-PM demurred: “As a CWC member I can’t tell the prime minister not to do something. I can’t tell senior ministers and senior party leaders not to do something. That will be awkward.” Now before you conclude that Rahul is going to stay out, here is his very next statement: “I will get into the CWC. I will take more responsibility in the party. After all I am in politics… Of course, I’ll take my place at the appointed time.”
What this boils down to is quite simple. Mama Gandhi and her cohorts have chalked out a plan of action to launch Rahul Baba in a big way, so that he can replace Dr. Manmohan Singh before the next elections, provided the UPA lasts its full term. Dr. Singh understands that Madame is in a hurry and that he lacks the charisma to take Congress to victory at the hustings. Hence he graciously took the little prince to Kabul, to learn something about the political environment in India’s neighbourhood.
Sadly, this was lost on Rahul, who thinks he can only learn from Western countries. Gushing over a trip to Hamburg, he said: “Here people keep asking why I travel abroad. I am not going to do politics the way these people have done… When I meet people from other countries, they ask me about our problems. I think that if they are asking me this, there must be something wrong with the way we do things…” The Amethi MP adds: “There was this president of a small county… he looked at me and said it all depends on aid… he laid it out for me…showed me how important aid is. I go to Hamburg and this is what I get. How am I going to pick up something like this in India? How can I learn anything if I stay put in India…”
It is shamefully obvious that Rahul Gandhi looks at India with the eyes and mind of a foreigner who despises the natives but is determined to assert his ‘divine right’ to rule them. I wonder if Rudyard Kipling intended to extend this privilege to westernized oriental gentlemen (WOGs).
The Pioneer, 4 October 2005