Rahul
Gandhi was elevated as the Vice-President of the Indian National Congress in
the recently held party meeting at Jaipur. He delivered his first
Vice-Presidential speech on January 20, 2013. It had all the elements of a
Rahul Gandhi speech (http://severallyalone.blogspot.in/2012/12/rahul-gandhis-love-for-potato-potato_19.html).
But
since it was the first one after his formal elevation (even if the elevation
was just a symbolic one and he was already the part of central decision making pivot
along with mother, Sonia Gandhi, in the grand old party of India), let’s
have a look on the content and contentions. The speech had many contradictory
elements.
Now
there can be alternative ways to look at the contradictions in the context of
this speech.
The
elements of contradiction may be an indication that Rahul Gandhi realizes the
pitfalls and negative elements in the functioning of the Congress party and intends
to work to rectify them.
Alternatively,
it was a poor speechmaking again which belied the content of the speech in the
context of the history of the background.
Let’s
take up contradictions* from the speech (sourced from the All India Congress
Committee website**):
Contradiction
-1: Leadership, Centralization and Decentralization
“Power
is grossly centralized in our country.
We only empower people at the top of a system. We don’t believe in empowering people all the
way to bottom.”
“We
need the aam aadmi to participate in our politics. Because even as I speak their future is being
decided in closed rooms.”
“अब मैं थोडा हिंदी में, संगठन के बारे में बोलना चाहता हूँ। आपने मुझे ये बहुत बड़ी
जिम्मेदारी दी है, और ये एक पार्टी कहलाती है मगर सचमुच में ये एक परिवार है।
इस बात को आप मानते हैं की ये हिंदुस्तान का, शायद
दुनिया का सबसे बड़ा परिवार है और इसमें हिंदुस्तान के सब लोग अन्दर आ सकते हैं।”
“दूसरी बात, हम
लीडरशिप डेवलपमेंट पर फोकस नहीं करते। आज से 5-6 साल बाद ऐसी बात होनी चाहिए। अगर किसी स्टेट में
हमें chief-minister
की जरूरत हो, तो जैसे पहले फोटो हुआ करती थी कांग्रेस पार्टी की, चालीस फोटो हुआ करती थी। नेहरु, पटेल, आज़ाद
जैसे हुआ करते थे, giants होते थे, उनमें
से कोई भी देश का PM बन
सकता था। उनमें से कोई भी देश को चला सकता था। सिर्फ प्रदेश को नहीं, देश को चला सकें, ऐसे 40-50 नेता तैयार करने हैं।”
Yes, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, power is absolutely centralized in our
country and it has much to do with the absence of the internal democracy in the
political parties and an ever-strengthening dynasty politics.
The prevailing culture of the political parties in India
It began with the Congress party just after the Independence
A look back at the prime-ministerial tenures and the Congress
party presidential tenures is self explanatory.
Presidents of the Congress party from the Nehru-Gandhi family
post-Independence (since August 15, 1947)
Jawaharlal Nehru – 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954
Indira Gandhi – 1959, 1978-83, 1983-83
Rajiv Gandhi – 1985-1991
Sonia Gandhi – 1998 to Present
Total number of years when the Congress party has had a party
president from the Nehru-Gandhi family: 32 years (Out of 65 years of Independence
Prime ministers of India
Jawaharlal Nehru - 1947–1964
Indira Gandhi - 1966–1977, 1980–1984
Rajiv Gandhi - 1984–1989
Total number of years when the country had a prime-minister from
the Nehru-Gandhi family: 38 years (Out of 65 years of Independence
Continued..
* Parts of Rahul Gandhi’s speech have been taken up randomly based
on the suitability of a particular element of contradiction.
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/
