The Congress party has ticked off Union Minister Jairam Ramesh for his remarks that Narendra Modi poses a challenge to the Party. Ramesh had dubbed Modi as the first authentic fascist – a remark that the BJP would not take too kindly to. But for the Congress Modi is like a red rag to a bull. The Party’s damage control team has distanced itself from Ramesh’s comments, calling them his ‘personal perceptions and not that of the Party. This is the biggest problem with all political parties in India. They have become masters of rhetoric and are busy providing fig leaves to the consistent failures of their top leaders. There is no such thing as introspection or even an attempt for an honest soul searching about where they have gone wrong and the need to repair major fault-lines. Earlier Congressmen have been pulled up for speaking their minds on various issues concerning the Party. Does this mean that the Party or its leaders are infallible? In a democracy it is absurd that there should be no dissenting space for members in a political party or that they cannot hold a public view such as Ramesh’s
There is no doubt at all that Narendra Modi is on the ascendancy, not because the BJP is in any great shape but mainly because of the leadership vacuum in the Congress Party. The people of this country are looking for a leader who can show the way; not someone who takes his cue from another power centre. Modi has not been diffident about projecting himself as the prime ministerial candidate of the NDA combine. How the BJP manages to retain the united NDA front until 2014 is a challenge it has to meet. Having overcome the LK Advani hurdle, the BJP believes it can now push forward and claim its space in the sun from now until the elections in May next year, if not earlier. Meanwhile the scam ridden UPA looks fatigued and unable to get its act together. The Government spends most of its time deflecting allegations on a host of issues. A defensive government can hardly provide leadership and this is telling on the economy. The rupee has slid to its lowest in the past two days. The RBI is trying its best to rescue the rupee from a further downslide. But these knee-jerk measures are hardly adequate when the economic policy of the country is incoherent. The UPA Government reflects the tentativeness of the Prime Minister. This country deserves better