The nation has to make its choice of choosing a
leader that leads its people on the path of prosperity. It is a time to
establish that we as a nation make the right choice by upholding our highly
cherished democratic norms. It is a time to prove to the world and etch
in history that we are not a monarchy in disguise, we are not a land of feudal
lords and we are not a nation that hangs by the branches of a banyan tree
planted by the grandfather just for the reason that it bears his name. We
need to progress in a competitive world, protect ourselves from our enemies,
refocus the power of youth, build bridges for a prosperous tomorrow and erase
incompetence, complacency, corruption and internal conflicts. We live in
a testing time. As such, we need to seriously weigh our choices.
At a time like this and while making the right
choice, we need to capitalize on experience, efficiency and effectiveness of a
leader that has proven his worth in the society. The choice that we make
for the nation is the choice that we make on the future of our children.
While people are frustrated with the indecisive rule of Congress that is
fraught with senility and sycophancy and are getting excited about the
prospects of Narendra Modi leading our
nation, Congress is positioning Rahul
Gandhi as a future Prime Minister.
What a choice of leader the Congress puts forward!
Rahul is a Gandhi by name. It is a great name
that is unconnected to the great one but was acquired by an insignificant quirk
of fate after his grandmother married a man by that name and then passed on
these precious six alphabets carefully through the generations. This
Gandhi who lent his family name to Rahul did nothing worthy of that name that
we so fondly cherish, but very unknowingly, he created a mammoth brand capital
to the family and to a political party that has nothing else to pride about but
the name. Well, what's in a name? In this case, much of everything
that is not in the person who bears it. The name bears a powerful
recognition which may perhaps mesmerize and confuse the younger generation of
India. It has that power which keeps a tight leash on the largest
political party that no longer has an idealism or vision to lead the country and even give promotion to those facing serious corruption charges . It has
the allure of making an ordinary Indo-Italian man into a crown prince and
heir-apparent of extraordinary fortune. It has that amazing historical
value that easily turned an Italian woman on Indian soil into a 'Regent' and
the Indian National Congress into a 'Regency'. It is a name that when
misplaced on a fortunate lad - shamed the democratic norms and legitimized a
'monarchy' with a sugar coat of democracy.
Modi is not a Gandhi by name. Except that he
comes from the soil, which bore Gandhi, he too is unconnected to the great one
in lineage. He does not have the fortune of the insignificant quirk of
fate that endowed the head of the Prince of Congress with the halo of power.
He had no illusions of rising to power through thumb-sucking childhood on
a political landscape where regents would wait on his steps. He has
worked his way up by serving the people for decades, delivering goods that
matter in the everyday lives and binding the individual fates of the 6 crore people
of Gujarat to a smiling destiny of a better tomorrow. He did not rise in
power as a namesake or for the namesake. He bore a vision of delivering
power to the peoples' arms, so that they could earn their meal, quench their
thirst, raise their children, live in honour and build a society of health,
happiness and hope. What's in his name? Nothing that brings power
or some beneficial confusion that the name 'Gandhi' brings. But what's in
his deeds is what matters.
Under Modi, peace has reigned in Gujarat with a
record of no communal riots in a decade of his rule while the other parts of
country have faced recurrent riots. AP, UP, Bihar and Maharastra
have seen repeated events of communal disharmony. Modi does
not pursue an appeasement policy as he targets
development for all. UK's most
influential Muslim MP, Lord Adam Patel, who is the founder of Council of
Indian Muslims , a UK-based organisation that was formed to campaign against
Gujarat riots, met Modi on 24th Jan 2013 to show solidarity. Adam, who played a
pivotal role in organizing protests during Modi's visit to London in 2003, has
now reconciled to the fact that Modi is a friend of all communities alike and
has invited him to London
.
In the recently concluded Election of Gujarat,
11% Muslim voted in favour of BJP which is a significant change in
the thinking and proves against a common belief that Muslims do not favour
him. Time magazine has held high the message of Brand Gujarat and it now
looks like the model that should cover the entire republic of India.
Against such tall accomplishments of development and communal harmony,
what is being compared is a person of no vision, experience, accomplishment,
public acceptance or even relevance to our society.
If Rahul Gandhi is the choice before us against the
prospect of Narendra Modi, it plainly is a choice between inexperience and
experience. It is a choice between someone who has never held an office
against one who has led a state for over a decade and established a model of exemplary development.
It will be a choice between upholding monarchy against voicing for
democracy.
And if Rahul is the choice, it is a fateful choice of a pitiable
nation.
V K SAXENA
PRESIDENT
National Council for Civil Liberties,
Ahmedabad.
