Whose victory is it after all?

The Italian woman was all set to take the oath of the PM's office with the help of spineless, power hungry Jaichands like Lalu. There was none to tell her that she was wrong. She would not have seen reason till the end. It is pure bullshit that she never aspired to become the PM of India. She had once let the Congress party get divided over this issue. Had she had no desire to become the Prime Minister of India, she should not have allowed Sharad Pawar to leave the Congress and form NCP.
 

 

Three individuals, Govindacharya, Uma Bharati, and Sushma Swaraj made so much of difference. What were they doing? They were expressing the disgust of the people over the issue of Sonia's foreign origin. They gave ample indication of the things that may have followed had she ascended the throne. The issue was going to snowball into as potent a movement as Ramjanmbhoomi movement. The very perceptive elements of the church anticipated it right and they advised Sonia against the idea. She backtracked at the last moment.
 

It was obviously a tactical retreat, a smart move in the eyes of many, to counteract the spirited onslaught by Govindacharya, Uma Bharati, Sushma Swaraj, and the likes of Tavleen Singh. Whereas, theirs was not a strategic move. Had their sole aim been to hurt the Congress politically,  it would not have worked. It was a spontaneous expression of their heartfelt sentiments which was also the inner voice of millions of their countrymen. Govindacharya was determined to carry on the struggle till the end; it was a 'Karo ya Maro' issue for him. He said this in his speech at the end of his protest march in Delhi. There were hardly hundred persons with him. It was not a managed crowd. He was not bothered though. He was fighting for the honour of Indians. The idea that an Italian will lead Indians was revolting and unbearable to him. He had come out of political hibernation for this reason alone responding to the call of his conscience and to save the national honour.
 

 

And look at the kind of difference it made. Conviction communicates better than mere media hype. Had the BJP fought the elections with conviction, they won't have been defeated. Vajpayee has never been a man of conviction. He has always been limited by his self image. The BJP and the rest of NDA became subservient to the cause of Vajpayee's image promotion. They had nothing else to communicate to the people. And what did the people saw of him in his public meetings? An old man, who could not walk and talk. And when he opened his mouth, he spoke more about the Congress and his retirement plans.
 

So, who won in the end? It is the courage of conviction that won. Govindacharya's message was loud and clear. He dared the Congress to instal Sonia as the PM and also be ready to face the consequences for the dark deed. The Congress and the Church developed a cold feet. They could sense in their guts the enormity of the issue. They had to retreat. It was a wise decision on their part, the rest that happened thereafter was cheap drama for the consumption of a friendly media, TV media in particular.

Sonia was not driven to act in the manner she acted listening to the call of her conscience as pronounced by her.

Congress and conscience, the two can never meet, like the banks of a stagnant river wherein rots the filth of corruption, power play, and self aggrandizement. Had Sonia had that conscience, she would have declared at the very outset that it would not be correct for a foreigner to adorn the chair of India's PM. What did she do instead? Her constant refrain was 'I am the Bahu, I was married in India, I became a mother and a widow here, there is blood of my husband soaked in the soil of India, etc., etc.,'. She has been mouthing these cheap filmi dialogues written by old loyalists and third class dialogue writers like Kamaleshwar since the last seven years just to convince the electorate about her Indianness. her Chamchas like Suni Dutt have been advancing the arguments like 'the gotra of the Bahu in a family is changed to that of the husband.' Mr. Dutt, by that definition, the late Nargis Dutt should have been cremated instead of being buried. Why didn't her Gotra undergo a change?

What did her conscience say any way? Did it convince her that it was not right for an Italian to aspire for the Prime Minister's job in India? When did her conscience actually come alive? Certainly, it took Govindacharya, Sushma Swaraj, and Uma Bharati's stoic opposition to the idea that did the trick. Sonia should bow before the trio that they showed her the right path. Or did her conscience say that she was not fit to be the PM? Sonia also mentioned that she was never after power. What has she been after all these years then?

Jaychands of Indian politics are hailing her as a saint. The Church may probably seek her canonization now. She has, after all, performed a miracle by reviving the Congress. The Indian sub-continent will have two white skinned saints now, one dead and the other alive. They will lead the flock of black and brown complexioned sheep to the waiting armies of Padres. There is one problem though. What happens to the Presidentship of the Congress, and the CPP leadership? She has just self acquired the new position, the chairperson of the CPP. What will happen to that? She has given up the post of the Prime Minister, before that she has ensured that the PM does not have any room to make any political or personal manoeuvres within the party.

Ha, Ha, Ha...This is renunciation, the Congress style.

So, now we have Manmohan Singh, the new Prime Minister of India, who looks to 'Madam', the combined reincarnation of Buddha, Gandhi, and Christ, before opening his mouth. He admits in front of the world media that the PMship is Madam's 'Bheeksha' and she can have it back whenever she wants. He knows his position very well. He was not even prepared to read the President's letter of invitation in front of the media. He wanted Madam to do the needful. He was not too sure if Madam would like him to do it. Madam was a bit too embarrassed by this public expression of servile gratitude. Manmohan Singh knows that the day he utters a single word that is not liked by Madam, the same crowd of Congressmen will cry for his blood who have been conducting a cacophonous orchestra in front of 10 Janpath for three days. This Prime Minister will have no say in the party. He will act as the dog of 10 Janpath, kept at a tight leash. He won't even be allowed to bark without the orders of his mistress and her children. He will be constantly reminded by the cohorts of Madam that 'woh Madam ki di hui rotiyon per pal raha hai'. The drama at 10 Janpath was staged for this effect alone.

Look at the sad situation, the family of Manmohan Singh cannot even celebrate this event openly lest they may be faulted. They cannot even smile without the permission of Madam. Mr. and Mrs. Manmohan Singh can only celebrate in the loneliness of their bedroom or kitchen or the bathroom in the absence of the media. Imagine, Manmohan going into the bath room, looking at the mirror, and shouting soundlessly to himself that he was the Prime Minister of India. That is the best he can do. God willing, it may happen some day that Sardarji's conscience turns vocal like the late Giyani Zailsingh's (who was rumoured to have decided to take over the reins of the nation in his hands as the Supreme Commander of the armed forces following the political turmoil over the Bofors issue).
 

The matter of Sonia and her origins is far from over. It has assumed a dimension that should be considered worse than the original problem. What is worse? An Italian Prime Minister or a proxy Prime Minister who prostrates before an Italian to seek her blessings before the start of the day and who cannot even raise a finger without her express orders? The moment it is found that Manmohan Singh is trying to spread his wings, he will be trashed. And apart from the Madam, Lalu and the rest will always be on his head. It is quite possible that some of the Congressmen will continue to address the Italian woman as 'our Prime Minister'.
 

The best solution of this problem could have been to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister of India. Why was it not done? His age should not have been a problem. Rajeev was more or less of the same age as Rahul when he was made the Prime Minister, a few years older probably. Why Sonia has to subject Sardar Manmohan Singh to this humiliating and miserable existence? The real drama will start unfolding very soon, probably, immediately after the new PM takes his oath. By the way, the day of his oath taking will also be decided by the Madam (Real) Prime Minister.

Sonia must leave the Congress organisation in the hands of her children now.  She had kept the seat warm for them all these years. Her task is over. She should retire gracefully.  Why is she clinging on? What is her problem? If it is the agenda of the Church that has been prompting her to do so, she can entrust the task to her children.  She must leave India to Indians. Enough of the bullshit and hype about how the portraits of Nehru, Indira, and Rajeev have been prompting her to serve the Congress and the people of India. Her departure from the political scene will set at rest quite a few ghosts Indians had to grapple with including Bofors and Quotorchhi.
 

 Her children have been quick to learn the tricks of the Congress trade. They can lie through the teeth without any compunction. The best example of that was Rahul's story about how he once called up her mother from Amethi to ask her if she really wanted to be the Prime Minister and how she said she was not interested. What a bullshitter he is? He can any day outdo the likes of Rajeev Shukla, Manishankar Aiyar, Kapil Sibbal, and the rest .