The retreat of Lalu Prasad Yadav into political slumber had
left a gaping hole in the Indian political scene. All the fun seemed lost and
boring people like MMS, Sonia Gandhi and the ever so grim PC made everyone feel
that the favorite sitcom in India was over. But along came a new breed of super
politicos who believed in getting lime light by speaking on issues where a
toddler would know that silence was a better choice. With an ALL WORDS, NO
PANTS attitude and a penchant for cooking up political storms with their out of
control lip service, they mostly shoot themselves in the foot and make their
parties and associates run for cover often making Rakhi Sawant seem more
intelligent in choice of words.
Not so long ago , the greatest “Harvard Graduate” ever to
tread on the roads of our nation, got a statistic wrong which made me think kya
ye panchvi pass se tez hain? Rahul Gandhi just could not get the difference
between- in Punjab, 70% of youth are drug addicts vs 70% of the drug addicts
are youth and once again proved why his silence is precious. It makes him look
so elegant and intelligent. Sadly, his words never match that impression.
The Gandhi scion’s brother in law has lived in the shadows
for too long. Robert Vadra probably was fed up of utilizing Gandhi name undercover.
He decided to hog the limelight and he did. Only problem, it was a rant “ Mango
people in Banana Republic” rather than a polished beginning towards becoming a
public figure. His ambitions got a jolt and we have been living happily ever after,
with his silence.
Haryana is fast becoming the breeding ground for unserious
comments about serious crimes. So, politicians are asking reduction in marriage
age to 16 as a method to combat rapes. Mr. Insensitive Politician. Your basic premise is that married men don't rape while newspapers and rape incidents would suggest a deviation from your presumption, if only you were willing to check numbers. But that takes intelligence. So, you suggested officially
recognizing child marriages!
The Khaps in Haryana, after extensive scientific research,
found the root cause of rapes-Chowmein. Only problem was, they did not keep
this research confidential and shared it with us. I personally feel it was the
most comical statement on the surface, but one with serious undertones implying
that anyone who was evolving with time into a more open minded lifestyle and adopting
a modern life was inviting doom.
“71 Lakhs is not worth a scam”- What can be more frivolous
than suggesting that there are benchmarks for corruption as per your political
stature indirectly endorsing corruption inadvertently declaring that God and corruption are omnipresent? Beni Prasad
Verma hasn’t always been very smart in his statements. Has he? It’s a problem with his
fellow party member Sriparakash Jaiswal as well who has a problem with wives
getting old and losing charm.
Then came the turn of the Hindutva brigade who till a few
months back, seemed very gracefully silent and thus, giving and impression of sensitivity
and intellect. But the statistically incorrect and illogical “Rapes in India
not Bharat” matched Diggi Raja’s numerous school boyish ramblings. With a MP BJP minister using mythology to instill
fear in the hearts of the fairer sex, even Ravana would feel ashamed of his
deeds being compared to perpetrators of Delhi Gang rape. The question arises
whom to choose when the rightists, the leftists and the ones in the Centre are
equally insane in usage of words?
Talking of mythology, Ram Jethmalani mutated from a top notch criminal lawyer to an advocate of family matters when he questioned Lord Rama fulfilling his responsibilities as a trusting husband. His younger brother Laxman was not spared by the fiery lawman saying his reasoing for not being able to find Goddess Sita after abduction did not make sense. Just when Lord Rama thought his role in Indian politics was over with the rise and demise of BJP and he felt he could happily go back to showering blessings on his devotees, he was forced back to the fore, if only for a day or two. Sorry God!
A narrative on nonsense statements in Indian politics today
would be incomplete without discussing Diggi Raja, aka Digvijay Singh who has been
knowingly or unknowingly trying to position himself as the new Laluji with
his comical statements. The only difference between him and Laluji- Laluji is a
shrewd politician with his immaculate and smart humour while Diggi Raja’s verbosity
is just ridiculous. From Anna Hazare being a simple villager to Hemant Karkare
confiding in him about Hindu terrorism to Osama Ji (Osama Bin Laden he was referring to), he has created quite a
few political storms but that hasn’t enhanced his political stature. He does
provide some fun quotient though.
Indian politics has lost intellect. It is a story from Class
to Crass. Inane words to get 15 minutes of fame have depleted the seriousness of
many socially relevant, grave issues. Discussions in Parliament are now about
statements and not issues. So there are more and more words but no concrete debates
to solve problems. Watching parliamentary sessions is painful now.
I miss Atalji, Arun
Shorie and Jaswant Singh. Where are the men gone? :(
