Congress protests: A mockery of democracy
The Congress is in a convulsion. It is under a seizure. It is an ailment it has been suffering for a long time. There is certainly no cure for it. Not under the Nehru-Gandhi-Wadra family. This grand old party with a glorious past suffers from too much baggage from the past. There seems to be little that anyone could do to save it from the netherly life it is leading. Perhaps, it is a choice it has made.
The AICC 'street play' on display in New Delhi and in other parts of the country "to protect democracy and its sacred Constitutional institutions" sounds a straight take from the theatre of the Absurd. Just as the plays of this genre focus on ideas of existentialism and express what happens when human existence lacks meaning or purpose and communications break down, the party, too, is focusing on the absurdity to the best of its abilities. The finishing point and the starting point are the same in this take, however.
An Absurd Theatre at least has a message in the end. There cannot be any Congress without the family and it is a fact one has to acknowledge. At the same time, one should also recognise that the family is above the party. Close observers of the party understand that its leadership has the capacity to twist and twirl any logical construction and argument, giving way to irrational and illogical speech and finally to a deafening silence.
The country-wide protests hatched by the family that ruled the country for many years and which yearns to rule till the next great flood conveys that it feels slighted if asked to obey the law. The protest is being staged because both Sonia and Rahul are summoned by the Enforcement Directorate. The BJP could be witch-hunting both as the Congress leaders claim. Yet, there is a crime and the courts are agreeable that the case should be investigated.
Where do China, unemployment, inflation etc., figure in this case which the Congress is talking about? Does one make a decision in a void? Effective decision-making can only flow from a place of choice. One must make a conscious effort to free oneself from fear and perceived limitations to get there. It does not happen in the case of Rahul Gandhi who seems to be the decision-maker in the party now. His chivalry is well- known. After all, he is the one who tore away an Ordinance passed by the Union Cabinet after the approval of his own UPA government with the full concurrence of all partners. The party should make a conscientious move to slow down its decision-making processes. If it slows down, it can analyse the process without misusing its choices.
A choice is connected to reasons and a decision, to causes. Both are absent here. Rahul Gandhi, in particular, should keep away from his "liberal and secular Hinduphobic" advisors to evolve into a true politician to take on the BJP to regain for his party a semblance of its past glory at least. Some of the Congress leaders have gone ahead and said they would even burn the country if either of the leaders is arrested. A prominent spokesperson threatens that "Congress workers know how to retaliate." What a mockery of democracy!