Between the chants of ‘NaMo’ and ‘RaGa’, Where does the common man stand?

The general elections in 2014 are a good 12 months away, but the buzz is getting louder by the day, the media frenzy and the political pitch is higher than ever. Before the candidates are in fray, voters are in booth or the results are out, speculation about possibilities and probabilities is rife in papers and newsrooms, the virtual networks and the real choupals.

The common man, already reeling under inflation and corruption, has now been burdened with the additional task of finding answers to questions a. in the background of his glorious past, that Rahul Gandhi asked at Jaipur Chintan Shivir of Congress and b. in the showcase of promised future, that Narendra Modi asked at the BJP Council meet at New Delhi.

They both stand in stark contrast to each other, the past haunts Narendra Modi wherever he goes or is for that matter, not allowed to go and Rahul Gandhi fails to demonstrate his vision for the future and yes, neither of you talk much about the present.

The past is gone, the future beholds us but what matters most is the present where we stand and yes, this is where we stand, our economy is in shambles, growth is on the downward curve, the puppet government* is flip-flopping between its general state of policy paralysis and the few injected doses of policy reforms, and “we, the people” are battling our own government, the one we thought to have elected for ourselves, on streets and in courts, on issues ranging from crime to corruption.

* puppet government – well if you move when someone pulls your strings, be it at the will of 10, Janpath in India or the threat of credit rating agencies outside India, you ought to be a puppet government, have no qualms about it.

No, we don’t have answers to your questions Mr. Rahul Gandhi or Mr. Narendra Modi, but do you have an answer to our questions? Yes, we too have questions and not merely the right to have questions and they are quite a few:

a. Yes, Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi may contest and win; the pertinent question is not who will win, but will, “We, The people of India” lose, where do we stand in the game?

b. No, we are not concerned about the glorious past of your family Mr. Rahul Gandhi that has gone by and the bright future of India promised by Mr. Narendra Modi that beholds us, but we are damn concerned about the mess we live in present, will you clean this and how?

c. ‘15 paise in a Rupee’, Rajiv Gandhi’s oft-quoted statement, was used by both of you, Mr. Rahul Gandhi at Chintan Shivir and Mr. Narendra Modi at BJP Council meet, albeit, like warring lawyers using the same provision, with different interpretations. Though neither the Reserve Bank, nor the beggars accept the paise, but if Rajiv Gandhi’s statement is the Common Law, who will move in the amendments** to change the situation?

** (Read Lokpal – Janta’s, Sarkar’s, we don’t give a damn to the claims of a particular brand, we know the disease we are suffering from and need a medicine, forget medical care, we are yet to receive First Aid!)

Rahul Gandhi subdued silence on Lokpal and corruption during debates in Lok Sabha and Narendra Modi’s relentless efforts in keeping the office of Lokayukta in Gujarat vacant for the last decade as also the Gujarat Assembly’s recent Lokayukta Aayog Bill, wherein the Lokayukta could be anyone but independent of the Government, don’t give an assurance to the public of any firm institutional measures to ward off corruption.

d. Are there MP’s in fray or are we heading to presidential-style election for a Prime Minister? How much the team matters vis-a-vis the team leader? If you name the Team Leader, why not also name the entire team for otherwise it could be a Md. Taslimuddin (RJD) taking oath with Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2004 or the more recent Raja Bhaiyya taking oath with Akhilesh Yadav or a possible Vitthal Radadiya*** taking oath with Narendra Modi in 2014? Why keep us in the dark? 

*** Remember that Gun toting Congress MP in Vadodara, he is Vitthal Radadiya, now in BJP and a supporter Narendra Modi.

e. Indian Economy, in spite of all talk and hype of economic reforms, liberalization and globalization, continues to be a monsoon economy, i.e., it is more dependent on the mythical Rain God Indra than the expertise of Economist PM Dr. Man Mohan Singh.

An erratic monsoon and drought in major states last year has brought down our projected growth rate to less than 6%. In the preceding decade, India experienced a record economic growth exceeding 8% Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) albeit being excessively favored by a positive monsoon rainfall and the fact that it did not experience any major drought like situation after financial year 2002-03.

How do you intend to keep our economic growth on track without an excessive dependence on Agriculture or the swings of monsoon winds?

f. The road to ‘7, RCR’ passes through the villages of Bharat and the cities of India, Who will call the shots or can someone take care of their different aspirations together?

g. Policy or Person, What decides the future? Propaganda or Agenda, what is in the store for the common man – high promises, higher expectations, but who can Deliver, and yes the whole of the pie, without taking his ‘cut’?

h. Dr. Man Mohan Singh, incumbent Prime Minister has more than often conveyed his willingness to step down in favor of the scion of the ruling Gandhi family and yet he has exceedingly failed to stand up for “We, the people of India” be it when he turned a blind eye to the scams his colleagues in the Council of Ministers were indulging in or when “We, the people of India” were battling our own government on the streets. Will you stand up for us, resolve our grievances or be that ruler in the mask of that saint, who does not want a chair but is not willing to step down either?

i. And finally, it is back to square one, the point where we started, yes its Narendra Modi vs. Rahul Gandhi, but where do we, the common man stand? Is our present but, a prized catch in the tug of war for the PM’s chair?

In spite of all speculation about the possibilities and probabilities, while uncertainty continues to cloud the candidates and rams their parties and coalitions, somewhere in those muddy fields and jammed streets, the common man is eagerly waiting for the year 2014 to make his mark, to make his vote count. Yes, that is all the value of his vote in a vibrant democracy, it counts! His fist will be closed till the results are out, but its punch will show the direction the nation wants to move forward.

P.S. Before I call it the day, and having used the phrase ‘Common Man’ a lot, I find it appropriate to clear the air and issue a disclaimer “No, I don’t belong to or support Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party. When nothing was left with the common man, he simply took his identity!”.

First published on my personal blog on 21 March 2013 @ 

Image Source : TOI article