I had in my previous post
spoken about some problems that were easily correctable but not done. Expanding
upon the repeated crisis faced in the last few years I share further evidence
of how we have self inflicted most problems.
As I mentioned in my previous
post, a problem is not a problem unless it is in your control to resolve. If there
are heavy rains, you can do nothing to stop it, so it’s not a problem. But if
you have flooding in your road every monsoon, it’s a problem since it is in
your control to solve it.
That there were issues
pertaining to corruption was well known. That there were repeated statements
that corruption was unacceptable is also well known. Now one aspect is how
sincere is the govt about fighting
corruption and the other how demonstrative are they in showing that
opinion. It is eminently possible for a
govt to continue to be corrupt but ensure that they are shown as fighting
corruption and ensuring that corruption is better managed. This govt has failed
even in this aspect.
The Anna Hazare movement when
it started was clear to everyone that it was gathering momentum. I am sure that
agencies like state and central intelligence departments kept the govt
appraised about the ground situation. Media including social media gave
sufficient hints at the gathering storm.
Now what could the government have done, what could certain young
leaders have done ?
When Anna started his fast if I were a Rahul Gandhi or any of his
young colleagues I would have joined hands and expressed solidarity with him,
his movement and assured the youngsters of India that young netas understood
and empathised with them. That would have defanged the movement greatly even if
concrete action was not taken.
When the second fast started
in Delhi arresting Anna and making a spectacle of themselves was something any
idiot would have avoided but then this govt went and did it. If a Rahul Gandhi wanted
to sweep the imagination of the youth without making promises that he couldn’t keep,
all he had to do was walk on stage with Anna, express solidarity, say that the
problem is complex and he would fight against it and sit on a silent fast for 1
day with Anna and go home. Just by expressing solidarity he would have endeared
himself to the youth.
Nothing done instead the govt
made a perfect ass of themselves at every stage.
Next came the Delhi rape. If ever
a case study is written on how NOT to manage
a crisis, how to mismanage a crisis, how to display utter incompetence, in-sensitiveness
and further inflame the situation then
this would win hand down. It was the
perfect storm.
When the crowd gathered near
the south/north block the fact that the
police/intelligence community did not anticipate it is itself incredulous. However
after seeing the crowd any right minded leader especially some one at the level
of Prime Minister could have defanged the crowd so easily. Just see how
Presidents in USA reach out to the public when there is a crisis and how
quickly. All that the PM needed to do
was walk to the balcony of south block, wield a mega phone and speak to the
public, communicate with them, empathise with them, express solidarity, assure action and
demonstrate by some actions that were anyway taken subsequently. I have
actually seen and also heard of senior officers, netas in the past actually do
this to diffuse a restive upset crowd by standing atop a Jeep or Van. If the PM
did not want to do this any of his younger leaders especially a Rahul Gandhi
should have done this. What they did instead was use lathi charge, water
cannons and police to disperse the crowd.
If the management of the Anna
situation was bad, they plumbed fresh depths on this one.
The cream on this bitter cake of incompetence was the fact that the
govt had the ability, urgency, power and will to overturn laws and supreme
court rulings be it regarding the RTI
act as applicable to political parties or the barring of criminally convicted
netas in politics. Cynicism and
arrogance doesn’t go farther than this.
The cherry on this cake was
the constant blaming of the opposition for everything. Each of the issues in
the 2 parts of this blog had nothing to do with the opposition. It was a
situation completely in control of the government and its leaders, but they
miserably failed.
The younger set of leaders in this government albeit from a dynasty have
covered themselves with little glory and have infact either attracted negative
comment by their behaviour or enjoying the perks of office. Considering that most have fancy global
university degrees they bring disrepute to the argument that educated folks must
enter politics.
The inability of this
government to communicate with the
public at large has been so glaring that its beats all logic and words fail me
to even comment.
Rahul Gandhi touted as the
next white hope of this country is stunningly quiet when required and theoretically
voluble when practical demonstration and
articulation of ideas is needed. Listening to him speak reminds me of the
Microsoft help feature. Perfectly correct answers but of absolutely no use to
anybody. The only young leader who has
stood out like a beacon of hope at least from what one observes is Milind Deora.
In a nutshell while the media has been smart to use the word policy paralysis which actually
lets this government off the hook, the
reality is that this government has been in complete paralysis except when it
suited their selfish ends masquerading as benefiting the people.
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