Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has become the 13th President of the Republic of India. Does that make any difference? I am perplexed that in a Republican State, the First Citizen of the country is not elected by the people but by its representatives. Whether you accept it or not, the fact is, the representatives of the people (say MLAs, MPs) are at first, representatives of their party. They hardly represent their constituent or its citizens.
Under such circumstances, how can we say that the President is the choice of the people? How many of us, in the wildest of our dreams would have opted for Pratibha Patil for the post of the President?
The post of the President has become a joke ever since VV Giri occupied it. Fakruddin Ali Ahmed brought shame to the post and also got the post another name of rubber-stamp just by signing on the dotted lines without a single thought. The post of the President was reduced to a token of loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family! Pranab proved it by visiting the graveyard of Gandhi, Nehru, Indira & Rajiv as if there were no other leaders in India!
Hardly the leaders debated on the qualities of a person to become a President. Either they argued on whether one is a South Indian or North Indian or a SC-ST or from a Minority community!
The media created a perception as if Pranab is the one who was stopping all the reforms and the UPA wanted to get rid of him and hence chose him to the President. If one has to buy this argument, what is the role of the Prime Minister who cannot persuade his colleague to do a task if it is in the welfare of the country? If Pranab is the one who stalled all the reforms, how can you expect him to co-operate with a PM, who once was appointed as the Governor of RBI by Pranab himself? Why is the media trying to hide all the limitations of our PM because they projected him as honest and helped him win again?
With the win of Pranab, the media projects as if the Opposition is divided. I don’t say that they were united. BJP, as the principal Opposition party failed to act as one. Of late, they are clueless and are trying to do a piggy-back ride. They did with Ramji in the 90s. They are doing with Ramdev Baba and Anna now. Even in the Presidential elections, instead of fielding their own candidate, they toed Navin and Jaya. What did they want to prove? They now have decided to sacrifice Jaswant in the VP election. Why this guts was not showed in the Presidential election?
Sangma had raised the right questions. When we have a code of conduct for even the election of MLA, why cant have it for the Presidential Election? The media is trying to project his complaints as the ranting of a loser. Doling out of huge sums of money to the States (mainly UP, Bihar, West Bengal) by the Planning commission just ahead of Presidential polls raises apprehensions.
Shiv Sena always behaved cranky in Presidential election. They never toed the line of their alliance party. They had their own hidden agenda which they work with the prospect. If they had the condition of hanging Afzal Guru or Kasab, the same condition would have been laid with Sangma too! They did not do that!
Everyone in the country is aware that Pranab would never go against Sonia or do anything that would antagonize Sonia. What is Bal Thackrey trying to prove us? Just because Shiv Sena voted for him, he would do something that his parent party would never allow him to do so?
Nitish Kumar is aspiring for the post of PM ever since he got re-elected in Bihar. So, even the mention of Modi’s name (as he is the contender for PM post and he has the backing too) makes him unrest. To make his presence felt, Nitish went against NDA. Nitish is aware that if he parted ways with BJP, JD(U) would be wiped out just like JD(S).
Barking dog never bites! So is the case with Mamata Banerjee! She will make all hue and cry but she has no options but to toe Congress. Less talked about her is better. All of these regional parties had the 2014 elections in mind and accordingly they voted in the Presidential elections.
In politics, there is no permanent friend or permanent enemy.
BJP is not proactive. BJP used to be a disciplined party but nowadays it is not. In other parties, the leaders are aware that the chief post is reserved for the family that runs the party and they are reconciled to this fact. Whereas, in BJP is not like this. Unlike CPM, they are not disciplined not to make stories. BJP, as said earlier, is clueless. They are waiting, perhaps, for a total collapse of Congress which will never happen.
BJP is not realizing the fact that Rahul Gandhi will not keep failing all the time, although he is doing so till now. The party and the party-obsessed media is waiting for one positive result from Rahul Gandhi. If that happened, BJP will be doomed and the media will make it sure to make it happen so.
As expected Pranab has become the President. We have wasted a great politician for this decorative post. Let us wait and watch what difference does it make.
