Rahul Gandhi’s Press Conferences
By Justice Markandey Katju
Former Judge of Indian Supreme Court
Mumbai, India
These days Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s press conferences, and his accusations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) for being hand in glove with the ruling BJP, have gone viral:
Jokers and buffoons like Ashutosh, Ajit Anjum, Ravish Kumar, Begum Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Yogendra Yadav, etc. keep shouting and screaming about vote theft, the ECI being in cahoots with the BJP, murder of democracy, and Rahul Gandhi’s ‘brave’ fight against it:
Not once do these jokers ever ask the three questions I have repeatedly posed:
1. Does It Really Change Lives?
Even if there was no vote theft or rigging in the list of voters, would it make any difference to the lives of the people?
Will it abolish, or even reduce, the massive poverty, massive unemployment, appalling level of child malnutrition, skyrocketing prices of food and other essential commodities, and the almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for the Indian masses?
I have explained my point of view in detail in these interviews and articles, hence I am not repeating the same:
The basic fallacy in the thinking of the clowns and comedians above is that they have a fetish and obsession for democracy. They treat democracy as a holy cow, as an end in itself, when the truth is that it can only be a means to an end.
The end must be raising the standard of the people, and giving them better lives. If democracy helps in attaining that end it is a good thing, but not otherwise.
Everyone knows that in India democracy runs largely on the basis of caste and communal vote banks. Casteism and communalism are feudal forces which have to be destroyed if India is to progress, but democracy, as practiced in India, further entrenches and strengthens them (because it largely runs on their basis).
How, then, can democracy be a good thing in India?
So, if democracy in India is a bad thing, why raise such a hue and cry about rigging of the voters list? Even if elections are fair, will that help improve the lives of the people of Bihar (and elsewhere), reduce poverty, unemployment, child malnutrition, lack of healthcare, and skyrocketing prices of food?
2. Voting on Caste and Religion
Moreover, even if the voters list was not rigged, most people in Bihar (and elsewhere) will still vote on the basis of caste and religion, not on the merits of the candidate.
It is well known that in India, when most voters go to vote, they do not see the merit of the candidate — whether he is a good man or bad, educated or uneducated, criminal or not. They also do not take into consideration unemployment or price rise.
All they see is the caste and religion of the candidate (or the caste/religion his party claims to represent). That is why about half the MPs elected in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have criminal backgrounds.
All that can happen if the voters list is correctly prepared is that after elections there may be change in the leadership of the state government in Bihar. Instead of Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav may become the Chief Minister.
But what difference will that make to the lives of the people of Bihar?
I am reminded of Manthara’s statement to Queen Kaikeyi in the Ramayan:
“Koi nrip hoye hamein ka haani
Cheri chhand ka hoib rani”
“What difference will it make to me who is the king (Ram or Bharat)?
I will remain a slave, not become a Queen.”
It is evident that Ajit Anjum, Ashutosh, Ravish Kumar, Begum Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Yogendra Yadav, and others — who seem to have inane, shallow, superficial minds — do not understand this, but are gloating on their khulaasa.
3. Rahul Gandhi as a ‘Savior’?
Many people are projecting and presenting Rahul Gandhi as the savior of India, a new Moses who will lead the nation out of distress and into a land of milk and honey.
But what is the truth?
The test of every political activity and political system is one, and only one: does it raise the standard of living of the people? Does it give them better lives?
Rahul Gandhi has said that he has opened a mohabbat ki dukan in a nafrat ka bazaar. This is to be welcomed (though I suspect it is only for getting Muslim votes, not for any genuine concern for the plight of Muslims).
But how will such platitudes and homilies abolish the massive socio-economic problems of poverty and unemployment? What solution does Rahul Gandhi have for these problems? I am afraid he has none.
All Rahul Gandhi has in his mind is that he belongs to, and is the heir-apparent of, the Nehru-Gandhi family — the royal family of India — and he must be restored to the throne of India, from which his family has been so wrongfully dethroned.
Conclusion
It is time the heroes and clowns I mentioned above start thinking about these three points I raised, instead of only dishing out cheap mirch masaala (sensationalism) for increasing their viewership, circulation, and TRP rating.
(Markandey Katju is an Indian jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court of India who served as chairman of the Press Council of India from 2011 to 2014)
