Political Diary

New Delhi, 15 May 2010

Foot-In-Mouth Disease

UPA II: “UNZIPPING” MINISTERS

By Poonam I Kaushish

Political Delhi is badly afflicted by the foot-in-the-mouth disease. The bug has taken its toll within the Congress, BJP, Left and the taciturn allies. Making a moot point: Have our netagan bitten off more than they can chew?

Undoubtedly, the Congress’ garrulous Ministers have posed its rivals with an unusual problem. Who needs an Opposition in a long season of punishing self-goals by the Government? With not a few Ministers speaking irresponsibly and shooting their mouth off in all directions. Starting with the “greenhorn outsider” Tharoor’s infamous tweeting which ‘externalized’ him from his cushy ministerial gaddi.

From his lighthearted jab at “flying cattle class in deference to the political holy cows”, down a critique of India’s foreign policy under Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, to change in Indian visa rules and telling Saudi Arabia to mediate between India and Pakistan had set the stage for his ouster. The last straw was his “mentoring” the Kochi IPL team ostensibly via “friend” Sunanda Pushkar’s sweat equity stake.

But this was drowned in the storm unleashed by Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh’s scathing attack on Union Home Minister Chidambaram wherein he chided the Minister for his “intellectual arrogance” while questioning his “law and order” centric approach to Maoist insurgency within days of the Dantewada massacre. Giving the BJP an opportunity to rip into the Government for housing “half-Maoists.”

It got uglier with the Road and Highway Minister Kamal Nath writing to the Prime Minister accusing his environment colleague Jairam Ramesh of blocking infrastructure development. Ditto with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and MoS in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan over Bt brinjal. Followed by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s words of wisdom (sic): “If there is electricity in every village, people will watch TV till late at night…. They won’t get a chance to produce children.” 

Topped by Ramesh’s adverse comment of the Home Ministry’s “paranoid and overly defensive and alarmist" policies to Chinese investments into the country which were putting "needless" restrictions on these.  “We are imagining demons where there are none," he asserted. Leading to an angry Chidambaram shooting off a strongly- worded letter to Singh, expressing unhappiness over his Cabinet colleague's remarks. While the BJP demanded Ramesh’s resignation.

Earlier too, he had come out with priceless gems: “Our cities are the dirtiest of the world. If there is a Noble Prize for dirt and filth, India will win it, no doubt, he averred at an UN conference. At a University convocation in Bhopal: “The convocation gown is a barbaric colonial relic. Why can’t we wear simple dress instead of looking like medieval vicars or Popes?” and discarded the gown he was wearing.

Another political hot potato followed. A young Congress MP came out in support of ‘Khap’ or caste panchayats even as his Government and Congress leaders criticised these for their extra-constitutional role in officiating against marriages within the same ‘gotra’ or clan.

If Congress Ministers spelt bad news, worse venom spewed from allies’ stables. From NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s sugar scam to spiraling food prices and his priceless,“ I’m not an astrologer to predict when prices will come down,”  crowned by murmurs of his involvement in the IPL pie. Adding to Congress woes was Trinmool stormy petrel Mamata making plain her rising displeasure. Dubbing the Congress as ‘betrayers’ she asserted, “Some Congress leaders in Delhi cannot tolerate politicians who have a mass base …. The mastermind is a senior Congress leader who survives by running errand for others….One should not think that Congress has made us Ministers. We have our own strength in UPA…No one has the right to humiliate others,” she added.

Barely had the dust settled down that a furore arose over DMK Minister Raja’s alleged links with a PR lobbyist brought back charges of the multi-crore 2G spectrum scam. Along-with a media expose of phone-tapping of Opposition leaders during the course of the investigations. And Union Chemicals and Fertilizer Minister Alagiri, preferring to holiday in Maldives instead of attending  Parliament’s Budget session. That too without seeking the Prime Minister’s approval. 

Leading to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s stern ‘zip-up-your-lips’ message to its brash and rash Ministers who revel in bellicose verbose. Asking them to refrain from commenting on the functioning of other Ministries, especially on foreign soil with regard to relationship with important neighbours like China.

Questionably, are these political outbursts just to derive media mileage? Score brownie points over colleagues? A sign of pent-up frustrations demanding an out? Are they a pointer to the lack of inner Party democracy? A healthy inter-active debate? After all, what is wrong in speaking out one’s mind? Should we simply shrug it off as an abysmal lack of humour? Or a much too gentle Prime Minister who has no control over his motor-mouthed colleagues? All this and more.

Clearly, all is not well with the Congress led UPA II. A signal that the fizz is running out before the first anniversary champagne bash has been celebrated. Sources in Congress admit to disquiet in the Party over remarks by Congress Ministers against their colleagues, approach of another Ministry in its own Government.

"It is something that is not encouraging. They need to behave responsibly as they are under Constitutional oath and need to abide by the dictum of collective responsibility," asserted a senior leader. Adding, “If there are differences of opinion over an issue, these have to be resolved at the Party and Government forum." Elaborated a Minister, “Part of the problem is that a few feel intellectually superior to the rest.

But this bad-mouthing syndrome has gripped other netagan as well who find it too tough to be politically correct. Last week BJP Chief Gadkari too landed feet first in trouble over his derogatory “dog” remarks against Mulayam and Lalu. “Bade dakarte the sher jaise, aur kutte ke jaise ban kar Soniaji aur Congress ke ghar par talve chatne lage”' (these leaders were roaring like lions but later bowed like dogs to lick the feet of Sonia and the Congress),"

What next? Importantly, the Congress Ministers and leaders need to rein in their over-eagerness to out-perform their colleagues and earn brownie points with their political mai-baap, read Sonia. Hold back voicing opinions, making outlandish statements and “out-of-the-box” ideas which invariably land them in trouble. They need to desist from coming across as lurking challengers with an “attitude” out to flatten opponents. Resulting in becoming one’s own goalkeeper only to score a self-goal.

 Part of the problem lies in a confidence bred by a misplaced sense of proximity to the powers-that-be. Many get caught in the political vortex of ‘more loyal than the King’ syndrome. Or suffer an inherent sense of intellectual superiority. The time for the Prime Minister and the Congress President to keep their flock in check. True, everyone loves a good story and revels in the company of loud-mouthed netas.  But they need to take note of a wise adage: Controversy thrills but kills! ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)