09/26/2005
The man who would be king
What does an average 25 year old guy think about these days? Money, women, studies, career, latest movies, music etc. Some 25 year olds also think of getting into politics as their chosen path of getting money and women. But a certain Rahul Gandhi when he was 25 years old had a very interesting decision to make – to be or not to be. To be or not to be the Prime Minister of India at the wonderful age of 25.
He gave an interview to Tehelka where among the other things that he talked about was how if he wanted to he could have been Prime Minister at the age of 25. This is not an empty boast and in no way should be dismissed as a politically incorrect statement by the prodigal son. Whether I like it or not it is only a matter of time before he becomes the prime minister of this country. Because it was not an empty boast, that statement of his was to me like a slap on my face. I almost want to tell him to stop rubbing it in. Here is this guy telling me (a voter in a democracy) that I could have been the PM if I wanted to. Elections, democracy, voters can all take a hike for all that I care. I don’t even know who Rahul Gandhi is except he is the son of an ex-prime minister. I don’t know what are his views on secularism, foreign policy, nuclear issues among other things and this man has the gall to say that if I wanted I could have been your prime minister but I chose not to. Give me a break sir.
Its unfortunate that the talk of liberalization is only limited to the economic space and does not even touch the political and intellectual spaces. Liberalization is a beautiful thought and it is most needed in our political space and until that happens we will keep hearing statements like the one. Things are so bad that you hear political commentators sarcastically justifying dynasty rule as a way to override the leadership problems that the BJP is facing now. To me the political options in this country are so bad that I end up voting for the party which is less bad than the other. It is only once in a while someone like Manmohan Singh comes in as a breath of fresh air. I don’t know how he got into politics, in all probability he just kinda stumbled into it without really wanting its trappings and that’s why he is such a refreshing change. I must add here, that this breath of fresh air lost an election in the last Lok Sabha from South Delhi and had to make his way into the Parliament from Rajya Sabha via Assam.
What do they say about people deserving the kind of leaders they get?
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