2 Fast 2 Spurious

Salman Khurshid's declaration to the press that the government is considering reservation for muslims in central govt. jobs has kick started the congress' campaign for the 2014 elections. There is no doubt that this ill advised move is in direct response to Narendra Modi's sham of a fast. In a bid to outdo each other, the Congress and the BJP have plummeted to new levels of mindlessness. As always, the loser will be the Indian public, again forced to choose the lesser of the two evils.

It is sad that while we as a people seem to be maturing our politicians seem stuck in a different era altogether. Resorting to such opportunistic and attention seeking tactics not only points to the insatiable greed for even more power but also a general lack of grasp on the new realities and needs of Indian politics. Mr. Modi's and Mr. Khurshid's plans make it clear that no matter what happens, our political parties are intent on not only ignoring but actively subverting the will of the people. Civil society, the middle class, the poor can keep talking about economic empowerment, greater rights, education and other flimsy things, our political parties will either continue talking about creating an environment of sadbhavna (goodwill) or carry on with their exploitative policies. There is no real tangible action to address the concerns that they claim to be at the heart of such initiatives.

The disconnect with public sentiment that our politicians display is scary to say the least. With the two biggest parties pre-launching their campaigns for the next general elections this week, one would have expected much more effective ploys to catch the attention of the people. While leaders in the BJP like Modi and Advani have chosen to dive into the fray on the back of shameless self-promotion, the Congress does not seem to have any new ideas. One was hoping that the BJP would have built on the popular mood against corruption but the party has chosen to indulge in an elaborate media backed tamasha. Both the fast and Advani's proposed rath yatra are essentially marketing exercises. There is no intent on addressing the real issues. To affect change, to reduce corruption, to improve how we live. All they want is to come to power one way or the other. Unfortunately, our political class does not seem to have evolved at all. They go back to the strategies which have no doubt worked in the past but are far from relevant in today's scenario.

Mr. Khurshid's recent statement on even more reservations needs to be seen in this light. The Congress is uneasy with the Modi's fast and his attempts at rebuilding bridges with the muslim community. The congress' insecurity is hard to comprehend especially because it is fairly easy to see Modi's lack of intent to actually do so. Not to mention that many other citizens have not forgiven him for 2002, let alone the muslim community. Such short-sighted knee jerk reactions are not expected from a mature political party looking to lead the nation. If they really wanted to mitigate the reaction to the fast all they had to do was ask their leaders to join it. Mr. Vaghela held his own fast at the same time. They had a wonderful opportunity to call Modi's bluff. After all he claimed that the fast was for sadbhavna; what better to achieve it than to reach out to your opposition.

Coming up with 'innovative' ideas is not that difficult. If you are looking to solve problems. Our politicians across the board seek one and only one thing: power. They will continue to do so and indulge in activities which take their personal cause further. We the people will continue to suffer; we will be subjected to mindless policies, fasts and other tamashas. Democracy and governance will have to wait.