Short Note on India Elections 09
Election 09 for me was only two people. Varun Gandhi and his mom Maneka Gandhi. In 80's Rekha had shown us Biwi ho to aisi and in 2009, Maneka shows Maa ho to aisi. BJP had almost disowned him, Congress was against him but one person who was always wit him was his mom, she visited him every day when he was wrongly put in the jail. She tried so hard for him that she had almost lost in her own constituency. But all's well that ends well. Both mother and son duo has won. I do not care if they are with BJP or any other party of their choice but the sweetness of their victory can not be ignored. Imagine Varun and Maneka sitting together at one end and Rahul and Sonia on the other. Both the mothers beaming at their son as they speak and as soon as they finish, hurry up to give them a warm glass of milk, that too malai marke.
BTW, I had pulled off the post below but now re-posting it. Originally posted even before Varun was caught under NSA.
My Views on Varun Gandhi
There are 2 ways you can really have strong views about a person. When you have done all your research and when you haven’t done any. For me, the analysis below is mainly because I did not read much about it and I think I just read the facts. I do not want to read what each and every person is saying to form an opinion. But yes, this is not a hard and fast opinion (With more proofs, things may change, and come on, he’s just 29)
I feel Varun Gandhi is just a puppet in a big game that is being played by BJP or even the sinister BJP-Congress alliance which I have a feeling is always cooking under the hood. Ok, not to sound too absurd with my argument made above, but even if it is anybody’s plan, it is certainly not Varun’s own. Hate speeches like these are being made every day by RSS workers and have been made in the past by all the BJP stalwarts except perhaps Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Sikander Bakht. To make this a political issue is a part of a bigger conspiracy which I am really eager to find out. It might even be political ambitions of the likes of Rajdeep Sardesai, Barkha Dutt etc.
Second startling fact is the comparative low tone of condemnation by Priyanka and Rahul. As star people of opposite parties I had expected harsher criticisms but their statements are more like “We are ashamed of our little brother but after all he is still a kid, he will learn”. Whether these things point to the BJP-Congress under the hood pact that I speculated earlier or a case where blood is more important than political rivalry, both are good for the country as a whole. We need sensible next gen leaders who are not like present Advaniji’s BJP which had decided to oppose each and every word that Congress says in the parliament and vice versa. By showing their solidarity, Priyanka and Rahul prove that even if the become political opponents, they won’t be as insensitive as the 80+ lots.
Third reason I would like to defend Varun is his mom. She is an outcast of the great Gandhi family but she still managed to stay in picture. There are numerous people who are now nameless because of their non allegiance to Gandhi Family. But she still survives. Also, for a politician, she looks really cool( much better than Mayawati, Mamata, Jayalalitha and even Jaya Bachchan. She is in the league of Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje who themselves are collectively below the league of Jayaprada, Smriti Irani, Hema Malini). Thirdly she does this really hep and cool green and animal care thing. I do feel with most of her issues like keeping birds in cages and killing stray dogs and all such animal right things. I even try very hard to get out of Non Veg, but I promise Ms Gandhi, that the day the taste ratio of Non veg to veg based on availability even falls below 200%, I will turn a vegetarian (right now, from what I cook and what I get in restaurants, the ratio is far more than even 500%). So, I think the son of such a great mother does deserve a bit more respect and probably forgiveness because I would like to believe that he at least didn’t mean the words that we think he said.
4 comments:
Not wanting to continue the argumentative tone set, but the premise seems to be one too emotional. Just because someone supports a person when he spoke something doesnt make her a 'great' mother. In my books, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari are more at guilt that Duryodhana because they failed in their roles. I'm not comparing Varun with Duryodhana here nor am I undermining the political under-currents stated. But, isn't the constitution right in expecting people over 25 (minimum age to be MP) to be conscious of what they utter? Let's say he/she becomes the Prime Minister and says something obnoxious about any Islamic republic just because they belong to a hard line party - how ridiculous and shaming for India would it be? It is akin to Ahmedinejad wanting to 'wipe-off' Israel.
To me, the whole episode seems to be an example of cheap politicians, bollywood style mothers (rightly compared with Rekha) and sensational media.
What we hear Varun Gandhi said was "Agar koi haath Hinduon ke khilaf uthega, varun Gandhi us haath ko kaat dalega". First of all I doubt the validity of this tape unless it is proven. Secondly, apart from the violent tone, it does not mention anything bad for any community, it only says about protecting one community which is hindus (in a slightly violent way). Let's replace the word Hindu with "Humanity" or Indian (as BJP claims hindu is not a religion but a way of life for Indians), and you won't find it that obnoxious.
The other part which nobody is mentioning that much is his "supposed" use of the K word. If he really said that it is shameful. BUt he said he used the term "Vote K*" in a speech which means people who vote in others names.
A mom should correct the child if he is wrong but should support him if she believes he is right. Gandhari was a great character and she said "may truth win" instead of "you win" when Duryodhan went to her before war. Dhritatashtra is famous for his non righteous ways.
IMHO, willingness to cut someone's hand, even if that phrase is just used figuratively, is obnoxious. Protecting people is by no means a reason to cut other people's hands. They must be tried through institutions of justice and can be meted out with capital punishment (another topic altogether!) if needed. That is certainly not the job of a politician who is guided by an ideology (well, in this case, 'if' there is an ideology). Politicians must be matured enough to make statements. Though he doesn't explicitly mention any community, isn't it obvious?
I need to brush up on my epic stories :) Nevertheless, I was trying to comment on the parents role as mentors than their own virtues. I am one who believes that children (a majority) are virtuous (virtues are culture subjective) only if properly mentored by parents. Isn't that the main role of a parent along with loving care?
I agree with validity of tapes, but also the idea of EC recording the speeches of such characters. The bottom line of my comments is that politicians should mature. Politicians who are willing to agree mistakes and come out publicly are better than the traditional hush-hush, talk-in-the-back, open-to-interpretation-statements ones.
I agree with all of your points. Everything must go to the institution of justice. One of my earlier blogs about police atrocities in India talks about the same.
I also agree about parents role. Can't agree more.
Varun Gandhi like every other Gandhi was destined to be a politician. What my point is though even the word above is rude, it is very commonly practiced in Indian politico. It is not desired that he follows the same route but it is no doubt pardonable. Making it such a big "against minority" issue is probably a doing of media and opposition parties and probably also BJP.
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