Narendra Modi, the man who made a re-touchable BJP untouchable for many, is bending over backwards to project a pro-development image. Rahul Gandhi, whose party claims credit for all the Bharat Nirman, is stoking communalism, to top that not so subtly, in his attempt to remind people about dangers of communalism. Between them, the largely secular voter of this country is confused. All that he wants is clean politics and cleaner government. This is not a Turkish bath, where everyone's naked. This is a proper mud bath, as mud-slinging season has just begun. And the kettle will question the black of the pot.
Every time Rahul speaks about Muslims in Gujarat 2002, Modi will speak about Sikhs in 1984. You call me communal, you are communal too. 'You are a Hindu party' will be countered by 'you appease Muslims'. Every time UPA talks about the roads built in the last 10 years, BJP will talk about the golden quadrilateral. When BJP rattles out names of the various scams, Congress will remind us of the Tehelka sting, the coffin scam ad nauseam. Both. You call me Pappu, I will call you Feku. No one is washed in milk here, as the Hindi saying goes.
The trouble with these wrestling narratives is that by the time the match ends, both parties will have lost dignity and one will be chosen, mercifully. Because the others waiting to join the winner are just a bunch of opportunists with equally unprincipled politics. Most of them play a deadly combination of casteist and communalist cards, whatever applies. It is great that the opposing parties expose each other as it willy-nilly brings transparency and helps the voter choose the lesser evil. Where it does not help is that in the din of diatribe, the most important issues facing the people are relegated to the sides.
So on poverty, price rise, employment, national security, communal harmony and the like are drowned in the noise over emotive issues. In the well-calculated mind game, the players aim at the heart, not the mind of the voter. So the discussion around corruption does not hit at the roots of it, but gets entangled in names like Robert Vadra, A. Raja or even Manmohan Singh. No party reveals the plan, even if they have it, on how to deal with Pakistan except knee-jerk reactions. The same happens to poverty, where the debate is centred on whether one can have a full meal at Rs.12. If nothing happens, both sides throw statistics which allows them to tell lies with authority.
Challenger-in-chief Narendra Modi claims to have a plan. But he seldom talks about the plan. He chooses to talk of the Gujarat model instead. So the legion that hasn't visited Gujarat has no idea at all about the model. Neither do those who have visited Gujarat. Congress's future leader Rahul Gandhi has no plan, he relishes being a complain boy. He voices the dissatisfaction of the people with the present regime. He simply does not get the irony. Or his speechwriters have not told him about all this. Why will he invoke the assassinations of his grandmother and his father when mounting an attack on the BJP?
Even if he was talking of politics of hatred, he must be aware that the hatred that led to their assassinations had roots in policies they played central role in. Devil lies in the details and he is defeated by leaving the devil out to bite his behind. As is the case with the challenge-in-chief, who forgets to check facts as he plays to the gallery. After the claps die down, gaps appear. And gaping gaps invite ridicule. Hilarity ensues. As the two leading parties reduce each other to jokes, India is laughing hard at what's no laughing matter. In the din of ludicrous laughter and pointless platitudes, another election becomes just another election. Nothing will change unless we change the way we debate.
The trouble with these wrestling narratives is that by the time the match ends, both parties will have lost dignity and one will be chosen, mercifully. Because the others waiting to join the winner are just a bunch of opportunists with equally unprincipled politics. Most of them play a deadly combination of casteist and communalist cards, whatever applies. It is great that the opposing parties expose each other as it willy-nilly brings transparency and helps the voter choose the lesser evil. Where it does not help is that in the din of diatribe, the most important issues facing the people are relegated to the sides.
So on poverty, price rise, employment, national security, communal harmony and the like are drowned in the noise over emotive issues. In the well-calculated mind game, the players aim at the heart, not the mind of the voter. So the discussion around corruption does not hit at the roots of it, but gets entangled in names like Robert Vadra, A. Raja or even Manmohan Singh. No party reveals the plan, even if they have it, on how to deal with Pakistan except knee-jerk reactions. The same happens to poverty, where the debate is centred on whether one can have a full meal at Rs.12. If nothing happens, both sides throw statistics which allows them to tell lies with authority.
Challenger-in-chief Narendra Modi claims to have a plan. But he seldom talks about the plan. He chooses to talk of the Gujarat model instead. So the legion that hasn't visited Gujarat has no idea at all about the model. Neither do those who have visited Gujarat. Congress's future leader Rahul Gandhi has no plan, he relishes being a complain boy. He voices the dissatisfaction of the people with the present regime. He simply does not get the irony. Or his speechwriters have not told him about all this. Why will he invoke the assassinations of his grandmother and his father when mounting an attack on the BJP?
Even if he was talking of politics of hatred, he must be aware that the hatred that led to their assassinations had roots in policies they played central role in. Devil lies in the details and he is defeated by leaving the devil out to bite his behind. As is the case with the challenge-in-chief, who forgets to check facts as he plays to the gallery. After the claps die down, gaps appear. And gaping gaps invite ridicule. Hilarity ensues. As the two leading parties reduce each other to jokes, India is laughing hard at what's no laughing matter. In the din of ludicrous laughter and pointless platitudes, another election becomes just another election. Nothing will change unless we change the way we debate.
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