It is amusing to see how Bidwai treats a competitive electoral politics issue as a naïve Left partisan issue. In an ideal world political parties may be guided by pure ideologies and then Congress would align with other parties purely on the basis of secular political agenda. But Bidwai is forgetting that in a competitive market that is what modern Democracies are every political party is interested in enhancing ones brand, vote base and political advantage. Electoral alliances are purely driven by these political calculations and not by ideological purity. Congress is trying to drive hard its advantage, at times even at the cost of its own allies. Instead of fiddling as a junior partner with Lalu, it is taking the risk of aligning with Paswan. Anyways Congress is unlikely to get anything more even if it had sided with Lalu. So why not try counter balance Lalu within UPA? In Jharkhand it feels it has a shot with JMM so why share spoils with Lalu? Where did Pawar go in the end? Pawar and NCP do not have much future. Congress is driving hard bargain. If BJP contracts; it is all between Left and Congress. Congress is trying to stop Left occupying the space vacated by BJP.
I am sure you must not have lived in Bihar or any rural areas of Bengal. Living a livelihood given by Capitalism it is very easy to condone capitalism. Before supporting Laloo and Leftists, give up ur lifestyle and go and live in a village of Bihar where if you are lucky you might come back alive. Then after that if you still feel proud about Laloo then write as many articles as you want.
I notice more balance in the article, a drift from Bidwai style. I am a bit surprised that the author did not blame BJP for congress break of promise. In any case, one thing that India has to live with is that PV has unleashed free economy which saved India from becoming a beggar on the world scene. It is almost impossible to go back from free market. There are no tigers like Indira Gandhi now. Sonia Gandhi is no Indira to take a chance to make sweeping corrections to go back to old agenda. But one thing has to be given to Sonia Gandhi, she could play the politics well to dismantle BJP. For that she deserves credit. Any reaction against her from left is suicidal to them. Vijaya Kumar
I want to discuss with you two issues you are raising here. One is so called secular politics and the other is politics of Congress party.
What does secularism mean? Dictionary definition says that secularism is the view that religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs or public education. Secularism itself doesn't make sense for a nation like India which has religious history of more than 9500 years, has a vibrant social fabric based on religious mores, and founded on religious ground (2 nation theory based on religion). Even if we agree with so called definition of secularism, it still is not practiced as is in India. Congress feels comfortable aligning itself with so called communal party Muslim League in Kerala, castiest party RJD in Bihar, but feels uncomfortable working with BJP. If BJP's nationalism based on religious aspiration is wrong, then Laloo, Mulayam, Mayavati, Sonia's caste politics is wrong too. Both are based on social divisions based on caste, color or creed.
Congress politics is wrong from the start, It accepted two nation theory based on religion but negated religion in polity. It didn't create a viable opposition in earl
Churchill is supposed to have said "A man who is not a communist sympathizer at age 20, has no heart; a man who continues to be a communist sympathizer at age 40 has no head". Bidwai says: "As argued earlier, the Left sometimes uses conservative-sounding or outmoded language. But it essentially represents modernist and egalitarian politics, committed to justice. These values are firmly rooted in the critical-scientific Enlightenment tradition. The Far Right, especially of the Hindutva variety, loathes the Enlightenment and is deeply uncomfortable with Liberty, Equality and Fraternity". Ooh, Bidwai, really? After Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and the 100 million plus murders by the left, this man has the gall to say this?
"Modernist and egalitarian politics, committed to justice. These values are firmly rooted in the critical-scientific Enlightenment tradition "
This to describe the left parties in India ? I hate the right wing loonies but PLEASE the left are no less than the Bajrand Dal goons when it comes to opposition to their poin of view. This armchair view ( or the CPI booklet view )of the left is very dangerous, Modern ?the left will take us back to the 19th century and the industrial revolution whereas the loony right would like to take us back to 300 B.C and the vedas, so they are modern compared to the RSS but the FDI's will generate more jobs than any Rozgar yojna that was the staple of the left wing policies of the past. the congress has realised that farming canot support more jobs and has come about to the NDA's approach in economics, and it is the only way, the middle path between all these crazies on the left and right.
The article is very shallow and betrays only the ignorance of the writer.
UPA did not win the recent Parliament elections because of the appeal of its economic manifesto.
Let alone this election, in any General Election bread and butter issues have never been important to the Indian electorate.
The average aam admi is not so naive as to believe that a change in the Centre could bring about a change in areas of his prime concern. Yes,
In assembly elections his expectations centre around PDS, keroscene, roads, lights and drinking water.
Congress won because of the strength of its allies in states like AP, Bihar, TN- nothing more nothing less!
Coming to the core economic issues, the Congress is no different from the BJP.
By thinking that the Congress will tread the all-too familiar path of socialism that it did during the Indira Gandhi era, the Left is deluding itself and also the electorate.
The regional parties & the Left- described as Secular Front- have actually no other agenda than keep the BJP out.
The more this UPA dispensation continues at the Centre, the more harmful it is going to be for the nation.It will take decades for its successor to undo the damage.
