AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE BY ANSHUL CHATURVEDI

"Rahul has got all those qualities and capabilities that are needed for a good Prime Minister", Singh, who has been working closely with the young leader, who turns 41 on June 19, told reporters… Describing Rahul as "quite mature", Singh said he has got the understanding of social and political issues. Besides being a member of the Gandhi family, he has the qualities of head and heart to strike rapport with people, he said. -

PTI report, June 19

Dear Rahul

Digvijay Singh has been stunning us to the point of incredulity the past week with his repeated assertions of undying loyalty, disguised as assessment reports certifying your immediate readiness to step into Dr Manmohan Singh’s chambers. If you skim through the stories and the responses of readers, you’d realize that he’s done more to draw sustained flak on to you than anything the opposition could have done. Since there’s no point addressing Diggy at the moment, given his state of mind, this small set of observations is addressed to you:

* Anybody halfway in a politically relevant position can “become PM”; it’s not as Herculean a task as it sounds, and acquiring the PM-ship has hardly been necessarily the same as achieving political primacy. Charan Singh became PM. Chandrashekhar became PM. Deve Gowda became PM, and yawned through most of it. IK Gujral became PM. Big difference it made to us – or to them. The chair is only as big as the stature of its occupant. So even if they thrust the PM-ship willy-nilly down your – and our – throats, as some sort of gift at some stage, it’ll hardly help give you greater stature.

* The biggest questions facing the political system have been questions of integrity. This is not to say that this is a Congress issue alone – there’s hardly any political organization that’s not part of the rot – but for someone who is apparently all set to run the country, it would be nice to know what you thought of the CWG management, or of the 2G spectrum scam, or of Adarsh. Or, for that matter, of Osama. The reality is that I have little clue; if I have to resort to Google to get an idea of your having said anything on the political issues of the day, well, that’s not how I’d like to know my PM-in-waiting. We’d like to know better what you think – not what the second rung of the Congress thinks of you. I mean, seriously, if they went on record to say you weren’t equipped to be PM, they wouldn’t be in the Congress, so what exactly are they proving by their assessment?

* Rita Bahuguna is making a joke of the issues facing farmers by deciding to make your birthday “farmer’s rights day”. I’d assume it would make you squirm as much as any outside observer. Please tell your party’s leaders that the more bizarre the levels to which they go to exalt you to score internal brownie points, the sillier they look – and make you look the same, since your silence can only be read as happy acceptance.

* The PM already has had enough damage to his reputation and standing; the man who was an exemplary Finance Minister keeps on being derided for being a stand-in for the family. How are we expected to take his functioning as PM with any degree of gravitas if every other day Congress leaders tell us that the only reason he’s not been asked to vacate yet is because you have graciously chosen not to step into 7 RCR. As it is, nobody outside the Congress says a good word for the man any more; at least give him his dignity within the system.

* There is a school of thought – you’d surely be aware of it – which says the whole exercise of letting things be the way they are the Centre as they currently are, is to pitch things for an internal regime change; to give the public a Rahul-led regime as relief from the quasi-paralysed Manmohan tenure. Each time people like Digvijay go public with such quasi-hysteric declarations, they merely strengthen that impression.

There’s no reason why anyone who can command a majority support in the Lok Sabha should not be Prime Minister, be it you or anyone else. Neither I nor anyone else need have a point of view on who can and who cannot be PM. But, please, let it not be handled as a running joke. Let the party celebrate your birthday; but let it not pitch to the country the spectacle of the prime ministership of India as a birthday present, all gift-wrapped, waiting for you to unwrap it. Seriously. Some things look better earned than gifted. Better to achieve greatness, even if a trifle late, than to have it thrust upon you - and that too, by Diggy Raja

BEST OF LUCK BJP

Indian politics would be dull if there was no BJP. It is only with the BJP in the 1990's that India for the first time had an effective opposition party, very important for Democracy, and an alternative government to the corrupt aimless somewhat sinister Congress Party.

Of course you can argue that the other great Democracy, Japan had one party ruling the country for 60 years, under the LDP......But the Congress Party is no LDP, and Indian bureaucrats don't measure up to their Japanese counter-parts.

It is the Japanese bureaucrats who played the primary role in Japanese post war success.

For that reason it is very important for INDIA to have an alternative party to choose from, even within a coalition framework.

So I urge the BJP to get its act together for 2014. The BJP needs to look to the future strategically, beyond their feet if they can as soon as possible. They need to reduce their links with the RSS as their philosophy will NEVER work in India (It will be a disaster)....and thus attempt a reincarnation of the Vajpayee style of government which sets broad horizons, under the cosmopolitan leadership of Arun Jaitley.

lack of governance and mis-governance.

India lacks adequate governance, which is extensively required to pull the country up to a first world status by 2050.

There is only so much the private sector can do. For the country overall, for the sake of its cohesion............ socially, politically, economically, morally its the governments duty and responsibility to do the rest strategically in a planned looking forward manner. One is quite certain the Ambani's or any other businessman when they deeply look at future business investments don't do so socially, politically, economically, morally......most of the time, but whether their business investment will make a profit and given them steady returns.

This lack of governance is simply indicated by the national budget in Delhi which represents a paltry 15% of GDP (the official GDP, and not the one with the black economy included which would mean India's actual GDP is closer to $4--4.5 billion).

Pranab Mukherjee sahib can India have a peoples budget of $400 billion for 2012-2013? With massive expenditures and investments in the job creating INDUSTRY and INFRASTRUCTURE sectors.

This lack of governance means only 30 million Indians out of a population of 1200 million Indians (including supposedly 250 million middle class Indians) pay tax. There is ample computerized systems in India from Bangalore, and national ID cards are being introduced, so lets double the taxable base to 60 million for the 2012--2013 budget. Apparently $1.5 trillion worth of Indian money is lying idle in Swiss accounts, and we don't know the true figure for the rest of the 70 odd tax havens.

Clearly in the tax sector there is a lack of effective efficient governance.

This lack of governance means large swathes of Indian society are little impacted by government actions. To them the government in Delhi is irrelevant.

Then you have mis-governance...which means the little impact with the little money the government does use to exercise its writ is itself misused, hence the corruption scandals about everything from Defense contracts to staging the Commonwealth Games, and the source of the only joke I Knew for quite a while:

Indian Neta in Washington invited to a rich Congressman's mansion overlooking the Potomac. They start on their 15 course meal served on an elegant mahogany table, including roast duck, lamb, the finest caviar and Belgian chocolates. The Congressman shyly ushers the neta to the window, at the end of the feast and speaks.."You see that bridge on that river over there.......10%....I made 10% from that."

The neta impressed invites the Congressman to his Dili mansion over looking the Yamuna, and in his white marble colonial style mansion he too offers up a 15 course feast for his American counterpart. At the end of the meal the neta beckons the Congressman to the window with a SLY GRIN and the traditional Indian nod of the head and as they both peer through the huge window, the neta whispers in child like delight......"You see bridge over there by the Yumuna.....can you see it?"

The Congressman is puzzled, "Bridge what bridge?"

Neta pointing to himself, "100%......me got it all! Son in Harvard, and my money in Mauritius/Hong Kong....wife daughter in London for the summer shopping"

Whats that oft repeated cliche? India is doing reasonably well despite its government.