THE NEXT P.M. – IS INDIA READY? by Joaquim Correia-Afonso

Why are some Congressmen crying hoarse about Rahul Gandhi? Or ravishing Rahul being the best person to lead the country as the next Prime Minister? In a country of a billion plus, would not one expect India’s oldest and largest political party to give the nation a choice of at least half a dozen potential candidates?

Perhaps Congressmen want a mixed-blooded repeat of 2004, when Rahul’s mother, in a grandiose display of self-effacement and self-sacrifice, gave up the post that was offered to her, knowing fully well that, by virtue of her foreign birth, she would not be accepted by the people with open arms.

In the past we have had, as Prime Minister, one who has been described by Mr. Swaminathan Aiyar as the “unsung hero”, unsung because the Congress party doesn’t want to remember him. The party is based entirely on sycophancy and loyalty to one family and the hero, for hero he was, did not belong to that family.

That hero was the late P. V. Narasimha Rao, the man who, according to Mr. Aiyar, introduced the market reforms. The man who, in a master stroke, appointed Dr. Manmohan Singh, the present Prime Minister, as the nation’s Finance Minister. It was, in fact, Rao’s vision that Dr. Singh executed. The cumulative effect of the reforms initiated during Rao’s tenure is seen now, in the 2000s, when India has become a miracle growth economy. According to Aiyar, Dr. Manmohan Singh has said repeatedly that he could have achieved nothing without Rao’s backing. With all this, Rao died a political nobody.

These Congress leaders are pitching for Rahul Gandhi for the top post. Aren’t they showing disregard, nay disdain, for the present P.M., a much respected person in the country and around the world? These Congress sycophants also claim that their young leader does not seem too keen to take up the job. The question being asked is “IS RAHUL READY?”

The question I would ask is “IS INDIA READY?” Do all Indians want the perpetuation of dynastic rule? The queens and kings of England ruled over India. Do we want the same type of dynastic rule to continue in what is now a Sovereign Democratic Republic?

Or are we looking for a “Sovereign of the Democratic Republic”?

I ask again: “IS INDIA READY?” Is my country ready for the perpetuation of dynastic rule? Hasn’t Dr. Manmohan Singh done a good job as the Prime Minister, inspite of being a man from “outside the family”, like Narasimha Rao, the man who started India’s economic miracle? Hasn’t Dr. Singh taken the “economic miracle” forward to achieve greater heights, to raise India’s status in the international arena, for India to be recognised and respected as an economic power by the nations of the world, even the so-called developed ones?

In the corporate sector, for example, we have the Tatas, led by the dynamic Ratan Tata (for whom I have high regard), and so many others who have built not only their own corporate houses, but even other enterprises that they have been heading, that are forging ahead of the competition. Although the Tatas could have retained the Group Chairmanship within the family, they are looking for a successor to Ratan Tata, even from outside the family. What they are seeking is quality in leadership, not exclusive hereditary possession.

Doesn’t India have any more of her sons and daughters with leadership qualities, from outside “the family”, who can lead India in its forward march? Aren’t there any more Raos and Singhs among the billion plus Indians? Will the political class kindly allow them to come forward, to make themselves seen and felt, to continue the forward march of the nation?