The woman really had her way on Women’s day. Rather, two women, if you care to include Sonia, Rabri’s Devi. And most certainly a wonderful display of women power, coming as it does on the appropriate day, as Rabri herself has been quick to point out. It would be silly to expect her to let slip the significance of the event, even if it was just a coincidence.
But then, politics is all about symbolisms, gestures and rhetoric and has little to do with justice and fairplay, not to speak of good deeds. Obviously, every Rabri will have her day.
I am neither a cynical chauvinist nor a spoil-sport of women’s lib. But surely I get this inescapable feeling of doom and despair about what the two women have jointly achieved, with excellent help from the secular men-folk too, on what is otherwise truly an occasion for celebration.
But the tale of the two women apart, the imminent restoration of Rabri raj in Bihar augurs several things to the nation and none of them seems auspicious. For one, the fact that democracy can derail itself and instead run over the very people it is intended to empower and protect is itself a very sad revelation.
This precisely is the fallout of the current democratic disaster. The people of Bihar have been rendered sitting ducks to the machinations of the Couple on a crazy binge and the rest of the nation will have to necessarily watch the sordid drama, helplessly and bound by their own chains.
The noise has already commenced. Besides Rabri’s afore-mentioned bleating about the woman’s day gift, her vociferous spouse is now at his noisy best. For him every place is Parliament as he goes around bragging about the victory of democracy, secularism, social justice and such other current buzzwords.
Along with his eminent companion through thick and din, the unholy morcha seems unstoppable. The duo have now given a clarion call to all and sundry, including the cattle in Laloo’s shed (which is the CM’s official residence) for the ouster of the communal BJP government.
They have also upped their demand for the resignation of everyone beginning with the PM to the PM’s car driver. They have successfully stalled Parliament in the last two weeks to protect secularism and the next few weeks are also certain to witness the same trend, this time to celebrate the victory of secularism. With our sound democracy reverberating to the unholy chants of the horrible morcha, there is bound to be a sudden spurt in the demand for earplugs.
The sole credit for this grand parade of indecency and rut should rightfully go to the Congress. On second thoughts, I feel it is wrong to accuse the Congress of double standards. They never had any in the first place. Just sample this. Sonia says Rabri had lost the moral right to rule.
She then goes about ensuring Rabri’s continuity by refusing to act on her own assessment. The obvious inference is that Sonia has given her mandate for an immoral regime to continue with full knowledge of its ominous implications. A truly classic case of hunting with the hounds initially and running with the hare later.
The party however maintains a diplomatic silence on the various interpretations lent to its decision, the most striking being its alleged change of attitude on Art 356. The most vocal protagonist of this school of thought is, needless to guess, our very rational CM Karunanidhi, who has not slept a wink in the last few months owing to perennial fear of the Article chopping off his head.
Like a wolf in waiting he has immediately found common cause with the ‘enemy’ Congress. A pat for Sonia and a thanks to the Congress for saving the nation from the draconian 356 has ensured that he is safe, just in case. Or that is what our Thalaivan believes.
And so with Rabri and Laloo back in circulation, it is going to be business as usual in Bihar till the BJP gets ready to take the next shot. For the gun-toting Ranvir Sena and CPI(ML), it has always been business as usual with their daily dose of mutual killings, be it Rabri rule or Central rule. Not that the first couple have ever cared, busy as they are with their cattle and party which bear striking similarities. Of course, they may now like to devote some time to ‘deal’ with the Governor SS Bhandari.
Rabri may remember her promise to break the governor’s legs and may even set out forthwith to implement the project. We now know why Bihar is always limping.
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