Leaders might be born, might be made, might happen by accident or by necessity, but to expect leadership by sycophancy is stretching it. To shout from rooftops that somebody, who has neither the upbringing nor has shown the intellectual ability to lead a party, leave alone the nation, is the next big hope of the nation will not make him a good leader. To accept everything he says blindly, keep him away from any criticism even if he takes positions against his own government, to simply hand him responsibility without accountability will in no means get him ready to lead a nation. Not now, not ever.
While both have failed the nation, it’s a matter of debate if Rahul Gandhi has failed the Congress or the Congress has failed Rahul Gandhi. Yes, sometimes leaders have to be made, potential candidates have to be groomed, initiated gradually into their roles, allowed to make mistakes so that they can learn from them so that at a give point, when they are ready they can take over and lead. Rahul Gandhi could have been that person, groomed from a young age to understand the country whose history has been shaped by his family, and take it forward. The Congress had the senior statesmen, the Pranab Mujherjees and the Manmohan Singhs, the Sheila Dikshits, who could have taught him the nitty-gritty of running a country responsibly and efficiently. Leaders who have a wealth of experience as well as the personal integrity to show a young man the ways of government. To discipline him and gradually give him responsibility, teaching him first to follow before he learns to lead.
And he would have had a good team to assist him and grow with him. The Milind Deoras and the Sachin Pilots could have been his peer group, a group of young men ready to take on the mantle of India’s oldest party when the time is right. Men with vision and a connect with the young Indian, but with the experience and political discipline imparted by older leaders. They might not have been baked in the oven of grass-root politicking but would have learnt enough to lead.
Now who do we blame for such an ideal situation passing us by? Do we blame the same elderly statesmen who were unable to hold their hand up and take responsibility for this young scion, unable to find the steel to discipline a Gandhi, be it the mother or the son? Do we blame the overpowering queen bee, for whom politics has been about power, about being able to shield her fallacies and her personal ambitions under a cloud of opaqueness and ultimate authority? Who could never have the confidence in her heir to work his own way without her pampering and carte-blanche to do whatever he pleases. Or is it all the fault of Rahul himself, a young man who has never shown any propensity for leadership, for discipline or responsibility, whose youth is a story of failed academics and partying ways, who even at forty plus has difficulty maintaining intelligent conversation. Was he always destined to be a failure, no matter how hard the rest tried?
Nobody in these times expect political decisions to be taken keeping the country in mind. Neither are decisions on leadership going to be based entirely on the ability of the individual. But for the Congress to pin its entire hopes, with head and heart on a person who has shown absolutely no potential, no propensity to improve speaks of a depravity of ideas unbecoming of any party, leave alone the Grand Old party. It is as if by screaming long enough and loud enough, reality can be fooled and Rahul might one day turn into the great leader the Congress is waiting for.
Sad is it not?
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