Desicritics Comments on Indian Politics: Soniaji - I Was Wrong

Comment by Vikas Chowdhry

Sun, 2 Apr 2006 13:00:19 EDT

BangloreGuy "if May '04 had resulted in a BJP/NDA victory, you'd have seen a far stronger centre, and a much weaker opposition." And that is a big if my friend! However, after the defeat, the way BJP has behaved has been a big disappointment and it is no longer a credible opposition and not a viable contended for power in its current state and that is how the things stand right now.

Comment by BangaloreGuy

Sun, 2 Apr 2006 11:48:06 EDT

I was, very specifically answering your comments, which took from Sonia to Congress Party to the past and finally to 'whether any government is perfect'. Every time I comment on one you jump to a neighbouring, even unrelated, topic! When evaluating the performance of a government, IMO, we cannot be evaluating the hypothetical situations. And btw, if May '04 had resulted in a BJP/NDA victory, you'd have seen a far stronger centre, and a much weaker opposition.

Comment by Vikas Chowdhry

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 12:33:21 EST

BangloreGuy: Is Manmohan Singh government perfect? No! Have they committed blunders? Yes! Find me a single government anywhere in the world which did not commit its own set of blunders. The bigger concern here is what is the alternative to Congress? BJP? It is still shell-shocked from the beating it got 2 years ago and does not have a single leader of any stature. The rag-tag coalition of n number of Janta and Samajwadi Parties with Mulayam Singh Yadav as Prime Minister? The problem is that Indian middle class cannot put its vote where its mouth is. That is why someone like Manmohan Singh lost elections in South Delhi. Nachiketa: Good link. The best friends make the worst enemies and the Bachchan family is proving that adage in abundance with respect to the Gandhis. I loved this comment from Jaya: "Amitabhji was unable to be here amidst you all. But he has sent his best wishes to the people of Assam," she told the rally. Probably he is too busy dancing in the wedding of a local Samajwadi Politician in UP.

Comment by Nachiketa

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 10:58:23 EST

because had it not been for that connection, she'd be somewhere in Europe, worried about the Muslim immigration issue. If you read yesterday's newspapers,she is worried about that in India too :) http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1662978,001302200004.htm

Comment by BangaloreGuy

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 09:40:49 EST

Oh btw, If you think what you said about Sonia isnt wearing blinkers, well, I suppose, you can be said to be "relatively" blinkered.

Comment by BangaloreGuy

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 09:38:40 EST

I did not attribute them to Sonia at all, but the Congress party. I was referring to the "letter to Congressmen" that you linked to. If 2005 is the "past", for you, I'd think your PoV on the Govt should change every day. (She was, Chairperson of the NAC, and an MP then) There are any number of things that this government has done wrong, and India been the worse for it. I'd list them, but you would again portray it as "others' mistakes /the past" being attributed to Sonia. So I'll refrain from that.

Comment by Vikas Chowdhry

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 08:22:18 EST

BangloreGuy - Maybe it is a sign of the times that we live in that you mistook my post for sarcasm. There is no sarcasm here and I don't have any blinkers either. I agree we need to do a lot of rethinking on our politicians (leaders? I hardly see any leaders around on the political stage). For me, everything is relative - so would you rather have an Indian born crook like Mulayam Singh lead the country? Or the pack of jokers who are running the show in Banglore? You are enumerating the crimes Congress has committed in the past and putting it all on Sonia's shoulders and that is exactly what I am trying to say in my post - that it is unreasonable to do so.

Comment by BangaloreGuy

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 07:34:08 EST

Unless I missed the sarcasm in the post, I'd say you're wearing blinkers. If mere written letter to party workers could be taken to convey the intention and intelligence of the person, then we'd all need to do a lot of rethinking on our politicians and leaders. BTW, the same Congress Party that she writes as eschewing "communalisation of Foreign Policy" had Nutwar Singh saying that "India's support for Iran took into consideration India's 150 million Muslims". Going back much further in history, it was also the same Congress Party that, under GandhiJi, participated in the Khilafat Movement.