Desicritics Comments on Pratibha Patil - From "Who?" to "Madam President"?

Comment by Anand Menon

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 07:12:31 EDT

There's a comment on Amrita Rajan's site where someone says"Thats a pretty nice write up about Ms Pratibha Patil. This is great moments for India and especially women in India." Going by the dirt Indian Express has been digging up it appears that Ms Patil hasn't been completely above board when she disbursed loans to her kin when she was a director of a bank..The paper reports.."Four years ago, when the Reserve Bank of India cancelled the licence of the bank that UPA Presidential nominee Pratibha Patil set up in the name of women empowerment, waiving loans for her relatives wasn’t the only irregularity it detected...." here's the complete story... Patil was aware of her bank mess, top defaulters her kin http://www.indianexpress.com/story/202794.html All said and done we CANNOT have someone with less than a perfect record as OUR FIRST CITIZEN...and we just can't have her simply because Ms Patil says she has a divine premonition about a larger responsibility......where was her divine premonition when her kin were about to default?? Sorry....who ever you are who posted that commented on Ms Rajan's site...if these are the women who are going to be our First Ladies then i fail to see how these are "great moments for women in India" There's also a larger pattern emerging here...politicians on the boards of banks,kith and kin get unsecured loans,kith and kin default,bank faces closure and censure from RBI,Bank licence cancelled,kitha nd kin go scot free,directors melt into darkness. here's another related story ...with the same Congress Party at play here.. Need experts, get political directors off my back: PSU bank chief goes public http://www.indianexpress.com/story/202685.html

Comment by Sujai

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:30:14 EDT

#16: Now if Kalam accepts, then this will be a contest between merit and quota politics. I don't know what you are talking about. What is so meritorious about Kalam? Is being an engineer and heading a missile program a necessary qualification to become a President of India? Or being a bachelor or Muslim a qualification to become a President of India? What is merit got to do with becoming President? If it is indeed about merit, I guess, we should have an entrance test followed by an interview by a panel to select the future President. If ever there is any qualification, I would assume that it would be some experience in politics of India- its administration, its elections, being accountable to a democratic institution- which Kalam fails on all counts. On the other hand, this lady - Pratibha Patil - is actually 'meritorious' compared to Kalam on all counts. She was a lawyer, an administrator, a politician, an elected people's representative, and a governor (acting as caretaker of constitution). Indians grow up NOT knowing what merit is all about. They want to associate it with everything including elected leaders of India. Is there a desired qualification to become an MP or MLA in India? And if there is none, why do you think it is so? Indians cannot have Bill Gates or Steve Jobs EVER because we will always measure a person by his degree, which school he went to in kindergarten, which college he attended, how many certifications he passed, what was his rank in IAS, etc. I guess the yuppie urban Indians who get educated in protected environs would rather select their MPs/MLAs through an entrance test. Then they will attend tutorial schools, mug up for the exam to become the legislators of this country.

Comment by Amrita

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:41:55 EDT

We can only hope :) but i think its unlikely because kalam has been pretty categorical that unless he's a consensus candidate, he's not willing to take it up again.

Comment by Sanam

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:31:50 EDT

News is appearing that Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has said that he will back down, if Kalam accepts to contest the elections. Now if Kalam accepts, then this will be a contest between merit and quota politics.

Comment by Amrita

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:19:11 EDT

Atlantean - huh, hadnt heard that. I generally discount conspiracies but now that you mention it, the VP's a more useful person to have in the bag. Sujai - dream on :) The figurehead position is pretty interesting to me because I think there is value to be found in having an official "face". Problem is very few of them seem to have been comfortable with it. I was reading sometime back that none of the Presidents have ever occupied the official (former) Viceregal apartments because they were a bit intimidated by its opulence. I guess that's better than having a president who's a little too taken with it but you can read all kinds of subtext into it too. TiIndian - thanks :) I'll check it out.

Comment by Amrita

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:16:25 EDT

Comment by The Itinerant Indian

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 06:18:10 EDT

Please read my article on the role of the president and see if the logic appeals to you. theitinerantindian.blogspot.com

Comment by Sujai

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 05:29:14 EDT

I don't think we need a President. It is such a waste of time and money. The worse punishment you can give to a very dynamic and effective individual in India is to make him/her a President. Look what it did to Kalam. His five years were such a waste of time for him and for others. Why do we need this figurehead anyway? When he/she is supposed to be a rubber stamp I don't know what he/she would be doing up there. I believe strongly that we don't need a President of India. Instead, the Prime Minister post can be combined with this post, and he/she could be elected directly by the people (instead of intermediaries who seem to hijack the will of the people).

Comment by Atlantean

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 05:21:07 EDT

Looks like a woman president for the sake of a woman president! I read somewhere that the Left and the Congress struck a deal - the Congress would get to choose the Presidential candidate while the Left would have its say on who the VicePresident will be. Then, the Left would have two Left leaning members as the Speaker and Chairman of the two Houses :)

Comment by Vinay

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 04:56:53 EDT

Dear Sister Amrita, India needs a mother now to understand the plight of her millions of hungry children. It's easy to comment sitting in an 'ivory tower'. Ms Patil is a mother and that's enough. Vinay J Political Analyst

Comment by Hardy

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 22:36:38 EDT

Nice Article... I consider it as little derogatory to women ,the way whole drama got enacted and reflected in public. Our Women are strong enough to make it to top on shear merit. An Aside, The other day I went through Thapar's(Karan) column where he revealed how selecting a woman candidate for the post of President was his brainchild. He had suggested the idea about a month back to UPA and allies though according to him he did not even have the remotest idea if he would be taken seriously in the time to come.

Comment by Amrita

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 12:19:56 EDT

Hey everybody, thanks for reading and of course, taking the time to comment! Buddha Ram - well, the writing's been clear on the wall for a while now as far as disparity between the two parties is concerned. Everytime you ask the BJP questions, it's favorite answer seems to be: the Congress did it too! So, I wasn't surprised by the Shekhawat fiasco. Chandra - thanks! :) TI Indian - well, the latest is that the NDA is going to fight female with female and plans to field a female candidate of its own. Somebody whack these nuts on the noggin. How old do they think we are? Rashtrapati is sexist, now that you bring it up! But Rashtrapatni is kind of... well, I won't go there, lolz. But while I agree that if they were looking for a token woman then I would've appreciated someone else - I can't think of anyone. which is a pretty sad statement by itself. AM - let's hope so, certainly! :) Sanjay - thanks! and HAHAHA @ former table tennis champion! Hey, now I like her! And yeah, I was reading some BJP-types talking about how this is a defeat for Sonia Gandhi and man, if I ever enter politics, I hope I get defeats like these! Lady not only got the Shiv Sainiks to break ranks but also wooed the Shekhawat community away! Politicking at it's most sublime. Prem - thanks :) I understand this is somehow supposed to make a difference to the women's reservation bill. I hope not.

Comment by Indian

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 12:08:33 EDT

Nice post. Good points. Also read: http://offstumped.nationalinterest.in/2007/06/15/pratibha-patil-for-president-a-close-look-at-her-record/

Comment by Prem

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:38:02 EDT

Excellent point that being a woman should not in itself make it honorable. We need equality, not a form of reservation for the president's post. Given the "walking on egg-shells" state of our politics, competence is not the factor -- but how uncontroversial their bio is. And given that sycophancy is the essence of Congress, this is all no surprise.

Comment by Sanjay Garg

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:14:03 EDT

The Itinerant Indian: Good points! On the rashtrapati issue, maybe this will cause some language expert to coin a more appropriate term. @Amrita: here are a few more items to add to PP's resume: - former table tennis champion - served as cabinet minister in no less than six governments from 1972-85 handling portfolios including health, housing and education - served as deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha from 1986-88 btw, the Shiv Sena has indicated that they will break ranks with the NDA to side with Patil because she is a Maharashtrian .

Comment by AM

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 08:22:54 EDT

Well some of these quiet types can get things done in their own quiet way;)

Comment by The Itinerant Indian

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 07:16:00 EDT

Well, the only reason she will make it through is that no one will want to be seen as stalling India's chance at having a woman president. The problem is that this was not an attempt to put a woman in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Had that been the case, we have a number of eminent and qualified women whose name would have come up for discussion. Pratibha Patil's elevation to the post is a foregone conclusion. The issue with how the position was filled remains. In a sense this is a master stroke by Sonia. I guess she realised that most Indians would not want to let go of the chance to put a woman there, politics and principles notwithstanding. I think we are stuck with the lady- Sonia! Now that we have arrived at this point, it is important the Congress lets her slip into the role with grace. No public kow-towing to Sonia, please. The picture of her holding Sonia's hand is not endearing. Neither is the pressure from her party to change her name doing the situation any good. For those inclined to political correctness: the term Rashtrapati is sexist, isnt it? We have, however been referring to Bangladesh's President in similar terms, if I am not mistaken

Comment by Chandra

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 04:11:39 EDT

Amrita Good one. The whole process is like a comedy, nothing less. cheers

Comment by Buddha Ram

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 03:24:48 EDT

That the Congress had run out of imagination was obvious by their method of search, but, their choice shows they also lack serious political thought. The indecisiveness of the Congress seems to inspire the BJP too now. Suddently, there seems to be no commitment on Shekawath!