Thanks to UPA for 'dirty' Presidential polls
By the time, you start reading this the tenure of Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam as the President of India might just have been over. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat might have lost and Pratibha Patil Shekhawat might have just stepped in, with all dirty allegations, into the Rastrapati Bhavan bringing along loads of happiness to 'Madam' Sonia Gandhi. Though controversies for Presidential elections are not new in the country, it had never been so 'dirty' ever before.
When India was to become a Republic on 26 January 1950 the question arose as to who should become the country's first President. Rajagopalachari, as the first Indian Governor General was a logical choice and favored by Nehru. Others saw Rajendra Prasad, who had presided over the constituent assembly, as the appropriate candidate. Foreseeing this Nehru was troubled and wrote to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 15 September 1949:
"I am told that active and rigorous canvassing has taken place on this subject and there is a large majority who favor Rajendra Babu. The Biharis, of course, are in it, the Andhras, and a good number of Tamils. Then generally, the protagonists of Hindi favor Rajendra Babu. I was a little surprised to learn that Shyama Prasad Mookerjee also favors him. This is merely not a question of favoring Rajendra Babu, but rather of deliberately keeping Rajaji out. One of the most active agents in this business is Goenka."
The Goenka, mentioned by Nehru, was none other than Ramnath Goenka, fondly known as RNG, the great Patriarch of Freedom of Press and founder of the Indian Express Group. If Rajendra Prasad had won, it was solely due to the mastermind of RNG and his Indian Express. RNG is no more, but his Indian Express Group does exist.
This July Indian Express published a series of investigative Articles by its former Editor Arun Shourie, who brought out amazing as well as disturbing facts about the Congress-Communist joint presidential candidate.
Bhairon
Singh
Shekhawat,
whose
victory
is
as
distant
as
the
sun
from
earth
is
fighting
it
out
rather
fiercely.
However,
why
is
he
doing
so?
At
this
age,
a
retirement
would
just
be
more
than
enduring
but
he
is
reluctant
to
give
up.
His
act
reminds
me
of
what
Krishna
had
said
to
Arjuna
in
Bhagavad-Gita:
Tasmat Uttishta Kaunteya yuddhaaya Krita-nishchaya ||
Sukha-dukhe same kritva laabha laabhau jayaajayau |
Tato yuddhaya yujyasva naivam paapam avaapsy yasi ||
It means, "What fate could fall more grievously than this? Either being killed thou wilt enter Heaven, or alive and victor thou will reign an earthly kingdom. Therefore arise, thou son of Kunti! Brace your arm for conflict; nerve thy heart to meet - as things alike to thee - pleasure or pain, profit or ruin, victory or defeat. So minded, grid thee to the fight, for thou shall not sin."
He has demonstrated his fight for a 'Cause' when he acclaimed that he would step aside if Dr. Kalam steps in to contest. Kalam, of course, did the right thing when he decided to stay away from the dirt of politics.
When I recall of people talking in streets as to for what reason he was not given a second term, it reminds me of Kautilya's maxim which reads, "In the woods that tree is chopped first which is straight. Similarly in politics that person is sacrificed who is straightforward." Kalam was a person who was too right and extremely just in his behavior.
Dr. Kalam was a rare persona who without working knowledge of either political system or the constitution became the President. His rich experience in the elite sector of science and technology may have led to some inspiring and exasperating encounters with babudom but it left him insulated from the political establishments. He encountered the most enlightened face of Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and MP's in parliamentary consultative committees; he never had occasion to be familiar with the seamy and less appetizing facets of public life. Having spent a life burrowing into the challenging complexities of missile development, he was untainted by the duplicity and deceit. Kalam entered the political world without anything more than a perfunctory knowledge of what "political compulsions" meant. He literally arrived in Rastrapati Bhavan without baggage.
There were two occasions when Kalam erred. The first and relatively unpublicized occasion was his demand that the Vajpayee Government after dissolving parliament in 2004 be substituted with a non-partisan caretaker regime. This was a gesture of improvisation, that may have been grounded in the principle of fairness but, it lacked constitutional sanction, it was a piece of adventurism that Kalam wisely did not persist with.
The
second
occasion
was
when
he
accepted
Governor
Buta
Singh's
report
on
the
constitutional
breakdown
in
Bihar
after
the
first
2006
Assembly
elections
in
Bihar.
Kalam,
it
is
said,
was
misled
by
the
Prime
Minister's
urgent
plea
and
thus
hurriedly
signed
the
proclamation
in
Moscow.
Subsequently,
the
Supreme
Court
declared
the
move
illegal,
although
it
refrained
from
being
critical
of
Rastrapati
Bhavan.
A
humiliated
Kalam
vowed
to
be
doubly
cautious
in
future
and
never
to
accept
the
government's
advice
without
an
independent
application
of
mind.
He
learnt
from
his
mistakes.
It
is
evident
that,
Kalam,
by
his
mere
presence
threatened
the
ramshackle
edifice
on
Indian
public
life
rests.
He
was
a
threat
to
the
core
assumption
of
politics.
He
symbolized
the
Indian
quest
for
decency
and
uprightness
in
public
life.
This
was
the
core
reason
why
he
was
thrashed
aside
for
a
more
conventional
and
malleable
occupant
of
Rastrapati
Bhavan.
It
is
now
time
to
bid
adieu
to
Kalam
-
a
man
who
will
continue
to
live
on
in
the
minds
of
Indians
as
a
Legend.
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