I normally do not agree with communists and with V S Achutanandan, the Chief Minister of Kerala, I have a particular kind of contempt because he insulted Major Unnikrishanan, the martyr of Mumbai. Those interested can read an earlier blog on this theme. However, in the recent controversy with the Yuvaraj of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, I am forced to side with VS. For all his faults, V S Achutanandan has been in electoral politics for more than 50 years and has maintained a clean public image though he is regarded as a rumbustious factional leader. Ask Pinyari Vijayan for details.
It is a crying shame and a blot on India that for the last 65 years the post of the Prime minister has become the virtual monopoly of one family. Dynastic succession and Democratic way of life are contradictory and Indians do not seem to realise that by giving space to the likes of Rahul Gandhi we are only encouraging a putrid and corrupt courtier type of dynastic politics. In fact the stink of political corruption goes hand in hand with dynastic politics. Just remember Bofor and before that the Nagarwala case all involved the Nehru family. Now the 2 G spectrum scandal too has a dynastic angle because the example of the Congress is followed by other criminal elements in the political system. Against this background, I think VS Achutanandan should not have bothered to put Rahul Gandhi on the same level as himself. In a way, V S Achutanandan is right. Afterall, Rahul Gandhi was born to political power, social and economic previlege and like every spoilt prince in history conflates his dynasty with the larger society. Once he is said to have remarked that his family got India freedom and forgetting that there was a Congress regime in place even made the absurd statement that if his family had been in power, the Masjid would still be standing. The young man believes that he is born to rule from a hereditary throne and it is time the electorate realised this.
Rahul Gandhi's utterances are stupid and it is time the Congress and its pretenders are shown the door,.