Inside Track: Politics’ Watershed Moment
It was a watershed moment in Indian politics, thanks to Gen Z. Traditional politicians, including Rahul Gandhi, have been left behind and are clambering onto the bandwagon of spirited, faceless youngsters.
It was a watershed moment in Indian politics, thanks to Gen Z. Traditional politicians, including Rahul Gandhi, have been left behind and are clambering onto the bandwagon of spirited, faceless youngsters. The Modi government’s grand design to push through its agenda of securing a two-thirds majority in Parliament in this session has stalled, not because its cynical game of accumulating MPs who have lost their moral compass has misfired, but because of the power of a spontaneous movement, which has captured the country’s imagination and sympathy, cutting across economic strata and traditional ideologies. Even the BJP’s elder statesman, Murli Manohar Joshi, voiced his support. The free-spirited harbingers of change, with their irrelevant memes and catchy Instagram reels, have outshone the traditional media — constrained by market compulsions and distribution networks. A section of television journalists were booed and booted out of the protest epicentre at Jantar Mantar.
A leaderless mob does not act in tandem. Akhilesh Yadav indicated Congress should not speak on behalf of all opposition before consultations. Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali, questioned the motives of both Rahul Gandhi and the BJP. AAP leaders dubbed the Congress the BJP’s B-team, accusing it of opportunistically entering the campaign. Chandra Shekhar Aazad’s party workers boasted they were ahead of others in tearing down police barricades to make way for the students. The CJP’s self-effacing spokespersons voiced no fear of being overshadowed and welcomed support from all quarters. But they are probably conscious that even they have no total command over the disparate sea of humanity. In his puzzling adamancy in not removing Dharmendra Pradhan, a non-negotiable demand of the protesters, Prime Minister Modi put both his government and personal reputation on the line. Eventually, however, better sense prevailed. The PM perhaps recalled the lessons of history. Even Jawaharlal Nehru perforce agreed to Krishna Menon quitting his Cabinet, Indira Gandhi reluctantly acceded to the students’ demand for Gujarat Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel’s resignation, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee requested George Fernandes to step down as defence minister.
Former BJP Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai’s exit from the party last month is believed to be a forerunner to B L Santhosh — the BJP’s powerful national general secretary (organisation) and coordinator between the RSS and the party — being marginalised. Annamalai, a former IPS officer, was Santhosh’s protégé and appointed party president in 2021. The newbie’s brash political confidence turned out to be totally off the mark, as proved by the BJP’s disastrous electoral performance in this year’s state assembly poll. Removed as BJP president last year, Annamalai claims he left the party of his own volition, but insiders recall a stormy meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi before he quit.
It was a brief birthday party for Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday. After the cake was cut at his home, Rahul Gandhi informed the astonished host and unprepared guests that they would all march to the PM’s residence nearby to stage a dharna in support of the students. Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar was present, but Kerala CM V D Satheesan, who was in Delhi, had to be hastily summoned to Lok Kalyan Marg. Satheesan was noticeably tight-lipped during the slogan-shouting and flew back to Kerala soon after. Questioned by scribes back home about his abrupt departure from the capital, Satheesan claimed that Rahul Gandhi had pointed at his wristwatch and asked him to rush to the airport, else he would miss his flight. The only snag is that Gandhi does not wear a watch!
It is hardly coincidental that controversial films with a political message, such as Udta Punjab, Kerala Story and Kashmir Files, were released shortly before an assembly poll in the states concerned. In each case, the film’s theme discredited the BJP’s rival parties. Similarly, Satluj has gone viral before next year’s Punjab assembly polls. The movie was held up for three years by the CBFC, which demanded 127 cuts. But this month, the uncensored film was released on Zee 5 Global on the plea that OTT platforms are not certified by the CBFC. Although the film was removed within two days, by this time, as to be expected, the film’s link had gone viral. The autobiography of Zee TV’s pragmatic businessman-owner, Subhash Chandra, makes clear that his motto is to respect the wishes of the government of the day. And sceptics believe the movie’s release was unlikely without a nod from the powers that be.
