The other day, at a Dusshera
party, I met a very well-known and rather powerful chap. I won’t take his real
name. Even though he is retired, his is a household name. So, let’s just call
him Mr Powerful. By the time I reached the party, he had clearly downed a few
single-malts. I carried mine and joined the small group of people who
surrounded him. Mr Powerful was enjoying himself as he held his
darbaar.
“Who do you think is the greatest
Indian politician ever?” he asked. It was obvious from his expression that any
answer that any of us gave would be wrong.
“Manmohan Singh,” he said,
without waiting for an answer.
Everyone laughed, except Mr
Powerful. The laughter died down as everyone realised that he was serious. “The
man has never won an election. The one time he tried, even from a safe
middle-class seat like South Delhi, he got trounced by that loser Vijay Kumar
Malhotra. And, this man will end up being Prime Minister for an entire decade.”
“But, he’s not really a proper
PM. He is just Sonia Gandhi’s rubber-stamp,” said one middle-aged gentleman
with a clipped moustache (clearly military). “He’s a mute puppet.”
“That’s the biggest myth.
Manmohan Singh is the most powerful man in the government. He has stalled
everything that Sonia Gandhi or Rahul have tried. I had warned her in 2008, but
by then it was too late. Manmohan had already taken over full control.”
“If he has, then he has done a
good thing,” smirked clipped-moustache. “With due respect Sir, I know you are
close to the family, but the mother and son are destroying the nation. They are
single-handedly responsible for this fiscal crisis.”
“But, Dr Singh has implemented
everything that the Gandhis have wanted, hasn’t he?” I asked. “First MNREGA,
now food bill. He has given in to all these socialist plans, which are going to
ruin the economy, despite being a proper economist himself.”
“Really, young man? You think he
has implemented all of Soniaji’s projects? Can you please tell me how much has
the government allocated to MNREGA this year? Outlay for the job guarantee
programme has actually dropped from 40,000 crore rupees two years ago to 33,000
crore in this budget. The Manmohan-Chidambaram duo has actively cut down
financing to the only thing that Soniaji and Rahul wanted.” Mr Powerful’s voice
was getting loud now. He was clearly irritated by clipped-moustache and me.
“Now think of this lovely food
bill that you are talking about. The original idea mooted by John (or did he say Jean?) and Arunaji (that’s what I heard) was coverage for
everyone. Rich young men like you would not have availed of it, but let me tell
you my son, there are millions and millions in this country who need subsidised
food,” said Mr Powerful, wagging a finger at me.
“And, you know what the so-called
puppet PM has done?” Clipped-moustache was now at the receiving end of Mr
Powerful’s ire. “First he set up a committee under that Rangarajan fellow (C Rangarajan? Must be) and, as expected,
the committee said food for all is far too expensive, it will destroy the
economy, blah, blah, etc. etc., the typical things these economist types say.”
“What’s wrong with that, sir?”
asked clipped-moustache. “Subsidies lead to fiscal deficit. Fiscal deficit
causes inflation. It is simple really. Ultimately, it is bad for the poor as
well.” He looked around at all of us in a smug manner. “Your Soniaji and Rahul
Baba are leading the country to ruin, Sir.”
“I am not questioning that,
Brigadier Saheb (so, I was right about
the military bit). I am questioning your belief that Soniaji has some sort
of a remote to control Dr Singh. That is simply not true,” Mr Powerful said,
looking somewhat exasperated with Brigadier clipped-moustache.
“As I was saying, before you interrupted
me, the food-bill now covers only two-thirds of the population, it is an
increase of 22% over what has always been covered. Do you know that 45% of
people in India are entitled to 7 kg of food-grain per head? After the
food-bill is passed, only those under the poverty line will continue to get the
full 7 kg, while those above it who used to get 7 kg will get 5 kg. That’s two
kilos less. So, while more people will get cheaper food, many who were getting
7 kilos will now get less. That’s what your puppet PM has done to the
food-bill.”
“Sir, you are throwing numbers at
us. You now we can’t counter it, since we don’t have any data here,” said the
Brigadier, again looking at all of us for support.
“Don’t believe me now. Just check
the numbers when you go home. Your son can help you, Brigadier. It’s all
available on the internet.” It was Mr Powerful’s turn to look smug now. “Just
check how much Chidambaram has kept for food subsidy this year – 90 thousand
crore, which is 15 thousand crore more than last year. All food subsidies have
been combined under the food-bill. And, if you take inflation into account the
increase is nothing but peanuts. Yes, I am throwing numbers at you. But, you
can always check it up.”
Brigadier clipped-moustache was
looking less certain now, and Mr Powerful was on a roll. “Let me tell you something.
Manmohan Singh does whatever he wants. He gets his fuel from the Americans.
They are the ones who hold his remote.” He looked around the lawn in a theatrical
manner and then dropped his voice to a stage whisper. “You never know when they
are listening. The Americans have always wanted Manmohan as PM. He does
everything to help them. I won’t say much. Just think of Sharm-al-Sheikh (I googled this. The PM had said something
about Baluchistan, which weakened India’s claim that Pakistan is unilaterally
disrupting India’s internal security). Think of how Manmohan became a real
Singh over the nuclear deal. Think of how he has been fighting for FDI in
retail. None of this is backed by the Gandhis. But, he does it anyway.”
This was increasingly sounding
like a conspiracy theory. The chap was obviously drunk. But, then, he was also
in a position to have inside information. In any case, everyone was riveted.
True or not, it was a great story.
“You know, in UPA II, Manmohan has
decided who will get what ministry. His group has retained all the key
ministries. Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma. Just imagine, the Planning
Commission is being run by a man who doesn’t even believe in planning. In each
case, a completely pro-corporate face is manning a key portfolio. And, you all
call this government socialist. If Soniaji had control, none of these people
would have been ministers,” he said vehemently.
“Come on, Sir! Are you trying to
tell us that Sonia Gandhi doesn’t decide who will be minister? That is totally
unbelievable,” I said. I had to say it. The guy was clearly talking through his
hat.
“Let me give you an example, son,”
Mr Powerful said. “You know, a couple of years ago, the mining ministry was
being run by a veteran Congressi from Assam, BK Handique. He is an old school
minister, who believes it is his job to push the party’s agenda. You may like
it or not, but that is what old school ministers did. Handique was about to
bring in a bill, which would have made it compulsory for mining companies to give
adivasis a chunk of their revenue. Obviously, the corporate lobby got after him
and wanted him out. Soniaji was backing the bill and so was Rahul. But,
ultimately Handique had to go. Your dear Dr Singh had his way and replaced him
with a completely pro-industry man.”
“If he is so powerful, then why
did Rahul Gandhi humiliate him like this and force the government to withdraw
the new ordinance?”
“Well, it is only now that the
Gandhis have started realising that unless they counter-attack, the PM will not
implement anything the party wants. So, Rahul is leading the attack. Soniaji is
still unsure whether it is good politics to attack your own Prime Minister.”
Mr Powerful motioned to a passing
waiter, tapped his glass, and leaned back into his chair. “You will now see
very interesting developments every day. The fight between Rahul and the
PM-Chidambaram duo is likely to intensify. It won’t be easy for the Gandhis,
because the man they are fighting is the greatest politician in India,” he said
and looked around at all of us.
“It will be a hidden fight. You
will only be able to read it through its symptoms. And, watch out for what the
CBI does. That is one institution that is still controlled by 10 Janpath. Watch
it closely.”
With that Mr Powerful switched
off. You could see it on his face that he had said all that he wanted to say,
and he no longer found us interesting. I drifted off to talk to others at the
party, as did most of the others who were listening to Mr Powerful.
A couple of days later, as I was
glancing at the newspapers in the morning, there it was – a symptom staring me
in the face. The CBI had lodged an FIR against Kumarmangalam Birla and the
former Coal Secretary. The coal secretary had already reacted by saying, if he
is to be investigated so should the PM.
“See, Mr Powerful was right,” I
called out to my wife. “The CBI is, indirectly, targeting the PM. The Gandhis
are fighting back”
“Fighting back? Rubbish,” said
the wife. “They control the PM. Why would they fight him? He is nothing but a
puppet PM.”
“That’s just a myth,” I said, in
an admittedly smug fashion. “He is India’s greatest politician ever.”