Some Questions to Soniaji ..

Sonia Gandhi has traveled a long way before she reached this position of today. She has guided the Congress party to several victories. Congress almost rose like a phoenix from ashes because of Sonia Gandhi.

Congress getting back on heels  has been good to tilt the balance away from far right into more reasonable agendas, for the entire Nation. Sonia, by making Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, has given huge amount of stability and focus on issues to this country. Otherwise we may be still squabbling on foreign origin issues, Saas-Bahu issues and loosing the energy of this country.

But I have some questions to Sonia Gandhi, as a common man, as I think about her reign and not origin.

1. Most Indians do not know about who Sonia Gandhi is. But they realize her as one from the ‘Clan’ and emotionally are supporting her than by any logic or principles. I am not saying it is wrong. But Who in reality is Sonia Gandhi..? What she wants to achieve for this country..?

We knew L.K. Advani. We knew Vajpayee. We knew Jyoti Basu or Karat too. We know their background, their principles, their fights, their values and their life. We do not know anything about Sonia Gandhi logically, except for the emotional chord that runs as a ‘bahu’ of a family.

Yes, in the last decades people voted for Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi  based on this blind belief. As the next generations are coming up, they would like to know more  about Sonia/Rahul Gandhi and what they want to achieve for us.

What is the social political economic agenda/goals of Sonia Gandhi for this country..? (apart from just keeping BJP out of power..?). What does she believe in..? Where is she going to take the country..? What does she stand for..?

Can she clarify..?

2. Yes, Sonia Gandhi is out of Bofors issue for all legal purposes.  But can Sonia Gandhi Come Clean on this issue..? She need not  have to reveal what happened to the poor people of this country who elected her. Let bygones be bygones. This country has seen much much greater betrayals than Bofors all its life.

Since she is in power now, she can use her power to clean up this system and ensure Bofors like deals happen under proper scrutiny and most important the taxpayer money is not diverted to individual’s purse..?

She has done very well in forcing the Government on RTI act. In my view this is one step that she did to make people of India aware what is happening in bureaucracy, political and big-business circles, where this trio has been looting the taxpayer money for all these years.

But she can do more.

She knows the loopholes in Government on which the political system is leeching. She knows the opportunities on which the politicians and Big-businesses target taxpayer money and gobbles them up as ‘Government Money’. She can help or ensure Government plugs the loopholes. She can ensure our hard-earned money comes back to us.

This is enough for us, if she reforms the system, as she knows the internals.

3.   Future India does not need individuals. It needs Teams to run everything, everywhere. What is the Congress Team, that can run the future India..? Is it the current team of Scions of current ministers..?

Take any youth holding a powerful position in Congress party. From top to bottom they are sons, son-in-laws, daughter-in-laws, daughters, cousins, nephews, niece of current ministers and MPs. What about the role of ordinary youth and common man in Congress party..?

Can she reform the Congress party to really bring in common man and youth who are not the scions of the current ministers..? Scions of ministers do not make a good team, as they are united only for power aspirations. Look at the Congress in-fighting everywhere. It is simply because there is no team spirit that wants to acheive something. There are individuals who want to retain power, as their families have been having positions of power already.

Can she reform the Congress party in such a way that it really works as a team and brings in common man and youth into its fold and remove those old parasites who have been after power and pelf all these years..? Can she bring ‘real’ people to her party..?

4. Sonia has been associating herself with symbolic issues and not real issues of people, except in speeches.  Being in the position she is, where she is not officially responsible but has significant power, she can do a lot on people issues to force the Government.

Food Security,  Water Security, Environment (pollution), Quality Education, Energy Security in the globally competitive world for the entire population are all huge challenges this nation has to face. She has been doing nothing on these.

The Government has no plans on any sector except for two words Liberalization, Privatization.

This Government has been so senseless that it lets grains rot and eaten by ants, insects and rats, but not by human beings, as it is ‘against’ their economic policies. It has no water policy.

This Government has been so stupid to bring in a Right To Education act without any funding in place and having a minister who has been going on diluting the Quality of Education delivered in CBSE schools. While Americans and Chinese are doing homeworks and learning more, Indian educational system has seen only retrograde and/or symptomatic changes and no real improvements in knowledge delivery.

This Government has been so single-minded on energy security, it has put all its eggs on nuclear basket, which is not a proven basket anywhere in the world. This Government has no environment plans that combines development and environmental control.

On all these issues, Sonia can influence the Government into a public debate and influence the decision makers with opinions from public as well, as she is not part of Government, yet part of power.

Soniaji, You can do a lot to this country, if you want to. It is the Director who makes or breaks the film and not the hero, though the hero gets the name. Is it not..?

-TBT