An open letter to Rahul Gandhi
Dear Mr Rahul Gandhi,
You wouldn’t know me from Adam, but I am a working-class individual (perhaps you know what that means), a law-abiding Indian, a friend, and a father to a daughter.
Unlike you, I am not a janeu-dhari one, but am Hindu, nonetheless. Like you, I love dogs: have two pets myself.
Like most Indians of modest means (are you familiar with that expression?), I do a comparative study of available goods before buying something.
While voting too, I apply the same yardstick. Each candidate is evaluated in terms what he or she represents before I cast my ballot.
Since your party has projected you as a youth icon, a leader who can solve this great nation’s problems and also as a messiah of the downtrodden, I am addressing this epistle to you.
Prime Minister Modi has often articulated what he represents: development, for instance, among other things. Whether or not I agree with his vision is immaterial: what matters is that I am unaware of what your vision for India is.
I would really love to vote for you, but only after I am able understand what you stand for.
Lately, your new battalion of speech writers has made you look earnest, aggressive, combative. Even clever. Your monotonously repetitive and tutored utterances dwell on what Mr Modi does not represent and what he has not done for the country. Fine, we get that.
But what about you?
As an Indian, I want to know what your thoughts and vision are. Not your speech writers’.
Thus, in the spirit of promoting rational inquiry, I take the liberty of posing some questions, the answers to which may help millions like me make up our mind.
What is your ‘idea of India’? Every political ideologue defines this differently. It confuses lesser mortals like me. Perhaps, you could elucidate.
Your desire for an ‘inclusive India’ is noble, but does your strategy include the ‘saffron brigade’? Or do you envisage a ‘right wing-free’ India? Can ‘bhakts’ look forward to a safe future when you are in power?
What is your view on the judiciary? On Twitter, your party’s head of social media accused the Chief Justice of India of being a ‘bench fixer’? Do you endorse this?
Your illustrious family’s utter disdain for Supreme Court verdicts twice in the past and your latest attack on the judiciary belie the assertion that you are ‘saving’ democracy. Will you, when you are prime minister, accept court verdicts or follow family tradition?
Incidentally, when you speak of ‘saving democracy’, do you refer to the same democracy your grandmother crushed during the 1975 Emergency?
Do you support an out-of-court settlement for the Ayodhya impasse? Would you prefer a masjid or, as a janeu-dhari Hindu, a temple? Or will you root for a hospital, a school, or an inter-faith convention centre?
How will you turn around India’s economy that you say is in the doldrums? What will you do to create jobs? How will you address the agrarian crisis? Will you waive off more farm loans, further burdening tax-payers?
What’s your strategy to double farm income?
Numerous dubious loans that have now been unearthed were handed out to unscrupulous elements during your regime: will you continue doing that? How do you propose to address the problem of burgeoning NPAs in banks?
Do you think all industrialists are crooks? Or only those who support Mr Modi are dishonest?
The RSS, you claim, has infiltrated democratic institutions, including courts. Do you think Indians should not be a part of these institutions, or are RSS workers not Indians? Who will you fill these institutions with when you are in power?
What’s your view on efforts by the Congress to divide Hindus, like in Karnataka? Apart from visiting temples during elections, what is your plan to ensure the well-being of Hindus, many of whom fear you?
Will you stop your army of trolls and foul-mouthed party spokespersons from attacking female political opponents, activists and judges? Or will you continue to envelop yourself in pretentious suavity while letting party-men run amok?
How do you propose to tackle crime? Especially, against women?
How do you plan to handle Pakistan? And China? What about cross-border terrorism? Your party insists you can successfully resolve these issues. Pray, why then did we fail during the UPA’s decade-long rule?
Will you ban electronic voting machines if you become prime minister? Do you pledge not to employ the services of Cambridge Analytica or similar consultants during elections?
Dear Mr Gandhi, do let us know about where you stand on these matters.
Loyal subjects, we are thankful for your family’s sacrifice of lording over us for most of independent India’s life.
I know you are busy and might not even read, let alone answer, these questions. That would be a tragedy as a lot of us will continue to remain unaware of your vision for India.
As soon as I get your reply, I plan to write similar letters to your opponents, too, including to the current prime minister.
Thanking you,
A citizen
