Family values

Even by the nepotistic standards of Indian politicians, the M Karunanidhi clan is a class apart. It is not merely all in the family but also all about the family. The veteran of many a political battle in Tamil Nadu, who has dominated the state’s politics for decades, has ultimately been reduced to try and reconcile the many demands of his progeny from different wives.

The first post-poll political challenge that the UPA faced had nothing to do with a burning problem facing the country, but a petty family issue, specifically that of Karunanidhi. The best minds of the Congress have been trying to see how they can accommodate all of DMK leader’s children in the new government — son Azhagiri, daughter Kanimozhi and grand-nephew Dayanidhi Maran.

It is obvious that Karunanidhi wants family members to be in charge of the party. For that to happen, he has to keep all of them in prominent positions. Hence his desperate bid to find ministerial berths for his son, daughter and grand-nephew. But even that simple solution is fraught with internal family politics — each of his three wives is pushing her own children, while the grand-nephew Maran is pressing his own suit.

Pushing one’s children forward is a common enough tendency among parents, more so in Indian politics today. But this is not only happening at the cost of the party, but is also holding the government to ransom. The real issue is not whether Karunanidhi’s kin deserve to be made ministers but whether he should demand specific ministries, as is his wont, when his nominees have performed badly. The last time the telecom ministry, held by the DMK, was criticised for its handling of the spectrum licences. He wants that ministry again.

Karunanidhi’s travails vis-a-vis his many children and relatives show how dynastic politics has gone berserk. That sons and daughters of politicians follow their parents is hardly a new development or limited to any one family. But not only do they monopolise political space, their internal conflicts have begun to have a bearing on the distribution of how the loaves and fishes of office are distributed. Karunanidhi’s family may have to be accommodated, but Singh must make it clear that ultimately these ministers will be judged purely on performance, not on their pedigree or their importance in the DMK scheme of things.