The family which wants to have it all

Which is the first family of Indian politics? Sorry, you got that wrong. It’s not the Gandhi family as most people might say. It’s the Karunanidhi family. After all, between Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka, the Gandhis have got zero cabinet representation, whereas the “Chennai Super Kings” family wants cabinet berths for son, Azhagiri, daughter Kanimozhi, grand nephew Dayanidhi Maran and ‘like’ sons TR Baalu and A Raja.

Not just that. Old man Karuna (which ironically means kindness), as he directs traffic from his wheelchair, not only wants a lot of ministries, he wants ‘good’ ministries. If you are young and idealistic and given to false notions of goodness, you would assume ‘good’ ministries meant those portfolios where you could serve the people of India in the most significant way.

But if you know your politics, you will know instantly that good ministries are ATM ministries. As a bonus occasionally, an ATM ministry can serve a dual purpose: the Revenue Department, for example, oversees the Income Tax department, which is not only a lucrative field, but one which allows you to slap on/pursue vigorously income tax cases against your opponents (say, Jayalalithaa). A double whammy ministry indeed.

The contrast between the Karnuanidhi family’s shameless jostling for the loaves and fishes of office and the complete renunciation of it by the Gandhi family (when they could have had any position they wanted, from PM downwards), shows us the two stands that inhabit the same space of Indian politics. Luckily for us, the Congress top hierarchy has many incumbents who show real integrity, which doesn’t just mean financial integrity but also moral integrity.

Ask any politician why he is in politics and the answer is bound to be: To serve the country. No one will say that he is in it for the power he will get to wield once politics leads him to higher office.

I dare say even a Manmohan Singh or Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi will have to admit that they like the power that’s now in their hands. The important question is: What do you do with that power? To enrich yourself and your family? To settle scores with your enemies?

Or do you see the immense benefits you can bring to millions of your countrymen with sound policies and efficient implementation? Whatever people may think of Mamata Banerjee, especially after the Nano fiasco, what I like about her approach is that it’s the exact opposite of Karunanidhi. To start with, she hasn’t made exorbitant demands for berths in the cabinet; she has asked for ‘good’ ministries in the true sense: Railways, rural development, urban development, culture, tourism and health, departments which can have a positive impact on a very large cross-section of people..

In a similar vein, there are two other positive developments from the election results. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have seen that the UPAs stunning success came largely because of the success of welfare measures like NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme).  As a result, ministries which were considered unimportant have suddenly got a halo around them.

For years, the irony of which ministries were considered important and which were not, has always struck me as being strange.

Obviously, Finance, External Affairs, Home and Defence will always be important. But how can Education, Health, Rural Development, Power, Infrastructure be considered any less important? The lack of emphasis given to the first three, particularly came from the privileged who already had full access to the best education and health and did not need to ever go to rural areas.

If this emphasis changes, as present indications suggest, it has the power to transform our country into a far, far better place where there will be more families like the Gandhis,  and families like Karunanidhis will be objects of ridicule and scorn they so richly deserve.