They alone can save St Sonia from her vow
Thursday May 19 2005 10:28 IST
S Gurumurthy
‘She is now a saint, she is Saint Sonia’. ‘She is Buddha and Gandhi and more’. ‘She is now Mother India’. Exactly a year ago this was how the media built Sonia into Christian saint and a Hindu sanyasi rolled into one. This dwarfed the constitutional ruling establishment and made her taller than the tallest in the country, at least for a while. Her word became the Bible for the ruling coalition. She became the God of her party. In comparison, even her husband and mother-in-law, who were unchallenged leaders of her party, paled into insignificance.
Recall the week in May 2004 that transformed her image as a power-hungry politician, who lied on her numbers in 1999 to become the Prime Minister, into a saint. She was elected leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party on May 14, 2004. Like any aspirant for the office of PM. She gave a dinner and got her allies to sign letters of support on May 15. She assured herself of the ‘true’ support of over 300 MPs, against the ‘false’ support of ‘272’ she claimed in 1999. By then she was more than an aspirant, she was the PM-elect.
She waited for the President’s letter for being sworn in. But, Dr Kalam’s letter to her, not yet made public, just asked her to come for talks. She met him on Tuesday, May 16, 2004 along with Dr Manmohan Singh. She went to the President as an aspirant PM-elect, not as a renouncing saint. But when she came back after meeting the President, her face showed visible discomfort. Neither she nor Singh would utter a credible word on what transpired between them and the President.
From then on, for days, the national media was full of the sainthood drama, with Congressmen attempting suicides in public. She formalised her decision to renounce prime ministership, but not before making the entire Congress party fall at her feet in full view of the nation.
Thus from being just as aspirant for the post of PM, she rose to the eternal position of a saint in a religious country that worships those who renounce, and discounts those who aspire. Thus was born the St Sonia.
Most of those who opposed her would not believe that that was her last word. Their feeble voices were drowned in the national drum-beating about her sainthood. No one would ask that vital question: What did Dr Abdul Kalam tell her which changed her determination to become the Prime Minister?
Now see what happens on May 16, 2005, exactly a year later, ‘almost to the hour’ as one media put it. ‘Madam, are you reconsidering your decision not to be PM?’ mediamen asked her as Sonia chatted with them in Delhi.
Her response implied, according to one newspaper, ‘not at the moment’ and, according to another, ‘at least not during the 14th Lok Sabha’. The clue is that she sidestepped the question whether she would become the Prime Minister if the Congress got absolute majority.
The rest of what she told the media is side story. The main story is hidden in the fact that St Sonia could no more conceal her aspiration to be where Dr Manmohan Singh is ‘if the Congress got a majority’.
It is obvious that she has clearly indicated her mind to renounce her renunciation, her sainthood. As of now, her sainthood vow is valid till the Congress gets majority on its own.
Look at the possible consequences. Once she has given this indication to her sycophants, they will do the rest. Any day they would re-enact the shameful - actually shameless - drama of May 2004 and fall at her feet en masse to plead with her to become the PM. Once such a move starts, Dr Singh will be the first one to lead the pack as he became the PM by her decision to become a saint. So her indication to renounce her sainthood clears the way for re-enacting the sordid drama of 2004.
Some reason would be found - like ‘that communal elements are endangering secularism’ - to ‘compel’ her to 7 Race Course Road. The lips of the allies would remain zipped as the allies also fell at her feet then, asking her to become the Prime Minister.
But whatever happens, one thing is certain. She was struggling with her vow for long and did not know how to get out of it. Now her hope is her sycophants. They alone can save her from her vow.
S Gurumurthy
‘She is now a saint, she is Saint Sonia’. ‘She is Buddha and Gandhi and more’. ‘She is now Mother India’. Exactly a year ago this was how the media built Sonia into Christian saint and a Hindu sanyasi rolled into one. This dwarfed the constitutional ruling establishment and made her taller than the tallest in the country, at least for a while. Her word became the Bible for the ruling coalition. She became the God of her party. In comparison, even her husband and mother-in-law, who were unchallenged leaders of her party, paled into insignificance.
Recall the week in May 2004 that transformed her image as a power-hungry politician, who lied on her numbers in 1999 to become the Prime Minister, into a saint. She was elected leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party on May 14, 2004. Like any aspirant for the office of PM. She gave a dinner and got her allies to sign letters of support on May 15. She assured herself of the ‘true’ support of over 300 MPs, against the ‘false’ support of ‘272’ she claimed in 1999. By then she was more than an aspirant, she was the PM-elect.
She waited for the President’s letter for being sworn in. But, Dr Kalam’s letter to her, not yet made public, just asked her to come for talks. She met him on Tuesday, May 16, 2004 along with Dr Manmohan Singh. She went to the President as an aspirant PM-elect, not as a renouncing saint. But when she came back after meeting the President, her face showed visible discomfort. Neither she nor Singh would utter a credible word on what transpired between them and the President.
From then on, for days, the national media was full of the sainthood drama, with Congressmen attempting suicides in public. She formalised her decision to renounce prime ministership, but not before making the entire Congress party fall at her feet in full view of the nation.
Thus from being just as aspirant for the post of PM, she rose to the eternal position of a saint in a religious country that worships those who renounce, and discounts those who aspire. Thus was born the St Sonia.
Most of those who opposed her would not believe that that was her last word. Their feeble voices were drowned in the national drum-beating about her sainthood. No one would ask that vital question: What did Dr Abdul Kalam tell her which changed her determination to become the Prime Minister?
Now see what happens on May 16, 2005, exactly a year later, ‘almost to the hour’ as one media put it. ‘Madam, are you reconsidering your decision not to be PM?’ mediamen asked her as Sonia chatted with them in Delhi.
Her response implied, according to one newspaper, ‘not at the moment’ and, according to another, ‘at least not during the 14th Lok Sabha’. The clue is that she sidestepped the question whether she would become the Prime Minister if the Congress got absolute majority.
The rest of what she told the media is side story. The main story is hidden in the fact that St Sonia could no more conceal her aspiration to be where Dr Manmohan Singh is ‘if the Congress got a majority’.
It is obvious that she has clearly indicated her mind to renounce her renunciation, her sainthood. As of now, her sainthood vow is valid till the Congress gets majority on its own.
Look at the possible consequences. Once she has given this indication to her sycophants, they will do the rest. Any day they would re-enact the shameful - actually shameless - drama of May 2004 and fall at her feet en masse to plead with her to become the PM. Once such a move starts, Dr Singh will be the first one to lead the pack as he became the PM by her decision to become a saint. So her indication to renounce her sainthood clears the way for re-enacting the sordid drama of 2004.
Some reason would be found - like ‘that communal elements are endangering secularism’ - to ‘compel’ her to 7 Race Course Road. The lips of the allies would remain zipped as the allies also fell at her feet then, asking her to become the Prime Minister.
But whatever happens, one thing is certain. She was struggling with her vow for long and did not know how to get out of it. Now her hope is her sycophants. They alone can save her from her vow.
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