Sonia Gandhi and Morality in Politics
Two years ago, Sonia Gandhi, the president of Congress Party, made a national and international headline when she shockingly declined to be crowned as the prime minister of India after she successfully led her party and its coalitions partners to win the general elections. Her decision has made her an enigma in Indian politics: a successful politician no doubt but one clearly different from the rest of the tribe in India.
For the second time in less than two years, Mrs. Gandhi, 59, has caught everyone off guard as she resigned her Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) post after coming under political cloud and tried to recapture the moral high ground in an arena where power is seen as the only driving force. In that dramatic announcement she made at her 10 Janpath residence, New Delhi, the mother of two, born in Italy but now completely an Indian at heart, proved once again that she is not and will never be another run of the mill politician.
If the reason of her refusal to accept the post of Prime Minister of India in 2004 was her ‘inner voice’, Mrs. Gandhi’s decision to resign from the Lok Sabha was said to be the ‘correct decision’ she thought she must take to avoid any controversy and disruption to the functioning of the government. Both the decisions were taken on the basis of moral ground, and not due to any political pressure. Her decision to be different from the rest of the pack is interesting to scrutinize.
When Sonia Gandhi decided to take the plunge into politics in 1998 to take the responsibility of reviving the ailing Congress Party, she was considered by many, her own party men as well as by the opposition, as an outsider and a novice in every sense of the term.
With her personal background as an Italian who happened to be married with a member of the Gandhi family, Rajiv Gandhi, and the fact that far from its stature as India's dominant political entity, the Congress Party then had just 140 members in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, many had considered her move as a scenario where few would have dared to take a step forward. But she did it and proved everyone wrong about her decision to join politics.
If Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi's father, was India's first prime minister for 17 years, Indira Gandhi held the post in two spells for 16 years. Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia's husband, was prime minister for five years. Sonia Gandhi was nothing compared to them.
She knew few political players by face or even name, she was considered aloof and cold, she did not emit the typical politician-friendliness, her command over Hindi was poor and she lacked original ideas – or so felt most people. And one thing that differentiates her from the previous three Gandhi: there was no one to fall back upon at the time she decided to plunge into politics.
However, contrary to the background she had and the shaky beginning when she entered politics, she matured rapidly. She had clearly understood the very many complexities of the game in a very short period of six years. Thus, not only was she successfully revived and rebuilt the Congress Party but she also brought the Party to where it belongs: the center of power in Indian politics.
Under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress Party and its coalition partners won the general elections held in May 2004, defeating the successful coalition government of the BJP’s National Democratic Alliance. With the win and the success enjoyed by the Congress Party, many had expected that Sonia Gandhi would take the responsibility to lead the Congress-led coalition government in New Delhi. But she had a different plan and came up with a shocking decision of renouncing the job, saying she was listening to the voice of her conscience.
In her words, she joined politics to save the legacy of the Congress Party and to build a new order in India. Her decision had sent a shock wave throughout the country, and even become a headline in national and international news. Now, two years later, Mrs. Gandhi has dealt another political blow to the BJP as it tried to take off her sheen by accusing her of holding, against Indian parliamentary rules, an ‘office of profit’ while being a Member of Parliament.
The moral ground on which she entered politics has once again resurfaced to capture the imagination of the many. In the land of Mahatma Gandhi in which political renunciation is highly respected, Sonia Gandhi’s decisions to refuse being crowned as the Indian prime minister two years ago and to resign from the Lok Sabha post recently showed that she is different from the rest of the pack and her actions would certainly bring an impact to the future nature of politics in India.
For the second time in less than two years, Mrs. Gandhi, 59, has caught everyone off guard as she resigned her Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) post after coming under political cloud and tried to recapture the moral high ground in an arena where power is seen as the only driving force. In that dramatic announcement she made at her 10 Janpath residence, New Delhi, the mother of two, born in Italy but now completely an Indian at heart, proved once again that she is not and will never be another run of the mill politician.
If the reason of her refusal to accept the post of Prime Minister of India in 2004 was her ‘inner voice’, Mrs. Gandhi’s decision to resign from the Lok Sabha was said to be the ‘correct decision’ she thought she must take to avoid any controversy and disruption to the functioning of the government. Both the decisions were taken on the basis of moral ground, and not due to any political pressure. Her decision to be different from the rest of the pack is interesting to scrutinize.
When Sonia Gandhi decided to take the plunge into politics in 1998 to take the responsibility of reviving the ailing Congress Party, she was considered by many, her own party men as well as by the opposition, as an outsider and a novice in every sense of the term.
With her personal background as an Italian who happened to be married with a member of the Gandhi family, Rajiv Gandhi, and the fact that far from its stature as India's dominant political entity, the Congress Party then had just 140 members in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, many had considered her move as a scenario where few would have dared to take a step forward. But she did it and proved everyone wrong about her decision to join politics.
If Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi's father, was India's first prime minister for 17 years, Indira Gandhi held the post in two spells for 16 years. Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia's husband, was prime minister for five years. Sonia Gandhi was nothing compared to them.
She knew few political players by face or even name, she was considered aloof and cold, she did not emit the typical politician-friendliness, her command over Hindi was poor and she lacked original ideas – or so felt most people. And one thing that differentiates her from the previous three Gandhi: there was no one to fall back upon at the time she decided to plunge into politics.
However, contrary to the background she had and the shaky beginning when she entered politics, she matured rapidly. She had clearly understood the very many complexities of the game in a very short period of six years. Thus, not only was she successfully revived and rebuilt the Congress Party but she also brought the Party to where it belongs: the center of power in Indian politics.
Under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress Party and its coalition partners won the general elections held in May 2004, defeating the successful coalition government of the BJP’s National Democratic Alliance. With the win and the success enjoyed by the Congress Party, many had expected that Sonia Gandhi would take the responsibility to lead the Congress-led coalition government in New Delhi. But she had a different plan and came up with a shocking decision of renouncing the job, saying she was listening to the voice of her conscience.
In her words, she joined politics to save the legacy of the Congress Party and to build a new order in India. Her decision had sent a shock wave throughout the country, and even become a headline in national and international news. Now, two years later, Mrs. Gandhi has dealt another political blow to the BJP as it tried to take off her sheen by accusing her of holding, against Indian parliamentary rules, an ‘office of profit’ while being a Member of Parliament.
The moral ground on which she entered politics has once again resurfaced to capture the imagination of the many. In the land of Mahatma Gandhi in which political renunciation is highly respected, Sonia Gandhi’s decisions to refuse being crowned as the Indian prime minister two years ago and to resign from the Lok Sabha post recently showed that she is different from the rest of the pack and her actions would certainly bring an impact to the future nature of politics in India.
Labels: politik
blog by Mas Qisa'i at 12:49:00 AM
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