So Advani apologized to Sonia Gandhi for accusing her and her family of having money stashed abroad. What a fall for a party and for a man who have made it their singular agenda to harass and hound SG. It also tells us many things about politics in general and the BJP in particular:
1) That to accuse someone is so easy in politics. You dont need any evidence. In this case, it appears that the accusation was made on the basis of a report of a "task force" set up by the BJP. So much for task forces! It also appears that the task force had relied on a couple of non-descript newspapers in Switzerland and Russian. So much for the way task forces pick up evidences. So much also for the way the BJP works. Who know if they didnt get these stories published themselves?
2) Even while apologizing, Advani says "I am happy that you have denied the reports relating to you and your family alluded to in the task force’s report on black money. If these had been denied earlier, the task force would have taken into account your denial (emphasis is mine). Even so, I deeply regret the distress caused to you". Wow. So the BJP can accuse at will. And then its the job of the accused to deny the charges. Awesome. Now you know how politics works!
3) Advani's apology put his party in a terrible fix. Imagine the plight of Ravi Shankar Prasad....poor man did not know what to say and merely repeated what Advani stated. No apology from his side. No expression of remorse on his face. Such a poor loser!
4) Advani's apology also put Arnab and othe TV personalities in a terrible fix. Imagine Arnab having to say (even though indirectly) a few good things about SG and a few bad things about the BJP! To be fair to him, he was brave enough to suggest (not admit) that media had fallen into a trap on this. He was brave enough to put the story up ahead in his show. He showed he had guts.....Ravi Shankar Prasad did not.
5) And what's with Advani? So late in the day, is he trying to build a "statesman" like image for himself? First the Jinnah controversy which scalded him and cost his job as BJP President. Now this. At this rate, the BJP will positively throw him out and deny him even primary membership. Is Advani trying to show that in reality, he is an upright, sincere and liberal man? Attributes not associated with the BJP really. Is he, like Vajpayee, trying to projectc himself as another liberal man caught in the wrong party? Wow.
6) The BJP task force which had accused SG included Mahesh Jethmalani, S Gurumurthy, ex-IG chief Ajit Doval and one R Vaidyanathan. I know at least the first three. They have always taken a self-righteous and aggressive approach towards the Congress and SG. Now will they publicly apologize too? Or are they hiding their faces right now?
7) And finally, will we see media also apologizing to the public and covering the apology for several days? Unlikely. When accusations are made, even if they are un-proven, media gives it prime time and front pages for many days....even weeks. They put up panels and raise the pitch further. That givest them higher TRPs. Now I want to see how many days media devotes to this apology. Or has media just decided to move on. I suspect it has. After all, there are no TRPs to be gained in an apology!
But at least, Advani had the graciousness to apologize. In Indian politics, apologies are rarer than the tigers at Kanha! And if his behavior inspires others in other political parties in even a smallway, then Advani would have contributed enormously to the country. He would have elevated him in the eyes of many, including mine. He would have somewhat earned himself the tag of "Loh Purush" that the BJP tried to stick to him many times and failed in doing so.
The real truth is that Advani will be sacked for his apology. His political career is now well and truly over. Maybe Advani knew his time was up and wanted to retire anyways. Maybe he wanted to be remembered for his gracefulness rather than his meanness and hence chose this as his exit strategy. Whatever his reasons, but his apology will make sure that he is forced to retire. His party is unlikely to spare him. I can already imagine all those orthodox fogies sitting in the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, speaking in ultra-Sanskritized Hindi, plotting his exit. And by doing that, making sure that no other politician ever attempts to make the mistake again. That unfortunately is the way politics works in our country.
1) That to accuse someone is so easy in politics. You dont need any evidence. In this case, it appears that the accusation was made on the basis of a report of a "task force" set up by the BJP. So much for task forces! It also appears that the task force had relied on a couple of non-descript newspapers in Switzerland and Russian. So much for the way task forces pick up evidences. So much also for the way the BJP works. Who know if they didnt get these stories published themselves?
2) Even while apologizing, Advani says "I am happy that you have denied the reports relating to you and your family alluded to in the task force’s report on black money. If these had been denied earlier, the task force would have taken into account your denial (emphasis is mine). Even so, I deeply regret the distress caused to you". Wow. So the BJP can accuse at will. And then its the job of the accused to deny the charges. Awesome. Now you know how politics works!
3) Advani's apology put his party in a terrible fix. Imagine the plight of Ravi Shankar Prasad....poor man did not know what to say and merely repeated what Advani stated. No apology from his side. No expression of remorse on his face. Such a poor loser!
4) Advani's apology also put Arnab and othe TV personalities in a terrible fix. Imagine Arnab having to say (even though indirectly) a few good things about SG and a few bad things about the BJP! To be fair to him, he was brave enough to suggest (not admit) that media had fallen into a trap on this. He was brave enough to put the story up ahead in his show. He showed he had guts.....Ravi Shankar Prasad did not.
5) And what's with Advani? So late in the day, is he trying to build a "statesman" like image for himself? First the Jinnah controversy which scalded him and cost his job as BJP President. Now this. At this rate, the BJP will positively throw him out and deny him even primary membership. Is Advani trying to show that in reality, he is an upright, sincere and liberal man? Attributes not associated with the BJP really. Is he, like Vajpayee, trying to projectc himself as another liberal man caught in the wrong party? Wow.
6) The BJP task force which had accused SG included Mahesh Jethmalani, S Gurumurthy, ex-IG chief Ajit Doval and one R Vaidyanathan. I know at least the first three. They have always taken a self-righteous and aggressive approach towards the Congress and SG. Now will they publicly apologize too? Or are they hiding their faces right now?
7) And finally, will we see media also apologizing to the public and covering the apology for several days? Unlikely. When accusations are made, even if they are un-proven, media gives it prime time and front pages for many days....even weeks. They put up panels and raise the pitch further. That givest them higher TRPs. Now I want to see how many days media devotes to this apology. Or has media just decided to move on. I suspect it has. After all, there are no TRPs to be gained in an apology!
But at least, Advani had the graciousness to apologize. In Indian politics, apologies are rarer than the tigers at Kanha! And if his behavior inspires others in other political parties in even a smallway, then Advani would have contributed enormously to the country. He would have elevated him in the eyes of many, including mine. He would have somewhat earned himself the tag of "Loh Purush" that the BJP tried to stick to him many times and failed in doing so.
The real truth is that Advani will be sacked for his apology. His political career is now well and truly over. Maybe Advani knew his time was up and wanted to retire anyways. Maybe he wanted to be remembered for his gracefulness rather than his meanness and hence chose this as his exit strategy. Whatever his reasons, but his apology will make sure that he is forced to retire. His party is unlikely to spare him. I can already imagine all those orthodox fogies sitting in the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, speaking in ultra-Sanskritized Hindi, plotting his exit. And by doing that, making sure that no other politician ever attempts to make the mistake again. That unfortunately is the way politics works in our country.
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