In the midst of my writing this post, the flamboyant 74 year old Gandhian activist Anna Hazare would have been released by the Government of India after almost 12 hours. Early morning I woke up to know that Anna along with his associates was detained by the Delhi Police. The arrest was expected as Team Anna had rejected some of the conditions put forth by the Delhi Police in regard to the fast to be undertaken by the former against the provisions of the Lokpal Bill initiated by the government.




Inspite of the weather being rough and the continuous downpour during the day, there was a lot of activity in the national capital. However, the high voltage drama that still continues by virtue of the intense coverage by the electronic and online media (newspapers usually get a chance to show their might the next day) about the ongoing stir in the country kept the temperatures high. Right from the point when the Gandhian activist was arrested to the present, news channels are busy trying to outdo each other to gather crucial rating points. Going deep into the TRP wars is not my concern.

It was a sunny May afternoon when the Grand Old Party of India had silenced its critics and romped home with an astounding double hundred mark. Putting aside all speculations of a hung Lower House, the party came back stronger by mauling some of its earlier regional allies who once called the shots in the previous coalition. The party had discovered a’ youth icon’ aka Yuvraj in the 38 year old Gandhi scion and a bahu who began to be admired as a reflection of her dynamic mother-in-law. The country looked up to an ageing economist who had been labeled as a ‘puppet PM’ (ironically he has again proved to be somewhat like this). That was 2009 and Congress was indeed the Indian National Congress.

Cut to 2011. After a fairytale win, things turned dramatically for the party that had helped India win freedom from the colonial British Empire. If 2010 was about CWG Mess and Adarsh scam that left the government colourless, the beginning of the new decade could not have been worse. Never had the Congress imagined that the irregularities committed by its allies will lead to such a widespread resentment that it will be running for cover from pillar to post. To make matters worse, the party is already suffering from the absence of the party President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi who is undergoing treatment for a secret health problem. The party supremo’s illness has also been kept as a secret by her loyalists, God knows why. Even her son Rahul Gandhi has failed to perform like his father, forget being like his granny.

The party has become synonymous with the rampant sycophancy and a desire to remain in power, irrespective of the ways. Talking about power, the party is far behind its preparation for the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, labeled as ‘Mission 2012’ in the media circles by the party spokesperson. It has received flak for its soft stand on terror and inability to check price rise. It has also failed to expand its electoral base beyond its pocket boroughs and is reduced to states where its regional partners call the shots.

It will be ironical to see what the Anna Hazare episode brings in for the Grand Old Party. The party will have to go hard at the leaders who are responsible for the party’s dismal state. Else, 2014 will surely turn out to be an end of a miserable electoral tenure for 10 Janpath.