When I heard the news that Bharat Ratna has been awarded to Atal Behari Vajpayee, I had mixed feelings about it. Though a fan of Vajpayee, the sacrosanctity of Bharat Ratna had died some time ago for me. When Indira Gandhi lands it before Ambedkar, and Rajiv Gandhi and Sardar Patel are awarded this "highest civilian award" simultaneously, you can't help but feel disillusioned about it.
That said, Vajpayee was truly a son Mother India would be proud of, a Ratna that makes Mother India shine brighter. He was a true inheritor of the Nehruvian legacy, perhaps the last one. My new found, Bharat Ratna fuelled enthusiasm of going through Vajpayee related videos led me through many speeches of his in the parliament, and most of them had a common underlying theme - his pain at seeing the times change for the worse. His pain at seeing the culture of decency in the parliament chipping away. His pain at seeing the new parliamentarians not realising the sanctity of the parliament which he held sacred. His pain at seeing the erosion of the ideals of the Nehruvian days where every parliamentarian, though never selfless always, never compromised on the principles which could deter the nation and its people. His pain at seeing the parliament become a laughing stock in the eyes of the people.
Sample this video of the time when the Congress led opposition decided to move a no-confidence motion against the NDA Government just for fun, "debated" it for 2 days and then having had enough fun decided to drop the idea. Here an MP creates a ruckus in the parliament demanding an opportunity to speak, interrupting the then Prime Minister Vajpayee's speech. Vajpayee sits down so that the MP be allowed to speak, and what follows is the MP complaining that he doesn't have the mood to speak anymore!!! And then, when finally convinced to speak, well, the less said about what follows the better. And with us voting such MPs to the Lok Sabha, it is shocking to see how well India is doing right now!
Now, it would be short sighted and unfair to single out the said MP as the wrongdoer, when clearly the culture of the parliament had fallen to such depths that such behaviour and speech was assumed to be acceptable by the said MP. And this deterioration of the erstwhile highly principled culture of the parliament is what I feel pained Vajpayee a lot. Those lofty days when the Constituent Assembly created our wonderful constitution despite consisting of many fundamentalists seething with anger over the recent partition related riots were nowhere to be seen in the present day parliament.
What follows in the video is Vajpayee expressing subtly to the parliament about these fallen standards. The 9 point "chargesheet" against the Government which contained superficial, generalised statements rather than specific accusations at the Government was taken to shreds by Vajpayee all the time reminding the House on how such "pointless points" showed how the standard of parliament debate and functioning is falling.
Vajpayee had immense respect for Nehru, and had imbibed in himself the culture of the Nehruvian days. Nehru, despite all his imperfections, was a true patriot and worked hard for the country. Likewise, the leaders and parliamentarians of those early Nehruvian days could never be accused of not being patriots, and though they had different opinions on varied matters, always worked for the country and respected their colleagues. Sadly, such a culture does not exist anymore. And Vajpayee may just have been the last Nehruvian statesman India would ever see.
I would like to end this piece by quoting Vajpayee, which to some extent reflects the Nehruvians' basic principle:
"..... क्योंकि उनके यहाँ विरोधी दल का नेता ऐसे राष्ट्रीय कार्य में भी सहयोग देने के लिए तैयार नहीं होता । वो हर जगह अपने सरकार को गिराने के काम में रेहता है । ये हमारी परम्परा नहीं है, ये हमारी प्रकृति नहीं है । और मैं ये चाहता हूँ की ये परम्परा बनी रहे ये प्रकृति बनी रहे । सत्ता का खेल तो चलेगा । सरकारें आयेंगी जायेंगी पार्टीयाँ बनेगी बिगड़ेगी । लेकिन ये देश रेहना चाहिए, इस देश का लोकतंत्र अमर रेहना चाहिए । "
P.S : If you were wondering, the "ruckus creating MP" in the first video link is now in Rajya Sabha by BJP support.
P.P.S : The last video link reinforces my opinion that P.V. Narasimha Rao was the best Prime Mininster to serve India after Nehru.
P.P.P.S : Chandrashekhar rocks!! (If you were wondering why - he almost always admonished the ruckus creators in the parliament irrespective of which party they belonged to.)
That said, Vajpayee was truly a son Mother India would be proud of, a Ratna that makes Mother India shine brighter. He was a true inheritor of the Nehruvian legacy, perhaps the last one. My new found, Bharat Ratna fuelled enthusiasm of going through Vajpayee related videos led me through many speeches of his in the parliament, and most of them had a common underlying theme - his pain at seeing the times change for the worse. His pain at seeing the culture of decency in the parliament chipping away. His pain at seeing the new parliamentarians not realising the sanctity of the parliament which he held sacred. His pain at seeing the erosion of the ideals of the Nehruvian days where every parliamentarian, though never selfless always, never compromised on the principles which could deter the nation and its people. His pain at seeing the parliament become a laughing stock in the eyes of the people.
Sample this video of the time when the Congress led opposition decided to move a no-confidence motion against the NDA Government just for fun, "debated" it for 2 days and then having had enough fun decided to drop the idea. Here an MP creates a ruckus in the parliament demanding an opportunity to speak, interrupting the then Prime Minister Vajpayee's speech. Vajpayee sits down so that the MP be allowed to speak, and what follows is the MP complaining that he doesn't have the mood to speak anymore!!! And then, when finally convinced to speak, well, the less said about what follows the better. And with us voting such MPs to the Lok Sabha, it is shocking to see how well India is doing right now!
Now, it would be short sighted and unfair to single out the said MP as the wrongdoer, when clearly the culture of the parliament had fallen to such depths that such behaviour and speech was assumed to be acceptable by the said MP. And this deterioration of the erstwhile highly principled culture of the parliament is what I feel pained Vajpayee a lot. Those lofty days when the Constituent Assembly created our wonderful constitution despite consisting of many fundamentalists seething with anger over the recent partition related riots were nowhere to be seen in the present day parliament.
What follows in the video is Vajpayee expressing subtly to the parliament about these fallen standards. The 9 point "chargesheet" against the Government which contained superficial, generalised statements rather than specific accusations at the Government was taken to shreds by Vajpayee all the time reminding the House on how such "pointless points" showed how the standard of parliament debate and functioning is falling.
Vajpayee had immense respect for Nehru, and had imbibed in himself the culture of the Nehruvian days. Nehru, despite all his imperfections, was a true patriot and worked hard for the country. Likewise, the leaders and parliamentarians of those early Nehruvian days could never be accused of not being patriots, and though they had different opinions on varied matters, always worked for the country and respected their colleagues. Sadly, such a culture does not exist anymore. And Vajpayee may just have been the last Nehruvian statesman India would ever see.
I would like to end this piece by quoting Vajpayee, which to some extent reflects the Nehruvians' basic principle:
"..... क्योंकि उनके यहाँ विरोधी दल का नेता ऐसे राष्ट्रीय कार्य में भी सहयोग देने के लिए तैयार नहीं होता । वो हर जगह अपने सरकार को गिराने के काम में रेहता है । ये हमारी परम्परा नहीं है, ये हमारी प्रकृति नहीं है । और मैं ये चाहता हूँ की ये परम्परा बनी रहे ये प्रकृति बनी रहे । सत्ता का खेल तो चलेगा । सरकारें आयेंगी जायेंगी पार्टीयाँ बनेगी बिगड़ेगी । लेकिन ये देश रेहना चाहिए, इस देश का लोकतंत्र अमर रेहना चाहिए । "
P.S : If you were wondering, the "ruckus creating MP" in the first video link is now in Rajya Sabha by BJP support.
P.P.S : The last video link reinforces my opinion that P.V. Narasimha Rao was the best Prime Mininster to serve India after Nehru.
P.P.P.S : Chandrashekhar rocks!! (If you were wondering why - he almost always admonished the ruckus creators in the parliament irrespective of which party they belonged to.)
