<i>Phata Ordinance Nikla Pappu</i>

The portrait of a 'progressive' leader as an actor

Many a career has gone astray because of a reel life artiste’s desire to play a bigger role in real life. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s great grandson reclaimed his position as the Prince of Congress with his latest Friday release Phata Ordinance Nikla Pappu that somewhat fared better than his earlier political tamashas. The over-reliance on the script led ardent fans of ‘Pappu’ to the conclusion that the so-called India’s political Family No.1 would continue to prevail over the government. 

 

Sab kuchh sikha hamane, na sikhi hoshiyaari
Sach hai duniyaavaalon, ki ham hain anaadi

 

FLASHBACK: Lucknow 2012 | Accusing the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) of making "only promises", the Congress star campaigner tore a piece of paper at an election rally to drive home the point that "mere lists" of assurances were of no use. "Did you understand," he asked, referring to his act of tearing the paper, and said "only promises will not do". It was believed that he burnt the proverbial midnight oil in 10 Janpath to came out with a sequel to Jhoote Vaade, which had featured two of the Uttar Pradesh stalwarts — Maya and Mulayam. 

 

Kasme waade … wafaa sab
           Baatein hain baato ka kya … … …

 

The protagonist’s unscheduled appearance at Press Club and sudden outburst disturbed character hero’s sleep in faraway Washington. The Congress’s angry young man termed the ordinance as complete nonsense and it should be torn up and thrown away. On the contrary, senior ministers aggressively defended the ordinance despite reservations in some sections. While the party rank and file whistled along, the senior leaders were forced to appreciate his dialogue delivery during the performance.

 

The key question is whether Rahul Gandhi has undermined the authority of the Prime Minister. Has he challenged the Prime Minister’s authority when he was abroad? Gandhi's comments are being seen as sharp criticism of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It is too early to say if Gandhi intends to take the Grand Old Party in a direction where morality will play a larger role than "political considerations". However, the Nehru-Gandhi scion proved a point that the presence of a personally honest premier is no assurance of a government's adherence to principles. 

 

Hum the jinke sahaare
Woh huye naa humare …  

 

FLASHBACK: On Board PM’s Special Aircraft, Septemer 7 | Singh said: “I have always maintained that Rahul Gandhiji would be an ideal choice for the Prime Minister’s position after the 2014 election, I would be very happy to work for the Congress party under the leadership of Mr Rahul Gandhi.” He gave a hint that Gandhi is the boss of the Congress party.

 

Rahul Gandhi

In Januray, the 42-year-old leader delivered his famous Jaipur speech against a backdrop of persistent complaints that few knew what he stood for. Gandhi concluded his speech by saying that “for me, the Congress party is now my life”. 

 

There is a buzz in the power corridors of New Delhi that the Amethi MP was opposed to the ordinance after feedback from some of his trusted aides but Congress president Sonia Gandhi overruled him and allowed the government to go ahead. 

The young leader, however, curtailed the option of projecting Singh as the PM for a third term and left no room for doubt that he has replaced Sonia Gandhi as the supreme leader in the party. Anyway, call it killing two birds with one stone.

 

              Chingaaree koee bhadake, to saawan use bujhaaye  
Saawan jo agan lagaaye, use kaun bujhaaye

 

The Congress No. 2 leader has been eclipsed by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is now the Prime Ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party.  If Modi’s anointment rubbed party patriarch LK Advani the wrong way, Gandhi perhaps inadvertently placed the entire cabinet-led by Singh in the dock.

 

PS: The Congress core committee that okayed the move to bring in the ordinance was attended by Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Sushil Kumar Shinde, AK Antony and Ahmed Patel.