However much I restrain myself from calling Rahul Gandhi by his epithet, the Leader of Opposition proves himself, with unfailing consistency, to be a Pappu.
Earlier he waved a coat-pocket-sized red book, calling it our Indian Constitution, with the flourish of ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’, crying samvidhan khatre mein hai (democracy is in danger). The theatrics were worthy of a college dramatics club. One doubts if he has ever read beyond the Preamble of our statute. The Constitution is not a prop to be brandished between slogans. It is a working document, not a pulp fiction.
Yet the imagery was irresistible – a miniature Constitution for a miniature argument. A republic reduced to a stage accessory. The cameras clicked, the sycophants applauded, and the red book returned to its pocket, mission accomplished.
Four stars and many blank pages
And now he waves a purported memoir of former Army Chief M.M. Naravane. The ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ that he so impishly brandishes reveal blank pages. No wonder one is reminded of the lyrics of the song Mera jeevan kora kagaz… from the movie Kora Kagaz.
Like the emperor’s clothes, this wise man appears uniquely gifted to read Naravane’s unpublished and uncirculated book in those white pages. Perhaps there are sentences visible only to the politically enlightened. The rest of us, lesser mortals, see paper – untouched, unsullied, resolutely blank.
Like the other song, Kora kagaz tha mann mera, likh liya naam teraa … from the Rajesh Khanna–Sharmila Tagore film Aradhana, our LoP seems to have ghostwritten the former army chief’s autobiography in invisible ink. It takes a rare imagination to quote from a manuscript that has not seen the light of day.
Publisher says no, LoP says yes
Publishers Penguin have tweeted that the book has not been published nor has any portion of it been circulated. Naravane himself retweeted the same, standing by the publisher’s stance. Yet Rahul Gandhi insists that either Penguin or the former army chief is lying. What is one to make of this chap?
When facts contradict performance, double down on performance. That seems to be the operating manual. Institutions are questioned, publishers doubted, generals suspected – all to sustain a narrative woven from blank pages.
Free hand and free advice
When the prime minister gave free rein to the Army in the face of the Galwan stand-off, our LoP keeps insisting the PM was indecisive. One wonders what definition of decisiveness is being employed. Mochi ka kaam mochi karna aur darzi ka kaam darzi karna chahiye. Not like Rahul Gandhi – braying where it is neither required nor informed.
This reveals the level of frustration and desperation in the faux Gandhi scion who feels denied his inherited sense of entitlement to the prime minister’s position. Ninety-five election losses – and counting. Yet the chamchas truly believe he is cut out for that post and would prove to be a better premier than Modi.
For now, however, the script remains unwritten. Or perhaps written – in invisible ink – on a blank page.
