The Natural Leader and His Un-Natural Leadership

Our Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh, who by ‘Nature’ is a silent man, on 17^th or 18^th June exhibited an ‘Unnatural side of his’, when he suddenly discovered and more surprisingly, announced to the world that Mr. Rahul Gandhi is a ‘Natural Leader and should head UPA-III’. He actually spoke and used these words in no unequivocal terms.

Well, it was really brave of the PM, otherwise not known to have voiced strong opinion on any issue, to become so vocal about the ‘young Vice President of his party, the relentless crusader of the cause of youth’…but imagining the “UPA-III” was, frankly, a stretch of imagination, at least in today’s times.

So what prompted the PM to make such an impromptu remark? Is it because of the emergence of a man called Narendra Modi as the potential PM candidate of BJP/NDA? Is Rahul Gandhi really a ‘natural’ alternate to this man? Can Rahul really be a match for Modi in the Battle Royale 2014!

Apart from PM and his coterie of admirers, Rahul has not really evinced any element of trust or confidence in the larger populace of this country. He has always chosen to remain in shadows whenever the country or his own party has faced any major issue! Strange behaviour!

A quick look at very few ‘natural’ achievements of this leader :

Ø      Till date India never could decide if the “future head of future UPA-III” really passed out from Harvard! And in all probability, India never will.

Ø      No doubts, he created a new political fashion..he made eating at the homes of poor people really trend! He literally tasted the delicacy of hinterland across India but only to forget his ‘star struck’ hosts too fast. Kalavathi died a hungry woman but the man she fed, never ever did anything for her. In common Indian jargon, it is termed namak harami.

Ø      This natural leader’s name has been associated with the crime perpetrated upon a girl called Sukanya Devi. She was raped in a guest house in Amethi. SC ordered a proper investigation in this alleged crime. The victim was a die hard Cong and Rahul supporter. A Natural leader indeed!

Ø      This Natural Leader of a country beset with terror threats suddenly realized and announced that India is 99% terror free…only that so many more incidents have happened since that pronounciation.

Ø      The Natural Leader, supposed to lead the country, faced a lot of protests in his own bastion- His constituency, Amethi…he was gheraoed by students and alike. This was an un-Natural reaction to the legacy of this Natural Leader. So if this Leader could not get the respect of few lakhs from his own backyard, a big question remains on his acceptability as far as larger role is concerned.

Ø      This Natural Leader has definitely shared “his own opinion” in Parliament as and when he chose to attend its sessions. By the way, he is a ‘Natural leader” who has very low attendance in parliament sessionorporate India.…no doubt, Amethi chose to shun him.

Ø      Does ‘reading from a sheet of paper’ actually subscribe to ‘sharing one’s own opininon’..his dependence upon speech/points written on a paper was highlighted during his recent interface with corporate India at a CII sponsored meet. His papers got mixed up and so did his ‘flow of speech’…in fact he said “I lost it”.

Ø      At the same meeting, calling India a beehive, he said India is complex…but may be he forgot that his own family, having ruled this country for larger years, made it so.

Ø      This “Natural Leader’s” political prowess was much on display when he was chief campaigner in UP, lead the campaign in Tripura, Gujrat and everywhere his party lost. Some Leadership indeed! Other scions in the party like Jyotiraditya Scindia or Sandeep Dixit have shown more maturity than this “Natural Leader”.

Ø      This “Natural Leader” has often said that he does not want to be PM but his party thinks so…and in the process leaves the country thinking about its future.

This “Natural Leader” has not exhibited or shared any road map for the country, its economy or social sector. He has been catapulted to the dizzying heights of political echelons by an over grateful party and its other leaders who could never learn to see any “Natural Leaders” beyond Gandhis!