It has become truly embarrassing for those of us who have respected intelligent Left interventions over the years, to see Prakash Karat and Bardhan behave like undergraduate bullies. I really do not know which constituency they are addressing, or which ?power? they are representing, because other than pockets of followers, most people from varied disciplines and across the board seem sick and tired of this rather juvenile, stale and predictable blocking of governance, growth, development and change. Since Karat is not an elected member of Parliament, he cannot lead a debate on the floor of the house on any of the issues that he feels strongly about.
He, therefore, indulges in rabble-rousing with his new bedfellow, Mr Bardhan of the CPI. Decades ago, the CPI split, and the CPM was born, and today, the strange irony is that these once fiercely opposed factions are comfortable partners, because they share an agenda and some vicarious pleasure in discrediting the Congress. Endless negative rhetoric, nonstop political blackmail, no serious dialogue and debate in Parliament, and that too with zero accountability, has been the contribution of this ?outside ally? to the reign of the UPA. The performance of the two most vocal spokespeople, Karat and Bardhan, has been abysmal. They have finally managed to paint themselves and their parties into a tight corner, having failed over 60 years to become a nationally representative party of the Left.
The political arrogance that is synonymous with both speaks volumes about their insecurity, their confusion and their depair at having failed, and therefore, all that they can do is indulge in political blackmail. Their populist slogans and what they deliver on the ground run as parallel lines, never to converge! The odd thing is that China, too, has a similar position to that of Karat about the India of today, and the country?s growing engagement with the West, particularly America. With China desperately trying to assert its dominance in this geopolitical region, that Communist-run country would be very uncomfortable with a positive engagement between India and the US, with both countries sharing technology and expertise in the area of nuclear energy.
India has spent years negotiating a deal that suits the country, and has succeeded in doing so despite the fierce opposition within the US to the ?deal? as it stands today. This fact has made China even more wary about possible realignments in the region. This engagement could, in the long run, stall China?s concerted and relentless effort to attain total supremacy in Asia, with India left isolated and geopolitically weak. India feels ?let down? by China, and rightly so. The earlier trust that was broken has not been restored or renewed. India is alert to this regional reality, and is on guard. China hates the very idea of a nuclear deal between the US and India because it puts India into a different realm of power and power projection capacity. The more I hear Prakash Karat speak, the question that emerges is whether he is enunciating China?s fear, holding the flag for his ideological ally that would like nothing better than to stymie India?s efforts to gain strength? Surely, the opposition in India has India?s interests at heart, particularly in our geopolitical neighbourhood, and not that of the competition?
These assumptions may well be wrong, but that is how it is coming across the footlights. With the Left dead opposed to the Congress now, it is time for the ruling party to reassess its friends and partners ? at the cost of having to sit on the opposition benches.
Here is a scenario: The Left is in a mess in Kerala and there is believed to be dissension and ideological differences in the ranks of their leadership, despite the non-democratic political framework within which they operate; the BJP is at its worst ever since the NDA demitted office. The Congress report card is far better at this juncture, and if the UPA were to dissolve Parliament and go for fresh elections, it would probably gain.