Trump’s attitude to truth is flexible, he contradicts himself with fatal ease. His sensitivity is in short supply.
The outcome of the recently held elections in Haryana and Maharashtra has a lesson for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Give up arrogant over-confidence. In politics complacency has no place. The BJP and Shiv Sena, it seems, have their own agendas.
The real hero of the Maharashtra elections is the long distance political runner, the 79-year-old Sharad Pawar. His NCP won more seats than Sonia Gandhi’s listless party. The infighting in the Maharashtra Congress was not only unseemly, it was acutely demoralising for the workers. The three Gandhis are no longer crowd pullers. It appears that at the moment there is a shortage of crowd pullers in the party.
In Haryana, the credit for putting life into a moribund and direction less Congress goes to Bhupinder Singh Hooda. He had been unwisely sidelined by Rahul Gandhi, whose political judgement is, to put it politely, flawed and whimsical. Bhupinder Hooda is the shrewdest Jat leader. He has been Chief Minister of Haryana twice. His family has been a major factor in the politics of Haryana. His father was a member of the Constituent Assembly. Bhupinder Hooda lost the Lok Sabha elections with a big margin. He bounced back within six months and received the highest number of votes in the Assembly elections. Haryana at one time was called “Aaya Ram, Gaaya Ram” state. That is no longer true. The Manohar Lal Khattar government lasted a full five years.
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On Thursday, 31 October, a historic and unprecedented resolution was passed in the House of Representatives by 232 votes for the Democrats and 196 for the Republicans, to impeach President Donald Trump. Ultimately it is the Senate that will decide the fate of President Trump. In the House of Representatives, the Democrats have a clear majority, but in the Senate the Republicans are the majority party. The Senate will vote against impeachment. Hence the President will complete his four-year term. He will, nevertheless, face the worst kind of humiliation. His international image will inevitably take a beating. Being the man he is, he will brazen it out. A thick skin has its uses. The chances of his getting a second term have been dramatically diminished. So far the Republican Party has stood solidly behind him. Will it do so if his public support begins to slip? The US elections are not due until November 2020, and until then he will be a lame duck President, his authority much eroded.
It is too early to write his political obituary. In many ways President Trump is his own worst enemy. His attitude to truth is flexible, he contradicts himself with fatal ease. His sensitivity is in short supply, so is serenity. John F. Kennedy wrote and read books. There is no evidence that President Trump is a reader. He presides over a divided country. His contribution in this regard is not inconsiderable. Does he have any black friends?
He has one formidable asset. America’s economy is doing well. He may not be responsible for it, but he takes credit for it. He is a shrewd, gifted and natural businessman. Being a successful businessman is not an asset when it comes to running a great country, a great people. He is not a statesman. He is the first US President in history who has reached the White House without having even held a minor political office. How will history treat President Trump? The verdict is not likely to be favourable.
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The government of Karnataka has announced that all references to Tipu Sultan will be removed from school books. This is rewriting history. This shows the Yediyurappa government in very poor light. We are a secular country in which nearly 16 crore Muslims reside. Can the Karnataka government remove all references to the 300 years of Mughal rule? Sometime back a BJP member from Rajasthan declared that Rana Pratap, not Akbar, had won the battle of Haldighati. Rewriting history is a double edged undertaking. It should not even be thought of. Narrow mindedness is not strength. It shows lack of confidence.
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Rahul Gandhi’s meditation trips are mystifying. In India there exist many places where one can meditate without being disturbed.