Nerve Endings Firing Away

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said he did not wish to have a television debate with him (L.K. Advani)as he did not want to accord him the privilege of being “an alternative prime minister”.

Attacking Advani for repeatedly calling him a weak prime minister, Manmohan Singh retorted: “I am not used to abusive language. That is the culture inherited from parents, from teachers and the concept of what Indianness is.”

Alluding to Advani’s challenge to him for a American-style nationally televised debate, Manmohan Singh said that I can’t match “Advaniji in public speaking or asserting things.

“I am not a good speaker, but I take decisions [source].

I love this response by Manmohan Singh when asked about Advani’s challenge for a live television debate because it is emblematic of Congress’s attitude toward democracy and elections. Manmohan Singh doesn’t want to accord Advani the priviledge of being a Prime Minister because he clearly knows that according someone that right rests not with the people of India but with Sonia Gandhi. Heck, when the people of India had their way, they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for him in the first place even when he stood for elections in the urban constituency of Delhi. He had to go through the backdoor i.e. the Rajya Sabha route to assume the primeministership of India.

Admittedly, he is a smart guy and was largely responsible for heralding in economic reforms that set India on the path to economic growth but we are a democracy unlike China. The will of the people is at the heart of our democracy and the least we can do is to expect our Prime Ministerial candidate to win one of the 543 parliamentary seats up for grabs. Even criminal and political children have no problems doing so.

By asking for a televised debate, Advani wants to use a popular medium for political purposes and given that it is a level playing field, that’s not exactly nefarious. Manmohan Singh’s excuse that his lack of skills in “public speaking or asserting things” is weak and in fact proves Advani’s point. How can a Prime Minister who is afraid of standing up and speaking publicly or lacks skills in asserting his points even claim leadership of a large country? Does he offer that excuse when he has to address the UN or meet with G-20 leaders? The least we can expect from our Prime Minister is that he can speak publicly, right? Or is that also too much to expect? Merely taking decisions is not enough if you can’t implement them or convince people of their validity.

Note that I’m not advocating that L.K. Advani is a superior candidate for Prime Minister and we are aware of his shortcomings. But he is the leader of a prominent opposition party and was a Home Minister in the previous administration so Manmohan’s claim of not according him the privilege of being an alternative for becoming prime minister smacks of elitism. If you find Advani’s ideas so despicable to India, why not use the debates to make the Indian people aware of them?

Lastly, don’t cite the excuses of Indian culture in any political discourse. We are responsible for far egregious things that would hardly qualify as being in tune with Indian culture; microphone-throwing and hurling abuses as seen on TV. Calling you weak when you have presided over the spate of regular terrorist attacks is not insulting you but merely stating a fact.