The more I look at the political scene, the more disillusioned I get. Each party makes tall claims and promises and people rest their faith in them and hope for a better governance. However, the minute they get elected, they get busy trying to corner the plushest living quarter, the bigger and better car and such other material acquisitions. All the promises of looking after the interests of the common man, bringing down inflation etc. are swept under the carpet. The common man feels cheated and let down once again. The constant squabbling, in-fighting make them look like a pack of jokers, rather than party leaders. However, there was a time, in the history of our nation, when we had leaders who commanded respect and admiration universally.
Bapuji had the whole country following every word of his. When he asked people to take to non-violence, they did so unquestioningly. Scores went to jail during our freedom struggle as Gandhiji exhorted them to oppose the tyranny of the British rule. Gandhiji believed in simple living, high thinking. He spun the charkha and clad himself in coarse cotton. He eschewed all creature comforts and exhorted others to do likewise, by setting an example. He was concerned about housing, clothing and feeding the poor. He felt that if we cut out wasteful expenditure there would be enough for all our countrymen. So most of the country shunned cloth made by the British and clad themselves in home-made khadi. They gave up luxuries and donated to the cause of the country. Nobody boasted about their wealth or squandered it on meaningless ostentation. Alas! These days our elected representatives use all the official machinery they can command to put up a vulgar display of ill-gotten wealth to celebrate weddings of their offspring. Sadder still, leaders who have a better track record, attend these, thus rubbing shoulders with these tainted corrupt leaders. Though we still have some idealistic and honest IAS officers, they are not allowed to do their work and if they question the corrupt leaders, they are shunted off to a remote corner where they cannot do much. No wonder many of them quit and move abroad to find better surroundings. Most of them in power are not educated and use brutal force to have their way. The few honest patriots, who do try to stand for election independently and win because the people around them believe in them, are not able to do much as they have no party to back their decisions.
It is time for us, to shake off our indifference and lethargy and vote to power those who have the interests of the nation foremost at heart. We need to strengthen the hands of those selfless, hardworking candidates who have a track record of being honest, diligent and intelligent with a great vision for our country. The gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ has to be minimized to have a happy, honest and crime-free, non-corrupt nation. Let us march together and elect a leader who will take us into a new glorious era.
