Searching for moral values in politics is like searching for water in a desert. The ongoing political game in the Congress party has once again thrown up the debate as to how values in politics have stooped down.
Yes, we are talking about the developments in the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh after the resignation of former Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. There is nothing wrong in Jagan aspiring to succeed his father late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, though it is a different matter whether he is eligible to become the chief minister within a year of entering the electoral politics. There is also nothing wrong in the majority of the Congress MLAs supporting Jagan’s candidature, since they owe their political growth to YSR and feel it is their moral responsibility to support his son. It is also essential for them to see Jagan taking over the reins for their own political and monetary interests, for most of them have been the beneficiaries of YSR’s projects and contracts.
And there is also nothing wrong in the Congress high command to deny the chief minister post to Jagan on the grounds that he is still too inexperienced to lead the state and he might have to wait for a couple of years.
So far so good. But the developments that unfolded in the Congress party after Jagan defied the Congress high command and went about with his ‘Odarpu Yatra’ ostensibly calling on the families of those who had reportedly died of grief over his father’s death baffled the people.
If Jagan really believed in moral values in politics, he should have come out of the Congress party long ago since he himself had claimed that his yatra had no approval of party president Sonia Gandhi. Yet, he chose to continue in the party and tried to create troubles to the party from within by emotionally blackmailing the MLAs to support him. And he behaved as if he had done some great favour to the Congress party by maintaining restraint.
And when Jagan finally came out of the Congress, after high command made Kiran Kumar Reddy as the chief minister, he should have gone about his plans straightaway by splitting the Congress asking his MLAs also come out. But he asked them to continue in the Congress and still do his Bhajan. It is not only unethical and immoral, but also a crooked politics. And he says by asking his MLAs not to resign, he upheld values in politics!
Assuming that it is his political strategy, one would question whether it is politically ethical and moral on the part of Jagan to say that the Congress government is running at his mercy and that the MLAs would resign whenever he asked them to do so.
And the pro-Jagan MLAs, too, have given up all their morals and ethics to run after him while continuing in the Congress party. They have forgotten that they had their role in electing Kiran Kumar Reddy as the chief minister through a CLP meeting. And they cannot say Kiran cannot ask them to resign. What is worse, they consider Jagan as their leader and would resign only if asks them to do so, forgetting the fact that he is no more in the Congress and is an opposition party leader. This is the worst kind of immorality in politics.
And finally about the Congress high command. It also does not have the morals. If it has any, why should it allow these pro-Jagan MLAs to continue in their posts and the party despite the fact that they are making derogatory comments against the party president? It should immediately sack them from the party. But unfortunately, the Congress leadership is desperate to save its government in the State. So, it has given up its ethics and refraining from taking action against them!
