Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam made a statement yesterday claiming that the Karnataka governor had blatantly favored the BJP while holding a constitutional position. He went on to say that the governor, Vajubhai Vala, has displayed so much loyalty toward his former party, that people should start naming their dogs after him. This statement, equating the governor to a dog, raises serious questions about his lack of knowledge as well as his upbringing.
For starters, without getting into the technicalities of the situation, such a statement about loyalty is quite rich coming from a man who has built an entire career shamelessly propping up one family. Indeed, Sanjay Nirupam and his colleagues have taken sycophancy to a whole new level. These people have raised questions about how the RSS seeks to control every institution and every walk of life, without even a tinge of shamelessness. One of the most incompetent politicians the country has ever seen, controls the party along with his family completely, the only claim to the throne being his last name. When Shehzad Poonawalla tried to contest the elections of party’s presidency, he was simply barred. Indeed, any statement about excessive loyalty coming from politicians belonging to the Congress Party are as ironic as they can get.
Now if Sanjay Nirupam had studied both the Sarkaria Commission Report as well as the Bommai judgement, it would have been clear enough that what the governor did was not out of line. Indeed, it all comes down to the governor’s prerogative. In fact, the Congress Party had readied a petition that was to be moved to the apex court in case they emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka and weren’t invited first to form the government, but later turned the tables when the people rejected them. Moreover, in states such as Goa, the Congress Party’s argument has been that they should have been asked to form the government first because they had emerged as the single largest party. Either Sanjay Nirupam didn’t understand what the report or the judgement or history for that matter presented, or he was simply ignorant about all of this, which doesn’t behoove him.
Now coming to a more touchy subject- governor and their loyalties. One of the incidents that many people remembered during the entire chaos in Karnataka was what happened in Jharkhand in 2005. An alliance with 41 MLAs in the 81-member assembly was denied a chance to form the government by the governor, and instead, an alliance of 36 MLAs including the Congress, was chosen. Planes were searched and state borders were sealed so that horse-trading could be facilitated. Not only this, the Congress Party has blatantly disregarded the sanctity of the governor’s post, often sending full-time politicians for the job and then roping them back in for a political role, thereby clearly demonstrating that for them, the job of the governor is purely political. Sushil Shinde, who served as the Andhra Pradesh governor in between his stint as the Maharashtra chief minister and the Union Power Minister, is a good example.
Now coming to Sanjay Nirupam and his language, the less said the better. This man is a habitual offender. In the past, he has used foul language against Smriti Irani as well, a self-made woman who rose to the top in not one but two walks of life. More than Sanjay Nirupam, crass and moronic statements like the ones he repeatedly makes are a reflection of his party’s mentality and DNA.
