He is not to blame if he is not interested in asserting. What he can do? By nature he is not assertive. He is not given the power to do so, either. Sonia Gandhi didn’t earn the leadership she commands now: it was thrust upon her. It is the enigmatic part of the dynasty that is working. She remained basically a dictator, without earning the bad name of dictator. This dictatorship is very different from any other type of dictatorship known to the world. It may be called as ‘Benign Dictatorship’. Outwardly she doesn’t long for power. Actually she retains all the power in her hand. Nobody can say anything against her decision. Here, something mysterious comes into play. How and why she wields that much of power like a Queen Bee in a hive?  Why otherwise belligerent leaders of the Congress Party remain so docile in front of her? Even at the back of her nobody have the courage to criticize or to disobey her perceived line of instruction. Perhaps, no other country in the world has such pattern of politician's behaviour as it is found in India with the grand old party.

In the 2004, the Congress performed better than BJP in the general election, though not with absolute majority.  With the coalition of other parties she was to form the government. She got the chance of becoming the PM. That she renounced, which was projected by the media as a great sacrifice. But in fact, in doing so she displayed her shrewdness of the highest order.  With PM’s chair she would have been in very bad soup with no experience of running the business of statecraft. The opposition would not have been genuflecting before her like sycophants of her party. She would have been in shreds by now.  So, she took the best decision to forgo it, but wanted to hold all the power in her hand.

And why she chose Manmohan Singh as PM?  Surely, not because he was the most capable of the pack. She selected him, because he would be most docile of the lot.  She could have full control over him while clasping all the strings in her hand. He is a technocrat. He is a capable economist. He is the gentlest of all; not a wily fox. Hence, not fit for politics.  By the quirk of fate he was dragged in to the vortex of politics, first as finance minister. He is credited with the introduction globalization and bringing in the much wanted reform.  In that he earned credit, which he rightfully deserves.

By her selfish motif of retaining all power in her hand without accountability and denying any other capable man at the helm of affairs she did greatest disservice to the country. And, of course, to the Congress party as well. All the blames for much talked about policy paralysis of the government lie at her door. It's a dark page of Indian history. It is bad luck, poor Manmohan Singh gets the flak. 

N.B: I find lot of difficulty in the cyber cafe here. I'm doubtful if I'll be able to post any more blog from here