No more Mr. Nice Guy?

First a little quiz. Why this picture and why is this relevant? What movie is this from?

Stakes have been raised once again in the presidential election. I just read the transcript of Rajnath Singh Devil's advocate interview and sure enough, some skeletons appeared to have tumbled out of Mr. Shekhawat's closet.

According to the transcript, there appears to be four principal charges against Shekhwat, who had been hitherto touted as Mr. Clean of Indian politics.

1. He accepted bribe as a young policeman during the British era and was suspended for that.
2. He had cases against him dropped during his tenure as chief minister.
3. Some land related scandal involving his son-in-law.
4. He was an MLA from MP while he had his residence in Rajasthan.

Now, I think the 4th charge is rather hypocritical. Our esteemed PM happens to be an MP from a constituency in Assam.

The Presidential election represents the very fibre of our democracy and it needs to be held by persons of the most impeccable track record. Just by raising these issues, the charges against Pratibha Patil will not go away. At the same time, Mr. Shekhawat needs to answer these questions ASAP.

There was yet another very serious charge against BJP that many of their allegations against Pratibha Patil were manufactured. Apparently Pratibha Patil's bio never said she was founder president of a bank. Well, I found a version of the bio [pdf] on the web which suggests otherwise. I also suspect some spring cleaning was performed. Someone needs to do a proper post mortem, an improper burial may lead to ghost sightings.

Meanwhile, two more things caught my notice. While the allegations of accepting bribe as a cop needs to be answered, I think it is a monumental blunder to imply there was anything improper in accepting British employment by Shekhawat.

"When people left behind everything to join the freedom struggle responding to Mahatma Gandhi’s call, Shekhawat thought it fit to be part of the repressive colonial police," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said. "No one knows whose ideology motivated him but the fact remains that he left the force only when India became independent," he said, urging Shekhawat or his campaign managers to explain this part of his past now that he was contesting for the highest constitutional position. [link]

Remember these were the days of Ahimsa. You were supposed to lead a dual existence, accept British salary during the day and wear khadi in the evening and sing Raghupati Raghava. Who accepted British employment during those days? Well, almost everyone, including some great names. Indian soldiers were a proud part of British army during WW II with many valiant victories to their credit.

The second item was nothing but a veiled threat.

On the other hand, the NDA too needs to temper its assault on Patil as it builds Shekhawat's campaign. Patil is, after all, very likely to become Head of State, and the NDA, as the main opposition, will have to deal with her. Midway through the next President’s term will come a general election and a new Lok Sabha. Getting shrill against Patil would be justified if there were a real chance of beating her in the contest. It is fair to raise noises about a rival candidate — especially when there are substantive issues to raise — but the NDA might want to calibrate its opposition in tones that do not become a liability later. [link]

I am not sure what is being implied here. There is a very dangerous message embedded in this. On the other hand, knowing the sort of loyalty Patil feels for the Gandhi family, it is a rather moot point.

I don't know about you, but I want a clean and competent president, someone I can look up to and respect.