Sometimes more is said between the lines than in the entire
prose, especially if the speaker is a man of few word. A lot is left to be
deciphered and speculations ride high. In past few days a new vigour is seen in
our former Prime Minister, addressing gatherings, giving interviews and even
dropping in for a ‘courtesy call’ with his successor and bête noir Narendra
Modi. Our soft spoken economist former premier Manmohan Singh is leaving no
stone unturned to deflect the scam spotlight shining on him. Gone are the days
of silence. He now is leaving no opportunity to clearly emphasise that neither
he nor his kith and kin benefitted from any loot of the coffer under his
regime. However, what he is not saying, and that is where reading between the
lines becomes necessary, is that no loot of coffers happened under his nose. Is
this non denial an admission of guilt, in a convoluted sort of way?
Indian politics has a penchant for storms in tea cup –
remember the Tea Party Mrs. Gandhi hosted years ago where Amar Singh had gate
crashed and foundations of UPA were laid? Well, now that former and current PM
sat down for a “Chai pe Charcha”, the ‘nation wants to know’ whether they
discussed the aromas and flavours of tea or the right mix of tea and milk for
the perfect brew. Why, Mr. Manmohan Singh decided to swap his Marie Biscuit for
deep fried ‘farsaan’ knowing full
well that the media glare and unending dissection of the meeting is likely to
give him indigestion.
He claims to have been invited by Mr. Modi and sends out a
prompt Press Release. While PMO has only smiled in response. If it was just a
courtesy call, it came a couple of days too late. It would have looked a tad
more courteous if Mr. Singh called on Mr. Modi to congratulate him on his
anniversary in office. But the riddle got another twist when throughout the day
both the Modi and his predecessor were locked in a war of words – Singh
accusing present government of failing in economic delivery while Modi taking a
jibe at “un-constitutional authority” which ruled during UPA. After such a
shouting match if both the adversaries wet their throats together, eyebrows are
sure to rise!
But then, the game of pleasantries and ‘political courtesy’
is not limited to Delhi alone. Look east and the firebrand Didi is packing bags
to travel along with the PM to Bangladesh. Mamata Banerjee is a known Modi
baiter and has made her hatred for the man of Godhra fame more than clear at
every occasion. But in came CBI probing Sardha scam and political courtesies
started tumbling out of closets. Just a few weeks back Didi was seen knocking
on Modi’s door, again for a cup of tea, the meeting coming close on heels of
another of his party MP getting a love letter from CBI. Now, CBI has started
probing the party funds and seeking answers from the party officers (we all
know where the fingers are pointed), and time for niceties have dawned again.
Remember how Ms. Banerjee had embarrassed UPA when despite being a coalition
partner she had refused to accompany Manmohan Singh to Dhaka for the signing of
Teesta Accord. This time round, if
signals are to be interpreted well, she will not only be smiling though the
land boundary agreement with Bangladesh, which her party supported, but may
also lend her signature to the Teesta Accord.
Of course the official statements will never reveal the real
reason behind such a deluge of political courtesies from all quarters, and we
would be left to read between the lines. The puzzle however will remain
unsolved till a bee on the wall spills the beans and finally discloses if a
protection deal of sorts did get inked behind smiling handshakes. For now, it
seems that the political courtesies are set to bloom in various quarters as CBI
gets busy in pulling open the closets of various hues. Let’s wait and watch and
keep reading between the lines.
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