Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a powerful politician? Such as a chief minister, or even Prime Minister. I know you have. Imagine how cool it would be to have all those people running around, giving you lots of respect. Because you have the power to change their lives.
You see, that is the problem with our country. And with the world in general. Everyone wants to rule. Very few want to serve. If you think you are one of those few, then you just have to read this article in The Print to find out what it really means to be a great chief minister.
The new Punjab CM has been in office for less than two months, but he has been a ‘refreshing change.’ Let us find out how. This article takes you behind the scenes and shows you the daily grind. You might have heard of those “godi media” style articles that don’t speak truth to power. This is not one of those articles. This article shows how a real liberal scrutinizes a powerful politician, and with help from real experts.
In fact, let us read this article together and make notes. I have quoted below some key lines from the article, which I have placed in italics. For ease of learning, I have added a couple of my own remarks after each quote, on what I think the article is trying to say. So, are you ready to learn how you can serve the people?
Be young
“Channi, he said, was the first CM of Punjab who was born in independent India. “All other chief ministers of Punjab were born when the British were occupying Punjab. Hence he (Channi) is free of colonial thinking,” Manpreet said.”
First of all, who are they quoting here? They are quoting Manpreet Singh Badal, the Finance Minister in Channi’s government. Always start an article about a chief minister by quoting a compliment from the finance minister in his own cabinet. This is how you speak truth to power. All those in “godi media” must be so ashamed right now.
At 58, the new Punjab CM is so young that he is only a few years older than Rahul Gandhi. Hats off to him.
Hug people, shake hands, and smile
“He is constantly hugging the people he meets, shaking hands, smiling warmly, touching feet of the old.“
Remember, it is all about the issues. As Chief Minister, your policies decide the fate of millions of citizens. So you must lead from the front. You can’t just leave the important work of hugging people, shaking hands and touching feet to the lazy bureaucracy. You have to do the heavy lifting yourself. It is tiring, but remember that’s why you became a politician – to serve.
Stop at random weddings
“More than once he has stopped his cavalcade of vehicles and participated in the weddings of total strangers he has seen on the roads.“
Suppose your convoy is on the road and you see a wedding happening. What do you do? A lazy, possibly communal politician from a party such as the BJP, might be tempted to just keep going. But that is not how a real liberal like Channi serves the people. No, Channi will often stop the cavalcade and participate in the wedding!
Be ready to shed tears
“And on more than one occasion he has shed tears openly and unapologetically. Once, when he was addressing his first press conference as chief minister and another time when he went to visit the families of the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in Uttar Pradesh.“
Politicians who are lazy and selfish often hide their tears. If you really want to serve the people, you must cry openly and unapologetically. Mr. Channi has been CM for only six weeks or so, but he has already shed tears twice! In fact, he is so hardworking that in his short term in office, he solved all the problems in Punjab and went all the way to Uttar Pradesh to shed tears. Not everyone can be this hardworking.
Play hockey
“Last week, the CM and Cabinet Minister Pargat Singh, a hockey Olympian, played hockey at a stadium in Jalandhar as part of the Surjit Hockey tournament.“
Got it. It’s not enough to just work for the people. You must also play for the people.
Do bhangra
““Channi is humble but so is Badal. But from an eternal father figure to retired royalty, Channi is the brother or the son-like CM that Punjab has not seen in years. Can you imagine Badal or Amarinder doing bhangra at a college stage?” said Kanwalpreet Kaur, a political expert based in Chandigarh.“
This comment is particularly deep, since it comes from a highly credentialed “political expert” based in Chandigarh. As the article notes, the reference is to the Punjab CM doing bhangra at some kind of fest at I K Gujral Technical University in Kapurthala.
He sheds tears, plays hockey, does bhangra, shakes hands and stops at weddings. It is kind of incredible how hard one man can work. But then, you have to be superman at some level to be worthy of such a high position in government. Remember, it is not easy to impress political experts like Kanwalpreet Kaur.
Meet officers and attend public functions
“Channi begins his day with meeting people from 8 am and a typical day includes meetings with officers, attending at least one public function or traveling to the site of an ongoing project to monitor its progress.“
Imagine how hard it must be to start the day at 8 am. On a typical day, you might even have to meet officers and travel to public functions. Everyone wants to be chief minister. But did you know that chief ministers have to meet with officers and attend public functions? Did you know it was this hard?
Drink tea
“And all this interspersed with endless cups of tea.”
All this hard work takes its toll on a person. There are the meetings with officers, the public functions, and maybe having to stop at random weddings on the way. And after all this, you still have to answer to liberal journalists always ready to speak truth to power. No wonder the Punjab CM is reduced to drinking endless cups of tea.
On this occasion, the author of the article concludes that “he is putting his best foot forward and making all the right moves.” But we can’t be sure until the assessment from the independent experts are also in.
One expert finds that he is “idea” and the other, a professor of history, credits him for hard work and merit. I guess the new Punjab CM has passed muster for now. That wasn’t easy.
Now you know what it takes for a great chief minister to serve the people. And now you know how liberal media speaks truth to power.
Now ask yourself, truly and honestly. Could the BJP’s newly installed chief ministers such as Pushkar Singh Dhami, Basavaraj Bommai or Bhupendra Patel pass such intense scrutiny? Could they drink tea, do bhangra, meet officers and stop at weddings? And above all, would they have liberal privilege?
