The bizarre gets even more bizarre, as every passing day goes by in the run up to the 2014 Elections. Both the BJP and the Congress have decided to put their worst foot forward, (an ironic twist to the actual phrase) in the game of 1-upmanship, mostly ending with what we like to call an "Epic-Fail".
As of now, a  complete lack of objectivity is seen on both sides, and mostly results in, either one, or both, with "feet in their mouth" (Clearly a foot is a long gone affair). This has unfolded into a never ending "Game of Thrones" style melodrama of Secularism vs Communalism, amusing and intriguing at first, but resulting in more noise and confusion in the average voter's mindset.

One does want to believe that one of the two parties is good, and that it will bring much need solace and respite to the problems the average man faces on a day to day basis.The fact, still remains, that the non political liberal mass of this country, would only want to vote, for the lesser of the two evils. The fact also remains that, the UPA government, despite all its claims, statistics and models of economic growth, has failed to take the "Aam junta" into their confidence. Skyrocketing prices and dwindling salaries have definitely taken its toll on the middle class, and the lower rungs of India's society. The average Indian cares about the money that stays in their pockets, for their family, and how a government can help them in keeping their savings straight, rather than hemorrhage it out on goods and services.

I still maintain that the Congress party is the lesser out of two evils, on many many counts. Having said that, it is pertinent to note that the Trilogy of Congress facepalm events has now been completed. Thanks to the recent tweet put forward by Mr. Shakeel Ahmed about the evolution of the IM, the Raghav - Ram tweet by Sh. Digvijay Singh, and the Aditi restaurant shutting down.

The blatant shutting down of the restaurant has been a deplorable, straight up display of fascist behaviour, quite contrary to the secular, pluralist,democratic ideals the party displays proudly. The moral high ground, right now, according to me has been lost in a thoroughly shameful display of mob-ocracy vis-a-vis the secular credentials INC claims to represent.

Anybody in the country, has the right to free speech and expression. That is what a secular nation stands for. Convincing someone to think the way you do, is where the key lies. The shameful display by Congress "goons" at Aditi Restaurant in Parel is truly condemnable. The reason for this ire being, he owner "allegedly" printed out bills with "defamatory" content against the UPA central government. The central government had introduced a service tax.on eating at air-conditioned restaurants.This has personally caused a great source of irritation to me, as a normal human being,  who wants to go out and have a good meal, yet ends up spending more of my hard earned money for weird acronyms printed on a paper bill.

From what I have gathered from the reports that I have read, party workers of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) created a scene at the vegetarian eatery and forced the owners to shut the joint, and from what I have read from the news reports, the orders had come in directly from the party headquarters in Delhi.

What seemed like a show of frustration by the owner of the restaurant, ballooned out into a political game that has consumed the national interest. It has even become the eye of a raging social debate on Twitter, with most sane voices condemning the incident, and the usual suspects going about, attacking, defaming, trolling and finger pointing.

Apparently, the Congress leadership and workers, took offence to the by line at the end of each receipt that went as follows :
‘As per UPA government, eating money (2G, Coal, CWG scam) is a necessity and eating food in an AC restaurant is a luxury,’

Clearly, the frustration of the owner was clearly evident in the nature of words that were used. Its just that he chose to print it out on paper. This, by the way, is officially the sentiment, of the average Indian on the street. Therefore, by default, the IYC in all its glory, should make each and everyone of us, shut up and sit at home. There is some sort of sense that the party cadres should follow. For all I can think of, instead of resorting to random physical thuggery, synonymous with groups like, the MIM, VHP, Durga Vahini, RSS, Shiv Sena and MNS, they could have filed a defamation suit against the owner of the restaurant. By the behaviour on display, the simple humour of a sentence, has escalated into a nation wide sensation, that once again, puts the Congress party on the back foot. Classic mountain of a molehill episode.

To the Congress leaders, it is pretty clear to educated individuals, the need for economic reforms. But what you have to understand is that, other than India INC. and a few individuals who read and try to understand your policies, no one else really cares. The average Indian has enough and more problems on his plate courtesy the economic environment, and they don'
t have the time or the energy to read and understand the intricacies of what you think. My humble suggestion is that, if you need to have any degree of relevance in people's minds, focus on building up positive PR and helping people understand what you have done for the nation. Not battle Modi, or his troll army. Put out facts about your governance and government, appear on public fora and interact with the masses. Staying in a an AC room, and putting out a statement or a tweet here, and a press conference there, will not serve your purpose in the long run,

I am also not surprise that the IYC leaders whined that despite all the work they put in for the greater good of the people, some failed to notice it. They put out this statement “We are doing such good work in our areas as part of the Youth Congress and such comments de-motivate people from joining the party" My point to these hard working gentlemen is that, through this action of yours, you clearly have motivated a ton of people to follow your brigade.

This is a stark reality check for the Congress workers out there, that though you may have silenced this one man, over a silly by- line. Do not be proud that the battle has been won, for the pettiness that you have shown, has caused you to lose a moral war. The war that you yourselves started against the BJP has led you to be scrutinized under the microscope, and technically falling into your own untimely grave. Focus on the positive, and not on the negative. There is still time to turn the anti-Congress wave that the country seems to be going through