The Real Story Isn't Pradhan's Exit, It's What Modi Does Next
Dharmendra Pradhan may not be the story. The story is whether Narendra Modi has converted a political defeat into a legislative opportunity. Delhi has an irritating habit of mistaking an event for the story. A minister resigns, television studios erupt in celebration, the Opposition claims vindication, the ruling party insists it was all part of a grand design, and by the following week another controversy replaces the last one. Delhi survives on short memories. Politics does not. Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation has been read as the climax of the NEET controversy. It may instead turn out to be its prologue. The first rule of power is older than democracy itself. Kings rarely surrendered fortresses when they could sacrifice generals. Democratic governments merely substitute ministers for generals. Every government eventually reaches a point where it must decide whether preserving one individual is worth jeopardising a larger political agenda. The Modi government appears to have m...
