To presume that the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan is of any significance is naïve. That’s a bogus issue. The decay in the education system, or the ceaseless paper-leaks, is not because of the individual who sits in the ministerial cabin. India is grappling with a terrible governance deficit. The entrenched political forces today lack both sincerity of purpose and the skills required for good governance.Does anybody believe it is foreign minister S. Jaishankar who designed India’s policy towards US or Israel? Is it because of defence minister Rajnath Singh’s frailties that India couldn’t chase the Chinese away from the encroached land in Ladakh? Is that weakling commerce minister Piyush Goyal succumbing to American pressure in the trade negotiations? Nothing will delight the real masters more than a pawn-centric discourse. The truth, not open to dispute, is that all the powers are concentrated in the hands of the masters. Who? Who else? The duopoly of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah who control every inch of the political and administrative systems while the rest of the human resources are the nuts and bolts of the massive paraphernalia.Also read: Backstory: Would the Ayodhya Loot Have Occurred If Media Had Been Less Enamoured By the Spectacle of Power?So the basic concept of ministerial responsibility is not applicable to this unique regime. That the resignation of Pradhan is dominating the discourse is a political tragedy. The real concerns are far bigger and devastating. Parties are being ruthlessly broken and parliamentarians are stolen to manufacture a fake majority, as if a political mafia, not a constitutional government, is at work. The Ram temple in Ayodhya, projected as India’s pride, is looted by insiders, not external marauders. Economic inequality has soared to unprecedented levels, leaving crores of poor struggling for survival. Unemployment and price-rise have acquired ruinous dimensions. Social fabric is in tatters. Foreign policy is so wayward that India, celebrated for her moral authority, is seen as the closest ally of Israel, a country that has become the byword for genocide and barbarism. The judiciary and the media have lost credibility. It’s a dreadful nation-in-crisis scenario. No, the resignation of a minister will solve none of the problems. Hope the monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday reflects the enormity of the crisis no matter how ruthlessly the Modi Government steamrolls the primary concerns. In such volatile circumstances, it is naïve to be seduced by phony notions of resistance. American historian Timothy Synder who has worked extensively on totalitarianism wrote: “When we take an active interest in matters of doubtful relevance at moments that are chosen by tyrants and spooks, we participate in the demolition of our own political order.” Nobody will rejoice any harm to Sonam Wangchuk, a respected professional, who is on a fast-unto-death seeking the resignation of the education minister. Some innocent children are also fasting with him. Individuals like Wangchuk have a role in society. But the political order is rarely altered by such flash-in-the-pan protests. Mahatma Gandhi altered political order because his politics and convictions were well known. Wangchuk has to clearly define the contours of his politics. Whatever little is known doesn’t inspire confidence. Clarity becomes more critical because he is in the company of people whose politics is suspect. No individual can dictate to a nation of 140 crore to follow him only because he is returning from the United States. People choose their leaders on the basis of their caliber and struggle. Leaders aren’t invented overnight through magic or personal whims. This nation has been fooled in the past. A truck driver, who earned some reputation through petty anti-corruption agitations in Maharashtra, was portrayed as another Gandhi. Editors, activists and even politicians were swept away by that farce. He promised to cleanse the system. That so-called movement was actually a sinister conspiracy to replace one set of elite with another set of elite. That wasn’t a pro-people movement. The demand for a Lokpal that was sold as the panacea for all ills is not even worth a cheap joke. And that joker turned out to be such a fraud that even taking his name has become nauseating. Are we itching to receive another shock?Why Rahul Gandhi?Individuals don’t matter. No, not even if he hails from a family that has given three prime ministers. Why Rahul Gandhi has emerged as a credible opposition voice is because of his politics. He has demonstrated over the last two decades that he fights for equality and justice, for liberty and fraternity. Without his unwavering commitment to constitutional principles, his value is nil. He is sustained by his politics, not by his identity. Rahul Gandhi not only established himself as the most credible and powerful voice in the Congress, he earned goodwill outside the party boundaries because of his commitments. Traditional Congress critics, communists and socialists today support him because he unambiguously stands against the vision of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and is fighting to salvage the idea of India that evolved during the freedom struggle. The nation wouldn’t have trusted him to defend the Nehruvian legacy if his politics was different. Before expecting support from citizens who value constitutional democracy, any aspiring leader must articulate his or her philosophy with utmost clarity. Newcomers who demonstrably failed to understand the enormity of communal politics and the real import of Hindutva project cannot expect thoughtful citizens to rally behind them. The demand for resignation of a minister is not the certificate of righteousness. What if Narendra Modi tomorrow sacks Pradhan? What next? Opposition leaders will continue to oppose the RSS education model, crony capitalism, flawed foreign policy, divisive agenda and undemocratic traits of the BJP but will the Cockroach Janata Party align its activities with them? Political alliance is based on a concrete agenda, not on emotions and popular demands. Though many opposition parties have made occasional compromises, most of them believe it is not about politics or power now, it is about the constitution and democracy. Anybody demanding support from opposition leaders must appreciate their perception and offer a comprehensive critique of the incumbent government. Without ideological clarity, politics isn’t better than a forgettable melodrama.Crushing oppositionAdolf Hitler condemned any form of political opposition as treason; describing his critics as enemies of the German people. Modi never misses an opportunity to brand his critics as anti-national. His supporters call anybody who questions him Pakistani, or funded by inimical forces. The way the Modi government has tormented rival parties and engineered splits through allurements, coercion and blackmail shows his unease with healthy democratic contests.Creating moral dilemmas for opposition leaders is a typical fascist technique. Opposition leaders are always tested through illogical binaries. We have heard nonsense like Jawaharlal Nehru didn’t save Bhagat Singh and didn’t go to Somnath temple in the past. The same narrative continues – Rahul Gandhi didn’t visit Ram temple, Rahul Gandhi didn’t go to the Cockroach protest at Jantar Mantar, Rahul Gandhi was missing when Wayanad was hit by cyclone… etc. The same media doesn’t put the Prime Minister and other ministers to similar tests.What was Modi’s response when Professor G.D. Agarwal was on fast-unto-death for protection of river Ganga? Was Modi grilled when the professor died in 2018? Did the media hold the government responsible for the death of around 700 farmers who lost their lives in protest against the farm laws? The purpose of the government has to be fundamentally moral. Governments are duty-bound to show sensitivity and respond to democratic pressures. If an eminent citizen is on death-bed because he has stopped eating only to mount pressure on the government, the question that should trouble everybody is the silence and apathy of the prime minister. If a few young students are on fast, the government has to respond with greater alacrity. No whataboutery is needed. The leader of opposition was already aligned with the cause of students and whether he becomes part of every movement or not is immaterial. Let’s not commit fraud even in fixing accountability.Sanjay K. Jha is a political commentator.