Sources have stated that it came as a pleasant surprise when Meira Kumar, after being nominated by Congress for the presidential poll, started talking about restoring the 'ideological discourse'. She further wants to jettison any talk about caste or Dalit identity. She rather feels that the discussion around the presidential nominee should centre on 'merit'.
According to sources it was stated that have witnessed a number of leaders at the national as well as provincial level who combined unflinching ideology with outstanding merit both during the national freedom movement and during the 70 years post Independence. Apart from front ranking leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Rajendra Prasad, and others, there were also a number of leaders at lower levels who belonged to this genre, combining ideological underpinning with unparalleled ability.
It was stated that these ideology-driven foot soldiers built the mammoth
'idea of India'. Meanwhile Jagjivan Ram initiated this trend in Indian
politics. He was first assigned to fight the peasant movement of Sahajanand
Saraswati, as a leader of agricultural laborer in the thirties in Bihar.
However, the peasant rank could not be broken.
