increasingly narendra modis speeches write themselves every time rahul gandhi says something modi gets fodder for his next speech rahul gandhis comments have a strange disconnected quality about them it is not easy to unite muslim clerics and narendra modi on many issues or to make bjp the guardian of minority rights but he seems to have managed it quite effortlessly coming on the back of his emotional plea recounting the sacrifices made by his family again hardly the kind of pitch that is likely to resonate today his statements have an otherworldly quality and head scratching follows quite frequently in the case of his speech connecting the isi with the muzaffarnagar riots there is one aspect of modis objection that is quite sharp and precise by focusing on the issue of why rahul gandhi would be privy to intelligence information modi has asked the question that needed to be asked we all know that rahul gandhi is the presumptive heir of the congress party but this informal knowledge on our part in no way entitles him to receive any official intelligence briefing about a subject such as this the trouble conferring legitimacy on informal power is that it knows no boundaries for it lies outside the purview of institutional norms and safeguards that power could be used to overrule the cabinet with one breezy and very public wave of hand as it can be in casually acknowledging access to what is presumably sensitive information the same power is at work when robert vadra against all norms of propriety engages in what are at the very least illadvised real estate deals and when the officer questioning these finds himself at the receiving end of several inquiries that have mysteriously materialized after his act of defiance of course nowhere is the brazenness of this power more in evidence than at an airport where the same gentleman muscles and all is allowed the privilege of indias most coveted status symbol that of being exempt from frisking criticizing the abuse of informal power is necessary but it is also easy when it involves political dynasties the problem however is not that easy to externalize for it runs much deeper informal power derives its legitimacy from those that acknowledge it last week we saw another instance of the phenomenon of informal power at work albeit in a very different arena take the spectacle that surrounds sachin tendulkars last ranji trophy match it is easy to understand the symbolic significance of the game and the massive media attention it is receiving it is also easy to understand why the small town of lahli would spruce itself up for this big event which has thrown this sleepy hamlet into the unexpected glare of national attention but why is such a fuss being made about sachin tendulkars staying arrangements why is one member of the team not its captain entitled to the closest lahli can come to 5 star accommodation and not the rest of the players