oppn parties CWC Meeting: The Script Never Changes

News Snippets

  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
CWC Meeting: The Script Never Changes

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-03-14 04:33:36

About the Author

Sunil Garodia The India Commentary view

It was the same old story at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Sunday. The Gandhi family offered to "step back" but there were no takers for the move. Since 2014, after successive and crushing defeats in elections, the same script has unfolded, except for 2019 when Rahul Gandhi resigned as party chief. Since then, Sonia Gandhi has continued as the interim chief while Rahul and Priyanka Vadra have called the shots. Organizational elections have not been held despite internal rumblings, especially from the so-called G-23, a rebellious group of senior leaders who want the party to be revamped.

With few grassroots leaders, the Gandhis know that there is little threat to their position. They know that they are the glue that binds the party together and hence most leaders will not want them to go. That is why, instead of resigning and putting someone else in the driver's seat, they always 'offer' to resign, knowing full well that it will not be accepted. Also, the discussions in these meetings are fruitless and no plan is ever made for the future despite the calls for "revamping and rewiring" the party apparatus. The cosmetic changes announced in the meeting are unlikely to be effective. 

But that is like burying your head in the sand. The Gandhis must realize that their poll strategy is leading the party to successive defeats and it is losing the trust of the people. The Congress needs new direction and that can only be provided by a fresh team. For this to happen, the Gandhis have to relinquish working control of the party. To avoid disintegration and factional wars, either the fresh team can come from organizational elections or can be appointed by the consensus, with the backing of the Gandhis. But without a fresh team and fresh ideas, the future of the Congress party is in danger and the sooner the party realizes this, the better for Indian democracy.