CWC Meeting: The Gandhis And Their Courtiers Rule, Crush 'Dissent'
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-08-25 11:45:23
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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As expected, the Congress Working Committee chose to keep on holding the Gandhi pallu and treated the leaders who wrote a letter calling for full time and active president to arrest the drift and decline in the party as dissenters. It was no surprise that the so-called loyalist of the family rallied behind them and some of them even said that the signatories to the letter were colluding with the BJP to cause a rift in the party. Yet others demanded disciplinary action against the 'dissenters'.
This once again proves that the party will not hold the Gandhi family accountable for the state of decline. Despite losing two general elections badly under the stewardship of the heir apparent, the family knows that when it comes to the crunch, the loyalists will always bail it out as they far outnumber the so-called dissenters. The family does not have the foresight to prevent the decay by strategically withdrawing at this juncture and allowing someone else to take the reins. Its main aim seems to be to keep complete control of the party in its hands as it fears that the number of dissenters is growing and it will be difficult to regain control once a non-Gandhi takes control.
But this is damaging for the Indian democracy. The Congress is the only opposition party of any standing all over the country, though fast going into oblivion in many states. All other parties are regional outfits masquerading as 'national' parties. If the party is unable to reinvent itself and offer the public a political narrative to counter the BJP just because it is unable to break the shackles of a single family's domination, it would be doing a great disservice to the nation. The letter writers can see the writing on the wall if the party continues in this fashion. It is only the Gandhi family and their courtiers who fail to see the obvious.
In any democracy, the party that wins the trust of the people will win elections. But it does not serve the interests of the nation if the winning party is allowed to win because of weak opposition. If the public perception is that there is no alternative to Narendra Modi, it is mainly because the Congress' efforts to project Rahul Gandhi as the alternative have failed badly. The earlier the party realizes this and takes corrective action, the better for it and the nation. To do this, it has first got to listen to the contrary views in the party and not crush their voices by labeling them as dissenters.
