The Congress Must Reinvent Itself For The Good Of The Nation
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2020-12-14 09:07:37
About the Author
What the late ex-President and Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee is reported to have written in his soon-to-be-published memoirs should not surprise or shock many. It is no secret that the Congress suffered a huge setback in 2014 mainly due to Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and what they did (and did not do) from 2009 to 2014. Mukherjee could have also added that the rush to push Rahul Gandhi as the main contender for the top post was also responsible, but perhaps that goes without saying.
Mukherjee says that "some members of the Congress have theorized that, had I become the PM in 2004, the party might have averted the 2014 Lok Sabha drubbing. Though I don't subscribe to this view, I do believe that the party's leadership lost political focus after my elevation as president. While Sonia Gandhi was unable to handle the affairs of the party, Dr (Manmohan) Singh's prolonged absence from the House put an end to any personal contact with other MPs." In Mukherjee's view "the moral authority to govern vests with the PM. The overall state of the nation is reflective of the functioning of the PM and his administration". He says that "Dr Singh was preoccupied with saving the coalition, which took a toll on governance".
At other times, this could have been treated as the personal view of one person, although a very astute and experienced politician who had served the Congress and the nation with distinction. But Pranab Mukherjee's views become extremely important as the country is still watching a disinterested Sonia Gandhi taking the Congress to depths from which it will be very difficult to rise again.
Any democracy needs both a strong government and an equally strong opposition. Despite being the party with the biggest all-India infrastructure and acceptance, the Congress has abdicated its duty of being a responsible opposition. It seems that the party has thrown in the towel in the face of a calculated assault by the BJP. Its responses are poor and it is seen to be doing what the BJP wants it to do. It has lost the backing of its core constituency of the backward classes and the Muslims. It has persisted with the policy of Rahul Gandhi being the only person who can take on Modi, with disastrous results. In short, it has allowed the BJP to decimate it.
The Congress should listen to the dissenting voices in the party and come up with a calibrated plan to revive the party. It must start with the appointment/election of a full time president and a new AICC. It should have a shadow cabinet and give Modi's ministers a run for their money. If the party decides to give Rahul Gandhi a free hand, he must be allowed to get rid of the old guard and form his own team. A combination of both is not working and is not going to work. New challenges need out-of-the-box responses. The time for that is now.
