Could it be that Sonia Gandhi has struck a secret deal with the BJP to wind up the Congress once and for all? The idea may seem incredible. But this is Kali kala when anything is possible, and nothing is impossible. A distinguishing mark of Kali kala is that, under its stranglehold, what should be possible becomes impossible.
It should be possible for Congress to shed the impression that it is a private business owned by the Gandhi family. But it won’t. It should be easy for Sonia Gandhi to show that she is not a family heiress but an elected representative of the people. But she won’t. Denying the obvious is a hallmark of Kali Yuga which started only recently and has a total duration of 4,32,000 years.
When the Congress lost miserably in five states recently, some two dozen Congress leaders said publicly that internal reforms and collective responsibility were essential to save the party. That should be obvious to anyone. But in Congress what is obvious to all is not always obvious to some.
The group called G-23 that emerged within the Congress party comprised leaders who commanded a good deal of credibility such as Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma and Prithviraj Chavan.
They do not agree with Rahul Gandhi assuming that he is the natural leader of the Congress. Kapil Sibal questioned the authority under which Rahul Gandhi leads the Congress. Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot gave an insulting reply to silence Sibal. Yet, Gehlot could not remove the impression that murmurs against family control were spreading inside the party. But Congress culture remained unscathed. Senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge said openly that no one can weaken Sonia Gandhi’s position in the party. What a pity!
It is bad for Congress that the ‘veneration’ of Sonia and her family continues in one form or another even among the senior leaders of the party. These leaders do not pay attention to the setbacks already suffered by their party, nor learn lessons from them. The Congress could not even get the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The picture could have been different if ‘The family’ had been less selfish. What right does Sonia have to expect people to accept the importance she assumes for herself? What is the justification for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to speak on behalf of India? Priyanka Vadra’s case is worse. It is tragic that Congress no longer has leadership that derives strength from the people. The historical importance of Congress is too obvious to be denied by anyone. Even today it is the largest party after the BJP, with a hold in every state. It has 700 MLAs in various state assemblies. If it tries to continue as primarily a family affair, it will be crushed by the changing political psyche of India’s new generations.
‘The family’ must note that nobody has any grudge against it. But somebody must take hold of the party formally, openly and through the proper channels. The loyalist Shashi Tharoor said long ago that “if Rahul Gandhi wishes to take over, it should happen quickly”. Various feeder organisations of Congress have also been making similar suggestions.
There was a time when Rahul raised hopes that he was in the process of putting a young team in place. Men like Sachin Pilot, Sandeep Dikshit, Milind Deora, Deepender Hooda, Manish Tewari and Jyotiraditya Scindia were seen as torch-bearers of a new future. But the expected results never came. Some of the ‘torch-bearers’ even left the party. Was it a failure of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership? The party never tried to analyse such events and learn lessons from them.
Kapil Sibal voiced a general feeling when he said that it was time for the Gandhi family to stay away from leadership positions in the party. Rahul did not reply. But a Rahul crony, Manickam Tagore, said that Sibal was speaking the language of RSS and BJP. What stupidity. Some of our politicians have no concept of what is a nation, what is leadership, or even what is the responsibility of a politician.
Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are getting ready for elections later this year. The Congress is by far the most credible of the opposition parties in BJP-ruled India. Will it rise to history’s call? JNU leader Kanhaiya Kumar once said: “If the Congress does not survive, India will not survive.” Those who have ears, let them hear.