Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The soundbites emanating from Delhi8217;s Talkatora Stadium on Saturday were unequivocal: the Congress Party is still wrestling with the idea of coalitions. Much has happened since the 1998 Pachmarhi resolution that promised to restore the Congress to its past glory. In the years that followed, the party has had willy-nilly to enter into many a difficult alliance in order to come within sniffing distance of power. But going by the enthusiastic reception that greeted Congress President
Sonia Gandhi8217;s assertion at the AICC session that party workers should strive to bring back the 8220;original glory8221; of Congress, the party has not lost its taste for grandiose visions of solitary splendour.
This formal hankering within the Congress to go it alone is, ironically enough, combined with a somewhat craven deference to the sentiments of its Left allies. The AICC resolution on Nandigram was eloquent in its understatement. All that the Congress could do was to express concern over the 8220;grave situation8221; that existed there and gently condemn the 8220;culture of violence8221; prevailing there. If the Congress has not mastered the politics of coalitions, neither has it mastered the art of handling its allies.
