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Journalism of Courage
After the debacle, the huddle. Going by what we now know of the Congress Working Committee8217;s seven-hour reflections on the party8217;s rout in three states, it is the old, opaque ritual, enacted once more. On Sunday in the Capital, the Congress blamed everybody 8212; in which category Sonia Gandhi very gallantly included herself, alongside those dodgy EVMs that so foxed the Congress voter. It railed at the BJP for stealing three states from its kitty and the development plank too. How could the BJP indulge in a 8220;vulgar display of financial resources8221;, commandeer the RSS and VHP cadres, display a winning streak? And, finally, it set up a committee to further discuss what was discussed at the meeting.
It is clear that the Congress is trying out all the tried and tested methods to deflect the urgency of this moment. Spreading the blame so thin that it sticks to no one. Hiding behind its Leader. Alleviating the need for prompt action by promising yet more elaborate ceremonials of deliberation. Or loudly demanding the most easily achieved, and least effective, forms of penitence, like another shuffle of the AICC pack. In the aftermath of what must rank as one of the most unsettling round of verdicts against the party in recent times, Sonia8217;s party shows no signs of piercing through the accumulated layers of complacency and denial to look the new political reality in the eye. The defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have shown up the real extent of its disconnect with the changing polity and the new voter. While it bows and scrapes before the Leader, a new generation of voters, untouched by any empathy with or awe of the Family, has lost interest and moved on. As it basks in its bubble, arrogant and alone, the BJP has sewn up alliances to entrench itself in areas where its committed cadres are not up to the task. Where it is weighed down by its dependence on the Leader, the BJP has nurtured a bright-eyed team at its second rung, eager to do battle, in the TV studio and outside it.
