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Journalism of Courage
Congress President Sonia Gandhi was quick to swat the instinctive burst of sycophancy from Ajit Jogi. With news just filtering in that she had retained Rae Bareli by a record margin, on Thursday Jogi mobilised a signature campaign among party MPs to plead with her to become prime minister. Her response was correct, but it was not stern enough. There is a tendency in Sonia8217;s Congress for party men and women to assert their relevance through competitive obsequiousness. And in the absence of substantial reprimand, a disturbing impression is reinforced that this is the authorised mode of exchange between party president and workers. This is not a healthy way for a democratic party to be, to allow 8212; or be seen to be allowing 8212; flattery to be a means of career advancement. It also weakens Sonia Gandhi8217;s standing as the leader of the Congress Party.
The Nehru-Gandhis hold a special place in Congress affairs. But now, with Sonia Gandhi having led it for eight years, with the party two years into its term at the Centre and with Rahul Gandhi seen to be ready for greater organisational responsibility, the Congress needs to shed its shyness about confronting the terms of that relationship. If that shyness is partly due to memories of the erosion suffered during the Narasimha Rao and, more corrosively, Sitaram Kesri years, it is understandable. Sonia Gandhi8217;s induction as party chief in 1998 reversed that fragmentation. But the rituals of sycophancy by the rank and file stop her from fully asserting her democratic right to lead the party 8212; a right that draws from her demonstrated ability to command the confidence of Congress members. And given the blithe manner in which her name is allowed to be invoked by them, it associates her with self-seeking initiatives in which she really is not a participant.
