Season of truth-telling

As the Congress party president is discovering to her embarrassment, there is no way of keeping a lid on the truth: the Congress is poorly led and some partymen are saying so publicly. Hardly had the unfortunate Jairam Ramesh been hauled over the coals and made to apologise for saying party morale was low, than Vasant Sathe expressed opinions critical of Sonia Gandhi’s leadership in an editorial in a party publication. There is nothing new or surprising about Ramesh and Sathe’s assertions except the fact that they are spoken out loud. Little is being done in crucial large states like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and West Bengal to arrest the process of disintegration in the party. There is confusion on policy issues, its parliamentary tactics are uncertain, the rank and file is adrift. As one critic pointed out rightly, if things carry on this way, the Congress will not be able to come to power for 50 years. Whether or not all this candour is the result of personal frustration is not relevant. The pointis, much of what has been said is correct and reflects the unspoken views of many.

The sudden rash of outspokenness may be a blessing in disguise if it means the leadership as a whole will no longer be able to hide from reality and is compelled to take fresh stock of itself. It is a pity Sonia Gandhi’s shortcomings could not be handled in a kinder more discreet way because if anyone has been deluded about her abilities it is not the politicians who have been promoting her so assiduously. However, she herself also bears some responsibility for the present embarrassments. By allowing herself to be surrounded by an admiring coterie, by not encouraging open expressions of views within party fora, she denied herself the chance of finding out and acting upon what was going wrong. A new more vigorous Congress is unlikely to emerge without determined and focussed efforts to give the party a distinct character and coherent voice. That seems far more important than merely reasserting Gandhi’s authority in the party.

Noises from UP, Rajasthan, Kerala, Delhi and elsewhere suggest more than the usual kind of Congress dissidence. Very evident is a sense of purposelessness. What seems necessary to recreate the Congress in the states and nationally is working out well-defined positions on the issues of the day and taking up a set of relevant programmes. If the Congress wanted to increase its marginalisation it could not have chosen a better way than it has, thrashing about helplessly on matters such as economic reforms and nuclear weapons. It gives the impression it is moving away from the pro-reform policies associated with Manmohan Singh for no better reason than to carve out a political niche for itself. That is unwise.

Then, after protesting long and loudly about cuts in food subsidies, it claims it has been defeated by a parliamentary procedure. All of which tends to show the Congress neither knows its mind nor has the strength of its convictions. It is neither pro nor anti-economic reform, merely indecisive. It is neither pro nor anti-nukes, merely confused. Instead of refining its thinking and arguments, the Congress lurches between dutiful support for government measures and unsustainable populist postures. Both ways it is falling down on its job as the leading opposition party.