Stalled in the present

Group To Look Into Future Challenges, the grandiloquently named 13-member Congress think tank that was expected to put in place Rahul Gandhi8217;s vision for the party and the country, has remained a paper tiger. Rahul8212;referred to as 8220;Yuvraj8221; among most Congressmen, including the more sophisticated ones8212;is yet to hold the second meeting of the Group. After the first on September 27, the Group was to meet on October 8, but could not due to the members being engaged elsewhere. After that, nobody seems to be in a hurry to convene the second sitting. Sources in the Group say this is because the first meeting turned out to be a damp squib. One member had suggested the group look at inflation. It was promptly shot down by another who said it was a current, not a future issue. Then came another proposition that the Group should focus on how to groom young people and bring them to the fore. This too was rejected on the ground that it was not a new problem. Union Minister Anand Sharma then started a lecture on the challenges facing the party, to be halted abruptly by Rahul who said one should talk about challenges in terms of opportunities. Sharma lost all steam after the snub. At the end of two hours, the challenges remained undefined after virtually everything under the sun had been discussed. No wonder, there is no enthusiasm for another congregation.