Hard pressed

One persons status quo is another persons stability. Sometimes,the same persons. Harish Khare,the prime ministers media advisor,set off a storm when he called the Congress a status-quoist entity with no real convictions. At a time when the Congress party-UPA government relationship is especially delicate,Khares remark was wholly unexpected and,to a party traditionally intolerant of criticism,impolitic.

But Khare was speaking at the release of a political science book on Madhya Pradesh. He was not there as the partys spinmeister which he is not,but as someone drawing on his experience as a journalist and political analyst. He spoke after Digvijaya Singh claimed to have followed a politics of conviction rather than consensus in MP. Khare pointed out that a single leaders initiative could not achieve much without having first carved a solid political constituency to back him. His comments on the Congress,while acknowledging the partys centrality,said that by attempting to be a big tent,it was structurally difficult for the Congress to accommodate radical demands. This is a perfectly unobjectionable thought to voice as a journalist and commentator,unless you view it strictly through a frame of loyalty/ disloyalty as some in the Congress now seem to. In any case,within a day Khare took the edge off by saying that his comments were limited to the specific experience of the MP Congress,and that he has always held that the Congress was the nations most enduring source of stability. The quick turnaround said more about the reaction than his original comments.

Either way,the party should learn to loosen up and give honest critique its due. If it wants to induct talented people from outside into party or government,it has to accept that they will come with their own perspective,not always tailored to party specifications. It simply has to learn to take unpalatable opinions,let alone mild,professorial remarks,without feeling betrayed. It should just let such matters go.