In disrupting Parliament over the National Herald case, the Congress displays extremely bad form, and worse judgement. The Herald case is in the court and the party must submit to the due process it so loudly swears by.
This means that Congress leaders must respect the court summons and explore the legal avenues to defend themselves. By all accounts, there are serious questions that the Congress needs to answer on the manner in which The National Herald was bailed out and its assets brought under the control of a company promoted by four party leaders, including Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. By attributing motives to the judicial proceedings instead, and stalling Parliament, the Congress embarrasses itself and Jawaharlal Nehru, the founder of The National Herald and a stickler for parliamentary etiquette and political propriety.
now seem diversionary.
Admittedly, the Herald case can potentially take the sheen off what its supporters have read as an upturn of sorts in Congress fortunes — the party found itself on the winning side in Bihar and it also has the power to withhold its cooperation on the crucial GST bill from the government. Yet, the Congress may be scoring a self-goal in turning a civil dispute into an existential political battle and thereby turning the spotlight more fully on what can be seen as the questionable management of the family heirlooms. The party needs to urgently rethink the wisdom of its strategy.
