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Journalism of Courage
After 64 years, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) held its session last week in Gujarat — the state of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, where the party has been in political wilderness for 30 years. The Urdu dailies spotlighted this conclave of the Congress leaders and activists from across the country, highlighting the party’s proposed bid to rehaul its organisational structure, whose foundation would be its district units. A common refrain among the dailies was the point that the Congress must reinvent itself to counter the BJP juggernaut.
Referring to the AICC’s Ahmedabad session, the New Delhi edition of Inquilab, in its April 12 editorial, says the mega Congress meet was a significant political event. The resolution passed by the AICC session reaffirmed the party’s commitment to protect the Constitution, democracy and institutions, keep the nation united, dissipate the atmosphere of fear, and ensure social, political and economic justice for all sections, the editorial notes. “These objectives are laudable, but the Congress must be seen to be making efforts to fulfil them on the ground rather than just showing fervour in its resolutions.”
During the AICC conclave, the Congress top brass also stressed measures to revive and rejuvenate the organisation, the daily says. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said those leaders who do not want to work for the party should retire. Rahul Gandhi has echoed similar sentiments earlier. Rahul has also called for purging the party of those leaders who work against its interests. “However, the Congress has yet to take any disciplinary action against such leaders to set an example,” it states, adding that several self-serving leaders jumped ship on their own volition without facing any heat from the party.
The edit points out that the game of one-upmanship between Bhupinder Hooda and Kumari Selja sealed the Congress’s fate in the crucial Haryana Assembly elections last October, where the party suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the incumbent BJP. “This is surprising that the Congress leadership has still not taken Hooda and Selja to task for its stunning Haryana debacle,” it says. “On the other hand, many committed Congress workers find themselves marginalised.”
The AICC session also passed a special state-specific resolution, its first ever, on Gujarat, vowing to win it back in the 2027 Assembly elections after having been out of power in the state for three decades, the editorial notes. “In a state like Gujarat marked with a higher degree of polarisation than other states, it would be an uphill battle for the Congress to make a comeback,” the edit says, adding that in the 2022 Gujarat polls the BJP had registered its best-ever performance bagging 156 seats out of 182, with the Congress crashing to its worst-ever defeat with just 17 seats. “Given these numbers, could the Congress hope to get the better of the BJP in Gujarat. This will not be possible if the grand old party remains organisationally weak and divided. If the Congress wants its Ahmedabad session’s message to create an impact, it will have to go for broke,” it says.
Pointing out that the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025 has now come into force after being passed by Parliament and approved by the President, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its April 13 editorial, says that the amended legislation has caused “deep disquiet” among Muslims, the country’s largest minority community. “While the Narendra Modi government claims the legislation is aimed at reforming the administration of the Waqf properties, there are questions over its motives. A major objection against the law is that no new Waqf could be created without the government’s clearance,” the editorial says, adding that the Act undermines the Muslim community’s right to voluntarily dedicate its properties for religious or charitable purposes.
“This is not the first time the Modi government has pushed through such laws pertaining to Muslims despite stiff resistance from the Opposition parties. The Waqf Act should be seen against this backdrop. The government claims the Act would enhance transparency in the functioning of the Waqf Boards. But various troubling questions abound: Is it not a move to control the Muslim endowment assets, or is it not a bid to curb a community’s fundamental right to manage its own religious affairs?” asks the daily.
Noting that the Muslim bodies have held peaceful protests against the Waqf law at many places across the country, the editorial expresses concern that such protests spiralled into violence in West Bengal’s Murshidabad, killing three people. Calling it disturbing, the edit says while holding protests is a democratic right, the Muslim community must ensure it is done peacefully within the legal and constitutional boundaries. “Such protests should be in tune with our country’s pluralistic and constitutional ethos and must not create any discord or enmity. Muslims should display civility, restraint and sagacity. They are not only voicing dissent against a discriminatory law but also reflecting anxiety about the state of the minority rights in a constitutional democracy.”
The Bengaluru-based Salar, in its April 10 leader, highlights the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring as illegal and erroneous the action of Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi in reserving 10 Bills for consideration of the President in November 2023 after they had already been reconsidered by the state Assembly. The editorial says this landmark judgment delivered on the DMK-led government’s petition has spelt out the contours of a Governor’s powers and will prove to be key to resolving the issues between the Governors and the state governments. The edit notes that the apex court asked the Governors to execute their functions in accordance with the Constitution and not as per any political considerations.
The editorial points out that some other Opposition-ruled states, including as the LDF-ruled Kerala, have also faced similar withholding by their Governors of their assent to various Bills passed by the Legislatures. The Kerala government also moved the apex court against its then Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s bid to hold several Bills. The top court had earlier rapped the then Kerala Governor for keeping the Bills pending for an inordinately long period, but clearly the Governors did not pay heed to such directions, the editorial states. “Significantly, the top court, in the Tamil Nadu case, has set a timeline for the Governors to decide on the Bills.”
The daily points out that the relations between the Governors and the Opposition-ruled states have always been fraught. “Such conflicts have been seen in recent years in West Bengal, Punjab, Jharkhand and Delhi too. The Governors are appointed by the Union government, who are mostly politicians and tend to serve the interest of the party in power at the Centre. This trend has been on the rise in recent years,” it says.
“The Governors are meant to facilitate the functioning of the state governments for the welfare of the people as per the constitutional principles. But often they are seen to create roadblocks in the elected governments’ works,” the edit says. Holding that the Constitution has ensured a federal structure providing the Centre and the states with well-defined mandates with regard to law-making as well as administrative and financial powers, the edit says the Governors must function within the constitutional framework.
