By:- Er. P.L.Khushu
Any well-developed democratic country should have a strong opposition, which will ensure proper checks and balances on the working of the ruling party of that country, in the largest interest of the welfare of the people of that country. So is the case with India. A trend is getting developed in Indian politics when the opposition is almost losing its base, which will not be ultimately good for an equitable growth of the country with free and a cognizant democracy. The main reason is the dynastic approach of the present congress party, which is the main opposition party, where the main aim is to project its family icon as the principle Prime Ministerial candidate when such a projected candidate is not competent enough to handle it, as per the general impressions about this icon. In fact sometimes it is felt that such an icon is not even a fit person to be a political leader or to say to represent the age old congress party which was once upon a time manned by stalwarts and giants of highest political and leadership acumens and intellectual quotients . The present congress party since last more than three decades is purely a family affair conclave, with opportunist sycophant politicians running its show, within the four walls of its palace locations, where the queen is the monarch and the prince and the princess are the royal cabinet. The whole nation is helplessly witnessing as to how this facet of the present congress party since last three decades has eroded it from its main base as a primal and a crown political party of India, which has to its credit the birth of free India. By the second decade of the 21st century, the resurgent BJP led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then with the people amelioration akin policies of Narendra Damodardas Modi, has altered India’s political landscape. They dismissed the English-speaking lot as Macaulay’s children and replaced the external view of country for adhesive growth, with an internal gaze founded on “Sab-Ka-Sath”, Sab-Ka-Vikas’, Sab-Ka-Vishwas’ and now “Sab-Ka-Priyas”. It is now for the saner people of this country to take it ahead. The often-repeated slogan ‘Congress – Mukat- Bharat, since 2014, by the majority of Indians, when congress lost its elections and the government badly, is probably now coming as a truth and not a fallacy. It was looking like a joke at that point of time, when one could hardly visualize that the condition of the congress party will be so much implacable that it cannot even have a full-fledged congress president and functions with adhoc president at its helm of affairs, though it has found now one, who is too old for the job. Unfortunate for the nation about such a party, which is as old as the independence movement of India and supposed to deliver better, as a prudent and reliable opposition party, both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Democracy and its intrinsic values demand that for a better governance, by a ruling party particularly with a sizeable majority, there should be a healthy and a meaningful opposition party to serve as a watch dog for the ruling party, in its disposition of various policies and programs for the welfare of the people of the country. But unfortunately it is squarely missing because of the dissent, chaos, fusion and confusion in the congress party, which is supposed to be a leading opposition party. Unfortunately the high command of the congress party is probably now reduced to ‘Raj-Kumars and Raj-Kumari’s of the congress Parivar, which is adopted by this parivar as the designate entity of theirs, since the independence of India.
The implied present heads of this congress parivar, who are holding the strings of the party as also governing the party and have ruled the nation through proxy in the past till 2014, are now obsessed with the fabulous ideas of handing over their ruler ship and dominance to their progenies, to maintain the dynastic rule of the congress party as a perpetual affair. It is a big dream for the party bosses who are none other than the family members of the left over Gandhi’s.
Congress is facing a countrywide identity crisis with the party not having come up with enough numbers to even qualify as an opposition party in the polls. Senior leaders of the Congress, including former Chief Ministers, many Congress Working Committee members, sitting MPs, and several former Union Ministers, have left the party under distress and pain. It is now a situation of leadership crisis in the congress, which is now manifesting in a farcical battle of the generations. The deepening crisis facing the Congress since it was trounced in the 2014 general elections is indeed multifaceted. Ideologically, it has lacked clarity on issues like the Ram Temple and the abrogation of Article 370 and, organizationally, its mass party structure has been unable to combat the strong cadre-based model of the Sangh Parivar.
The winner takes it all. So is the case with the, 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections when Narendra Modi tsunami dismantled the entire opposition barring a couple of states where regional satraps still rule the roost. The mandate was not only for Prime Minister but also a referendum on Rahul Gandhi’s leadership and acceptance as a leader who cannot replace Modi. The mandate shows that people not only rejected Rahul Gandhi but also the top brass of the Congress. Has Rahul Gandhi become a liability for this grand old party? It is often asked that can Rahul Gandhi continue to successfully function as the leader of the biggest opposition party? Should he quit and make way for some other deserving candidate? Congress will also have to grapple with these issues intensely, if it wants to remain relevant in the political process. Congress will also have to grapple with BJP’s gains in every field of India’s growth as also with BJP’s political maturity. To put it neatly, Narendra Modi has defeated congress party, with a resounding mandate both in India and in their family bastion. The victory has proven that BJP’s support base is both urban and rural. It has become truly a pan Indian party, removing Congress from its hegemonic position. This change will have a profound impact on Indian politics. Veterans in the party having been sidelined are on the fence watching the doom of their party due to dynastic holds of this party. The Congress, since the demise of Mahatma Gandhi, has not managed to extricate itself from the overwhelming influence of the Nehru-Gandhi family. Non-family members like Narasimha Rao or Manmohan Singh took charge because they had the blessings of the Nehru-Gandhi family. When Narasimha Rao decided to play otherwise, annoyance from the family was quick and Sitaram Kesari, who was also ingloriously replaced by Sonia Gandhi herself, removed him. Manmohan Singh survived for ten years when the secret of his success lay in his non-assertion, which did not annoy the family.
With the creating of a new assumptive nomenclature of India, I.N.D.I Alliance, by some opposition political parties, led and sponsored by the congress party, with dots in between, as a referral idiom, for exhibiting their unity, creating the name of India as I.N..D.I.A, conveying enough doubts about their unity of purpose for which these political parties have ventured to come under one banner as an alternative not to NDA , but to Modi.
It is showing the dilemma of dots are existing between these various political parties, pretending to be one, for Modi fear. It equally shows that all these political parties are fully knowing that they cannot represent a unified India. Their dynastic bases, churned tongues and abundant corruption charges against most of them are haunting them to run from pillar to post as they did in the present case, while hobnobbing at Patna and then going for an excursion at Bangalore, followed by a similar marine drive in Maharashtra, as a sequel to drink, dine and dance, to satisfy their myopic illusion of being together for political sale amongst the people of India. Is there any buyer?
This conglomerate group of opportunist dynasty based people calling themselves as a I.N.D.I.A while trying to projecting themselves as replacements to Modi and his NDA flock, least knowing that these people are already identified by the masses of India about their intentions by gathering together under a rough banner of false and distorted unity, have almost vanished under its own weight, particularly refusing the congress party its monarchial leadership over this dotted conglomerate. So congress and its Raj Kumars etc, have lost this hope as well due to its high headedness of sorts. No cognizable political party accommodated the congress party with seat sharing for the coming general elections. The congress party now again stands alone. They are all afraid of NDA coming back to power under the honest stewardship of Narindar Modi, who has pledged to act very strictly against the corrupt and corruption. Who does not know that the stability provided by the NDA government under the tall leadership of Modi has made India the fifth largest economy of the world from tenth position. Who does not know that Modi government has provided free food grains to people below the poverty line, expanded banking facilities to the poor, along with dealing with the COVID pandemic, with great success when India not only produced a vaccine for its own use but also met the needs of many countries of the world.
If the age old congress party has to survive and come back in visible and corruption free political scenario of India, its leaders across the country shall have to tell the ” Gandhi;s” of congress to stay away from it as its masters and mentors and allow it to be “Gandhi’s “Mukat” Congress”. If it is not done, then this country will be a country with “Congress ” Mukat” Bharat” . Probably it is the need of the hour under the present conditions of national development under Modi Sarkar, when the whole opposition in the country is in disarray. The problem with Rahul Gandhi is that he thinks he is giving Modi a spirited fight on each and every issue, and that the Congress, sooner rather than later, will be the default choice. He forgets that India has changed; the default setting has been replaced by a new political algorithm. Capturing the mind space of the voter is not a weekend game but is 24×7 live streaming.
(The author is a chartered consultant civil
engineer, passionately attached and devoted to his mother land – Jammu & Kashmir)
