Dear Rahul,
I take the liberty of writing to you in response to your resignation letter.
I draw upon our earlier acquaintance nearly a decade ago. My impressions from those few meetings with you were of a leader who was more sincere than most politicians one meets and more intelligent than anyone was willing to believe.
That positive impression, however, is not the trigger for this letter. I write to you because you invoke something bigger than your party’s interest, something that speaks to me. You seek to fight “to defend the ideals India was built upon”. Knowing you, I assume this is not insincere rhetoric. You express concern that “the attack on our country and our cherished Constitution that is taking place is designed to destroy the fabric of our nation”. This is exactly what many Indians like me fear today. You acknowledge: “We will not defeat our opponents without sacrificing the desire for power and fighting a deeper ideological battle”. I couldn’t agree more.
I wish I could agree with the rest of what you say. I wish the task of fighting this battle was as straightforward as “resuscitation” of the Congress.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi wants accountability, new Congress chief will have to begin with his core team
Any serious effort to take on the current assault on the fabric of our nation must begin by facing some inconvenient truths. The fact is that the opposition, led by the Congress, failed the nation at this critical juncture in history. You say that your party fought a “strong and dignified” election. I’m afraid that is living in denial. Dignified in some respects yes, but strong it certainly was not.
True, “the entire machinery of the Indian state… was marshalled against the opposition”. But that hardly explains the Himalayan blunders that the opposition inflicted upon itself. Let me not detail here all that the Congress did not do in this election. I have done that elsewhere. Let me just say that when the nation needed a coherent alternative to the BJP, your party was distracted, self-absorbed and amateurish.
I do not know who to blame in the Congress. That is for your party and its leadership to find out. My own impression, as an outsider, is that the Congress leadership comprises many well-meaning persons, but no shared roadmap for larger good; many clever individuals, but no collective wisdom; unlimited personal ambition, but no institutional will to power. When this happens in any organisation, the top leadership must take responsibility. It would seem only appropriate that you owned up and resigned.
The solution you propose is “resuscitation” of the Congress. I’m afraid, this again misses the basic point. The Congress of today is not the party that you speak of, the party with a “profound history and heritage, one of struggle and dignity”. The party you presided over does not remind today’s Indians about Gandhiji, Nehru, Patel and Azad or the values of freedom struggle enshrined in our Constitution.
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The Congress, as it stands today, reminds the people of dynasty rule, of unbridled corruption, of assault on democratic institutions, of massacres that enjoyed political protection, not to mention unadulterated political greed. I do not blame you or any one leader for this, but it would be farcical to deny this harsh truth. Today, the opinions of a majority of ordinary Congress workers are not very different from that of a BJP worker. Not to put too fine a point on it: the Congress of today is not an expression of the idea of Congress. We cannot assume that the Congress is the solution. It is part of the problem that the country faces today.
I wish you had also acknowledged another truth: much of the solution today lies outside the Congress party. The country has considerable energy and ideas needed to take on the current challenge to the idea of India, but these are with social movements, individuals and organisations that are either not political or not with mainstream parties. The Congress is thus not the natural vehicle for this historic mission.
In your letter, you say that the “Congress party must radically transform itself”. I do not know what you mean by that. If it means a radical reshuffle of party functionaries, that is strictly your internal matter. If it means revamping the party organisation, once again outsiders like me have no business to comment. But allow me to say that the time for internal medicine is long over. I doubt if any of these would be of great relevance to the people outside your party or would prepare the Congress to take on the big challenge facing our country. I hope the opposition does not wait for the third BJP victory to realise this.
A radical transformation could mean something else. It could mean going back to the spirit and the form of the Indian National Congress as it existed during the freedom struggle. At that point, the Congress was a grand coalition bound by a single objective of swaraj. It contained within itself political parties like the Congress Socialist Party and the Swaraj Party.
Responding to the current challenge to our republic needs nothing short of that imagination. This cannot be achieved by another opportunistic mahagathbandhan. It has to be a coming together of all Indians who believe in defending the foundational values of our Constitution. As a party that secured the support of 12 crore Indians, the Congress is essential to this project, but only if it realises that the Indian National Congress of today is no longer the umbrella to create such a broad-based unity.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi needs to leave mass politics, not party presidentship
That is why I ask you Rahul, when you speak of “sacrificing the desire for power”, is it only about individuals or does it apply to the party itself? Are you and your party willing to lose yourself in the service of the historic cause that you correctly identify, to submerge the organisation into something larger? Some might call it the death of the Congress. Some others might call it a rebirth.
For me, what matters is reclaiming the republic. And for you?
Yours sincerely,
Yogendra Yadav
The author is the national president of Swaraj India. Views are personal.
In blind hatred for Modi and BJP, YY is compelled to write such trash. His praise for corrupt congress and Nehru Gandhi dynasty is shameful. He is a failed politician also. Why he is given so much space in print and so much time in TV channels, is intriguing.
I feel YY should be given some credit for speaking his mind. Since Swaraj India has announced its contesting all the seats in the coming Haryana assembly elections, he need not look to others, like the Congress, for achieving his goals. Who knows?
Dear YY,
At the outset you created credibility for your letter by bringing out dimensions of RG’s personality, that you alone seem to know. But that’s ur conjunction.
Tell me, in your life how many times you felt constitution was under attack? How many times you felt India is in danger? And what have you and likes of yours done about it.
You feel India is in danger only when your Staples, the free bees from government ate curtailed….
The Congress systematically tried to raise doubt in people’s minds. It is actually a crime against democracy to Tarnish image of SC, EC, Army, CBI.
Why, wen you say Government Machinery, let’s go to SC and charge govt about conduct of Elections….why don’t you do it?
My advice to you, ” bakwas band Karo”.
YYg, you better go back to what you do well, which is psephology. Please stop singing paeans of dumb Pappu and his family. The people know better. There is no jeopardy to the republic of India now because it is in very efficient hands, having been liberated from Scamias, cheat fund queens and scheming carpet-baggers.
In short YY is asking RaGa to dissolve Congress ,create a vaccum and hope a new political force arises with the backing of the old Congress Fat chance of that happening,he is mistaking congress actually cares for the country whereas it is amply clear that congress is only in the business of looting the public,that is a fact which even the most hard core congress men cannot deny.Congress will hold on to power whereever it can and pray that BJP makes a mistake or the electorate will grow tired of BJP ,RaGa is just in late 40’s he can wait another 10 -15 years ,till then he has all the illgotten money secured in the various Gandhi foundations to enjoy on.Right now he will leave the congress make some idiot do the donkey work in the party come back when congress has some chance to return to power
Yeah, yeah, you are so right. Sonia Gandhi did study in Cambridge university and obtained a degree in English language, even though Subramanian Swamy proved in a court of law that Sonia never had any degree in any subject. This shameless blatant liar Phirangee woman was a honest lady for you the print liars!!
The party leadership can impose desceplene on its members only when it derives the power bestowed by the trust of the people. This becomes possible only when the people believe that the leadership will take the best decisions in the interest of the people. The economical and internal and external challenges develop in the course of time and no body can foresee all. The faith that the leaders will capable of taking right decisions at the critical situations is that what makes the ordinary people desire in their struggle of life full of worries about future.
The rise and fall of the trust of the people in the leaders of ruling and opposition parties depends upon how they appear to the people. Mere analysis by intellectuals cannot change that if the people do not find that relevant to what they think. Professor Yogendra Yadav’s writing appears to be making no impact precisely because of that.
MOST OF CONGRESS MAN WILL LEAVE CONGRESS AND FORM NEW PARTY SOON SO THAT THEY CAN LIVE IN POLITICS
not just congress men – most people are shutting their mouth so that they can live!
bjp wants to make bharat not only congress mukt but simply criticism mukt… a sure sign of budding f-ism
YY.
It is a matter of joke now that Congress is still floating.It lost 80% of area states of India.It has been reduced to a regional party.It lost 16 states to BJP in 10 years.
Karnataka is at the verge of liquidation
Punjab will follow suit by formation of a new party by captain soon.
Sachin Pilot may join BJP wil his group like Goa and form Govt with help of BJP from outside
J M Scindia will be CM of MP with help of BJP soon
ChhatishGarh will boost BJP for 5 more years when the same farmers who are reduced to penury by false promise of 2500.-00 PQ of paddy now seeling at 1200.00 PQ to Odisha state traders .Farmers are crying by non purchase of paddy by Congress Govt.Law and order collapsed.Maoists and Naxalites hold teh state at ransom
Why can’t the BJP and its admirers don’t like anybody who criticises the PM? Shri Narendra Modi has won with such a massive majority that his admirers should not worry about criticism of the party or its leader.Let all these people remember opposition to the ruling party is essential for democracy to succeed in this country.
NONE is defensive Protective about MODI.He is under scrutiny by all his supporters admirers always. He faces all sorts of Brickbats from 2002.WE are not his stooges or slaves like congressman are of Dynasty.
Modi has done good fro country and the opposition should admire him when he does good and if he does wrong or falters criticism him but a blatant opposition makes him hero among people which he is not .
I still remember someone’s comments on your earlier post that “YY writes”….. Mr Yadav you described Khongress as ”
The Congress, as it stands today, reminds the people of dynasty rule, of unbridled corruption, of assault on democratic institutions, of massacres that enjoyed political protection, not to mention unadulterated political greed.”
Even though you think that Khongress can capture public’s imagination….. You have contradicted yourself in the article about idea of India……. And what not Khongress has done to the country under the same Gandhi’s tutlege of 10 years rule…. I may agree here that what BJP is doing here is ditto copy of Khongress in terms of politics only….. Whereas delivery of implementable social welfare schemes, the BJP is far ahead of Khongress….. People are not fool that only hindutva has given BJP rather Modi a second term….. Antipathy to whatever connected with Modi is the biggest failure of Khongress…. Which all Khongress politicians have not understood even after crushing defeat…. Including you and Liberads Selective Leftist Lutyens media also…. Psephologist may be good political commentator but not good politicians…..
Surprising that Yadav finds ‘intelligence’ in him more than people were willing to give him credit for”; a man who can go about seriously saying things like Gabbar Singh Tax ( for GST), “Khao Commission Rao ( For KCR), and such inane and silly acronyms worthy only of a Primary schoolboy, and alleging that “Modi has stolen 30,000 crores from the people of India and has handed it over to Anil Ambani” !!! Time for someone to assess Yadav himself.
God, what a fall for the man of such stature like Yogendra Yadav …. his hatred for Modiji and BJP has reduced him to be another bhakta of dynast Raghul Gandhi. His description of the dynast to be sincere and intelligent is obvious in National Herald. It is wise for Yadav to join congress and promote and popularize the sincerity and intelligence of Raghul Gandhi and thereby Yadav also can prove his own intelligence as well.
One can dislike Modiji and BJP but such dislike should not ruin once own intelligence and independent thinking capacity as proved by the NEW BHAKTA of Raghul Gandhi – Yogendra Yada. All the best Yadav Sir
what utter rubbish! Yogendra, are you being paid by the BJP or are you constitutionally stupid? after your stunt of asking voters in Delhi to vote NOTA, and your subsequent rhetoric, not against the sitting power that is well on the way to becoming hegemonic, but against the remnants of the only party that stands between BJP and one party rule, all one can say is bravo!
Yogendra Yadav should offer himself to be the President of Congress and implement the ideas mentioned in this letter. Rahul has resigned and gone and there is no point in writing letter to him. As he takes over, Yogendra will realize that all the Congressmen and women would have left the Congress beehive and migrated to greener pastures in BJP. He can then merge Congress with Bharat Abhiyan and continue his relentless struggle to save and nurture the idea of India Republic.
That’s right
Will that be possible for Rahul or ‘His’ Congress to do what Yogendra ji proposes? Does the author really believe or even imagine that Congress of the day is at all capable of reclaiming it’s past glory? Congress has virtually killed itself .
When it started ruling India, BJP (the Bhartiya Jansangh) was yet to born. When it was stearing the great movement of India’s freedom, even the RSS was in a different mission altogether.
And compare it today – where is the Congress. It does not even know it’s offices in the remote cornerd of the country. It did not do anything for the organization – it’s youth wing, students wing, mahila wing and many other allied organisation. Decades together anybody felt proud to be called a Congressee.
I remember – form my Parliamentary constituency Madhu Limaye and George fought once upon a time. Each of them would come at my house to convince and my grandfather would tell he will go with Congress – ‘after all it is Nehru’s party – he would say. This continue throughout his life even during Indira’s time. Of course, He did not live to see the emergency. But my father did and since then our family was disillusioned. And this is the story of not my family but my huge village. I assume the same happened to most of the families of the country. Almost everybody participating in doing anything for the country once upon a time was a congressman. Slowly it was becoming a stigma to be called a Congressee. During JP movement at least in Bihar Congressmen were afraid and fearful of their own electorate …. And the Congress became more and more away from its public and from its own cadre. Power became the only goal and everything from cadre to public were kept on margin. An entire new generation saw and felt Congress to be dynast, autocrat and even corrupt. And in between RSS and BJP nourished this generation and snatched the soil beneath its feet.
And now, Congress, as it is today, does not have the minimum credibility to lead any movement whatsoever. It will take lot of time to regain that credibility. So given the situation, the movement proposed by the author is very difficult to be led by Congress.
But it is not impossible. Within merely three years from 1977 when Congress was wiped out from the country and had the sigma of emergency too, Indiraji bounced back heavily! So? What can be concluded out of this?
India forgives everything if it sees a real Coming Back!
No party has the glory of History that the Congress has. No party has the spread of Geography as well which the Congress has. But no party has as poor the Chemistry as the Congress has.
It needs a huge stroke – ek jor ka jhatka – to wake it up.
Firstly, There has to be a person who really Commands – like the yesteryears of High command! Secondly, there has to be strictest of Discipline, which is seriously lacking. Thirdly, the grassroot politicians and works be heard, respected and recognised. Fourthly, internal democracy is to be restored and established and Fifthly, the cadre and the electorates be educated of the great history of the party.
Congress does possess capable people. They have to be brought to occupy the front bench, given the respect and a full free hand to handle and take risks. It has huge historical task to perform and more huge accountability towards the nation. It is upto it to identify, recognise and proceed!
Congress can be revived from ashes if the leadership passed unto Young leadership like Scindia Pilot Jitin Prasad and Deora.
Rahul Gandhi should retire gracefully to Italy.
Sonia Gandhi should keep her funds intact to fight elections.
Amarinder Singh be made INC President and handed over baton by Rahul Gandhi himself.
Slavery flattery be banned
This is the tyranny of the the well connected, inflicted upon the voiceless. So far, Shri Yogendra Yadav has proved himself to be a failed politician. Why does media give him so many opportunities to express his views? Is it because he is well known to the editors and lives in Delhi?
Actually every reasonable person would be failure politician in today’ Corrupt political system. Does it hurt to listen views of such an intellectual ?
Armchair intellectual you mean? No doubt his technical analysis in psephology is of high quality, but he doesn’t have fresh political ideas. What’s he willing to do for the country? Is he Jai Prakash Narain? NO. Does he have the slogging capacity of Jagan Rao? NO. This intellectual couldn’t survive even a few months in AAP. A wannabe political leader who has failed miserably, is now out giving advice to Rahul Gandhi. Mr. Ghosh is right. If YY has any gumption why doesn’t he go and meet Sonia Gandhi and offer to form an alliance with his vision of Congress?
1. This is a thought-provoking letter. Question is this: do Rahul Gandhi and his family members care for what individuals like Yogendra Yadav think about Congress party’s future? 2. Citizen-voters like me who believe that the Congress party has a future as a centrist (to be precise, left of the centre) political party, wish that senior Congress leaders should make viable plans to reorganize the party. 3. I feel that as and when new Congress Working Committee (CWC) is formed, Smt Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Ms Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra should ideally be not part of CWC. This would be better future of the Congress party and also for ensuring internal democracy in the party. 3. We citizen-voters wish that new Congress President would explain (a) his ideas of democratic India, (b) his strategy to defeat RSS & BJP on ideology and (c) whether and how the Congress party would redraft its economic agenda (which merely talks about increasing income of the poor but does not provide a viable to do that) and its secular agenda which is being questioned for its over-dependence on votes of poor Muslims.
Dear Yadav, …. …… not only Rahul leave but he should take his mother and sister along with him. Sonia Gandhi should hand over keys to the purse to up and coming Congress leader. The new leader should get rid of these octogenarian leaders sitting at key positions and misleading Congress Party.
Cheers…