If for no other reason than the fact that a functioning democracy needs a strong opposition, many of us are disappointed with the steady decline of the Congress party. Ramachandra Guha has recently argued that in the interests of the Congress and Indian democracy, all members of the Gandhi family should opt for voluntary retirement. This point has been made by others. “Dynastic politics” has been condemned by no less a person than the Prime Minister. Numerous columnists have commented on the sense of entitlement that the Gandhi family members have. Two of Guha’s points however are original and unusual. They need to be considered as important inputs in any discussion on political strategy.
Guha argues that the history of the dynasty’s legacy allows their opponents to indulge in whataboutery. Every time there is an objection to a current situation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can conveniently point out Jawaharlal Nehru’s mistakes or Indira Gandhi’s emergency. If the Congress president was not a Gandhi family member, he or she could say something along the following lines: “We respect Panditji, Indira and Rajiv. We acknowledge that they committed mistakes. They were after all human. But due weight should also be given to their positive contributions. In any event, we should now focus on current issues and not on constantly re-hashing the past”. If Rahul or Priyanka Gandhi make a similar statement, the headlines on the next day would completely lack nuance and simply read: “Rahul/Priyanka admit that their family members committed mistakes”. That in short is the crux of the problem for the Congress, so long as the Gandhis remain. In passing one can say that Guha deserves a special compliment for suggesting that the simple absence of the Gandhis will take away some of the ammunition now available to the opponents of the Congress.
Guha makes the point that instead of going with the obvious and simple slogan of “Achhe Din Kahan Hai?”, the Congress chose to go with “Chowkidar Chor Hai”. Given Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reputation for probity and integrity, this ended up as a non-starter. Once again, the legacy becomes a problem, especially in the context of the 30-year-old Bofors albatross that the Congress and the family continue to carry.
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A dangerous Leftward turn
I have another reason to support Guha’s position. The Congress has taken a dangerous leftward trend. Instead of building on the Narasimha Rao-Manmohan Singh legacy of deregulation and growth, the Congress seems to be reverting to the dismal socialism of the fifties, sixties and seventies. The personalised attack on leading businesspersons has an ominous sound to it. Students of modern Indian history cannot but think about how the poverty-enhancing Socialist Raj was built on the foundations of the vociferous criticism of the Tatas and Birlas by the Congress Socialists as early as the late forties. This intellectual trend got strengthened over the next four decades and businesspersons instead of being seen as patriotic partners in nation-building were treated as quasi-delinquents. It appears that the old wine is back in a new JNU Marxist bottle.
The spirits of VK Krishna Menon, TT Krishnamachari, KD Malaviya, and Mohan Kumaramangalam – who can be referred to as the architects of India’s Socialist poverty – must be happy that businessperson-bashing is back in fashion in today’s Congress. For some inexplicable reason, the Gandhi family seems to have bought into Leftism. Rahul could and should have chosen to imitate the business-friendly and modernising positions of his father Rajiv, rather than the statist ideology of his great-grandfather and the anti-rich rhetoric of his grandmother. If there is no change in the leadership and the public posturing of the Congress , there is a risk of the party becoming a sibling of the CPM. That, in my not-so-humble opinion, would convert a disaster into a catastrophe.
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In the interest of democracy
If one assumes that the Congress does not listen to the unpaid but excellent consultancy input of Guha and yours truly, then one can see another serious problem emerging. If the only opposition organisations left are regional parties, then there is every danger that sub-nationalism will raise its ugly head. One can think of West Bengal, Punjab, Assam and Tamil Nadu being prime candidates. Rank and file Trinamool members can increase their intimidation of northern Indian Hindustani Hindus settled in West Bengal. A whiff of secession may not be far behind. I know this sounds a tad outlandish. But let us not forget that from 1947 till 1962, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was formally a secessionist party. The silver lining from the recent assembly elections is that if the Congress stays dysfunctional, the beneficiary may end up being the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which could acquire a pan-national presence. Then the opposition space will not be confined only to regional outfits.
Dear Reader: Please don’t get me wrong. On balance, I am a supporter of the existing political dispensation, which I believe is both competent and sober. Nevertheless, in the interests of our republic, I believe it is important that we have a reasonably strong pan-Indian opposition party.
Jaithirth Rao is a retired businessperson who lives in Mumbai. Views are personal.