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| Rahul a failed politician, can't revive Congress | | Alternative In The Offing | | Rustam
JAMMU, Sep 15: "The reputation of the Congress party and the Government has taken a beating. The Government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh and the party leadership was very inept in dealing with the situation created by Anna Hazare movement against corruption. It was seen fumbling. In fact, it fumbled. It showed immaturity by moving from a tough stance to total surrender showing cracks in its ranks and inability to understand ticklish political issues and responding to the situation on the ground. The UPA is not keen to tackle corruption and Sonia Gandhi will also have to take a call on building up second line of leadership in the party so that the responsibilities at present shouldered by her can be shared by others. The unfortunate part is that the reputation and image of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh which was a great asset in the last elections has been dented and an impression has grown that he has allowed his colleagues to indulge in actions which led to scandals connected with allocation of two G spectrum and management of Commonwealth Games. It will take a lot of action and image building to wash away the taint connected with these scandals and it appears quite impossible. Economy under the UPA is under strain with inflation running in double digit and food prices rising at a pace which is hurting not only the poor but also the middle class. The Delhi blasts have magnified the Manmohan Singh government's woes. The Congress and the UPA have failed to respond to deep disquiet even among its supporters and anger among its opponents is also growing. The list of the government's lapses is a lengthy one. While the scams underlined its ethical and governance deficit, as Chidambaram once acknowledged, the economic slowdown and rising prices have conveyed an impression of a paralysed government unable to take a decisive step. The government's problem is that the increasingly vocal middle class has turned against it and the Congress, first, on the issue of corruption and now on terrorism. The slogans raised against Rahul Gandhi when he visited a hospital to see the victims of the September 7 Delhi High Court blast testified to this anger and disenchantment. Apart from eroding the political ground from under the government's feet, the impact of the two issues on the economy can be fatal. Just as sleaze has deterred investors, so has terror. The social scene has come under strain because a section of urban middle class can fall prey to propaganda about the government being soft on terror".
These are not my views. These are also not the views of the non-Congress formations, although a number of non-Congress formations do share these views and denounce the Congress and the UPA. These are the views of independent writers and commentators. In fact, these are the views of some of the leading and sophisticated commentators known for their pro-Congress and pro-UPA leanings. And, the views they have expressed constitute a candid reflection on the Congress and the UPA and their shrinking support-base, unpopularity and the very adverse response they have been evoking from the people unhappy with the system of governance, foreign policy, economic policy, social policy, stand on terrorism and their soft approach towards those seeking to cause another communal partition of the country.
The upshots of the whole argument these pro-Congress commentators have advanced is that they are convinced that both the Congress and the UPA have fallen from grace; that it's advantage BJP and some regional outfits; and that if the Congress is to be revived and the UPA to win third time in a row, then Sonia Gandhi, who might not be able to "guide" the Congress and the UPA for a few months as she is still recuperating, has no other option but to give a larger role to her son Rahul Gandhi. The suggestion that Rahul Gandhi can be the steersman or that he alone can revive the Congress shows that the pro-Congress commentators have not reality felt the people's pulse. Rahul Gandhi has not clicked. He doesn't know what to speak, where to speak and how to speak and when he does speak, he lands himself into a serious controversy forcing the "flunkies" and "sycophants" in the party like Abhishek Manu Singhavi, Digvijay Singh, Rashid Alvi, Manish Tiwari, to mention only a few, to come to the rescue of the isolated and under-attack Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi has not clicked despite the fact that the entire Congress party, the entire UPA and the bulk of the Indian media tried their level best to project his image and create an impression that he was a credible alternative to the "failed" Manmohan Singh. Nor would he ever click and win over the politically conscious Indian constituency because he doesn't have any political acumen and because there is disconnect between him and the people as a whole. Besides, he has angered the majority community by airing outrageous views. For example, he has said, "the Hindu terrorism is more dangerous than the Islamic terror". Not only this, his company with the likes of Digvijay Singh has created among the people hatred for him. Even otherwise, Rahul Gandhi has failed as a politician. The Congress would commit a grave blunder if it puts all its eggs in the Rahul's basket.
One thing is more than evident: The Congress and the UPA would surely bite dust as and when general elections are held. In other words, an alternative to the Congress is in the offing. |
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