It may be a repetitive statement but still holds good. The face of the leader is the one that prevails as the face of the party. Rahul Gandhi further queered the pitch by expressing his desire to become the Prime Minister of this country, if his party gets a majority. Though the idea was insurmountable, his party egged him on.
Rahul is a nice man, but I have viewed him as a reluctant leader, the responsibility thrust on his shoulders much to his dislike, apparently by his mother, Sonia. His elevation as the nominated president of Congress party itself may not have gone well with his senior party leaders. Break-up of the party on leadership issues, after all, was institutionalised by his grandmother Indira Gandhi.
No party should be dynastic and carry a Gandhi name an automatic route to its throne. The leader of the Congress party, often the leader of the opposition in the Parliament, is an alternative to the leader of the ruling party aka the Prime Minister of India. The position demands men of extraordinary calibre, not merely being a leader but a statesman understanding the nerve and ethos of the nation.
Notwithstanding the rabble-rousing incumbent Prime Minister, Mr Modi, a comparison between the two is normal, and both may have their positive and negative qualities. What matters is the sum of all such attributes, which weighs in favour of Modi.
Congress party has erred, its leaders blind and its cadres clueless, when it comes to supporting Rahul and the Gandhi’s. One is to show sympathy to the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, the slain former PM and another is to hand over the reins of the party to her. Rahul, by his periodical and mysterious disappearances from the country sans his assigned bodyguards, has not let his image build suitable for a prime minister of a great nation.
I must hasten to add that Rahul has matured over the years, but still needs grooming and trying his hands with less cumbersome positions, than aspiring to be a PM. Congress could do well to introspect and find a new face, which will infuse fresh breath and life into the comatose party.
Sycophants from within the party would never let these things to happen and would hold on to the status quo until the breathing stops, and they help turn into reality the dream of Modi in transforming India into Congress-free. Mizoram and Puducherry are small and inconsequential, and the Congress party has only Punjab as its last noteworthy citadel, which may not be sufficient to further the ambitions of the Congress President or its members.
We are too bloody slow and to an extent defiant, forgetting that a vibrant opposition is the next best position for a party not in the majority. It is said that the best is often the worst enemy of good, and that’s what the grand old party is suffering from right now.
May good things happen in India and its democracy!
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix
