Congress on the Slippery Slope

     

I cannot bear to write off the Indian National Congress party even  in its present avatar  although the growing public outrage against the way it is toying with the Parliament is clearly visible. Yesterday was a tragic day in parliament when the grudgingly agreed debate on the Sushma-Lalit Modi matter happened. But the level to which the heated exchanges sank in the language and style was abysmal. Arun Jaitley’s speech winding up the debate was the only one which really rebutted the Congress accusations with clear references and delivered with dignity..

 I belong to a generation which grew up in the thick of the freedom struggle and completely dominated by admiration for Gandhiji and Nehru. Their only weapon against the British  was their blind faith in their cause and this was vastly infectious. They fought and won, then they laid the foundations of a durable and strong democracy. My generation read about inspiring debates between parties  in parliament where sharp differences came out into the open, there were heated exchanges but in all these the theme was the well-being of the country. Personal and party egos did not exist. The only lack of foresight on the part of Nehru and the  writers of the Constitution showed up in later years. That was their belief that all their successors would be as loyal and true to the national cause as they. History has shown how mistaken they were.

However, today, the Congress party leadership is blinded by the deep wound its ego has suffered in its humiliating defeat in the 2014 election. Much greater leaders than Sonia Gandhi have accepted defeat in parliamentary elections with better grace, perhaps because they have considered themselves as much  a part of the Indian parliamentary system as winning and losing elections. Soniaji seems to be under the mistaken impression that in order to assert her Indian-ness she has to win every round of every bout – and experienced leaders, trusted advisers like Manmohan Singh and  Antony dare not correct her. The political future of the Digvijays and the Kharges is uncertain. The in-betweens of the Anand Sharma and Gulam Nabi Azad type will hope for top leadership in a resurrected party if that happens.The young hopes like Scindia are just carried away by the excitement of the battle forgetting there is no victory for the Congress in this conflict because if they win India and its democracy lose. The entire stand-off has been reduced to the question “Are the parliamentary practices laid down by the rule books the  products of the Constitution (which indeed they are) and if so can continued disorder  and defiance of those practices be condoned when MP’s have sworn allegiance to the Constitution?” The answer is obvious. 

The Lok Sabha Speaker’s suspension of 25 Congress members was appropriate, though belated. It was laughable seeing Soniaji and her flock virtually protesting against the Constitution near the Gandhi statue outside parliament. Sheer sacrilege ! Knowing Antony and Manmohan Singh as well as I do, being party to that avoidable drama and speaking in support must have been soul-searing for them ! How the mighty have fallen!

Congress is now turning its attention to stalling Rajya Sabha proceedings. While the Lok Sabha Speaker has been showing a high degree of firmness throughout the session, presiding officers of Rajya Sabha have shown visible and audible helplessness. By the very nature of its composition Rajya Sabha has always been very orderly and debates there were meaningful and well-prepared. That is now history  as nominations to this House, as to many other  institutions, are based on extraneous considerations. The number of nominated members who are always absent except when summoned for  a vote is proof of this.

The post-Nehru period, in retrospect, marked a downturn in the life of the Indian National Congress. Bad decisions and missed opportunities have been the reasons. Nanda in two short terms and Lal Bahadur Shastri for two years followed Nehru. Shastri showed short-lived promise with his handling of the 1965 war with Pakistan. Indira Gandhi’s reign  from 1966 to 1977 was eventful for all the wrong reasons- the split of the Congress, her conviction, Sanjay Gandhi on the rampage, the Emergency, its withdrawal and the general election with Congress losing to an alliance led by Morarji.

Indira Gandhi returned to power in1980. Sanjay Gandhi died in an air crash in Delhi and left his mother in maternal distress and political despair. An unwilling Rajiv was coaxed into joining politics. !983 saw  Operation Blue Star and Bhindranwale’s  death. Indira was assassinated in 1984 and Congress was led by  an amateur politician, Rajiv, popular for his charming smile and  open nature. First impressions in India and abroad were good but  that changed as a coterie tightened its grip on Rajiv. IPKF in Sri Lanka turned into a disaster and India had to withdraw after Rajiv lost the 1989 elections trying to please the Muslims  on the one hand and promising Hindu rightists their Ram Rajya on the other. VP Singh was the next PM 1989=90 and Chandrasekhar 1990-91.The Lok Sabha was dissolved prematurely and general elections were  announced.

Rajiv was assassinated in 1991 while canvassing in Chennai. In the elections Congress managed to get enough seats to form a minority government under a retired and recalled Narasimha Rao. The  Congress enjoyed a flash of glory when the government was confronted by an unprecedented economic crisis and the possibility  of being declared in default. Between Rao and Manmohan Singh, also recalled from retirement, they led huge economic reforms which salvaged India from threatened ignominy and put it on the growth path. Rao’s 1991-96 term gave hope of restoring balance in Indian politics and economy.

              The 1996 general elections did little other than give India three Prime Ministers in                                two years and another general election in 1998. Vajpayee led an alliance but it                                      collapsed leading to yet another election in 1999. Vajpayee this time led a stronger                              alliance and lasted the full five-year term. The Congress lost two in a row.
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Sonia Gandhi became Congress President in 1998 replacing Sitaram Kesari who resigned under dubious circumstances.2004 was Soniaji’s peak political year when Congress went back into power leading UPA 1. She, of course, was the first choice for PM but in what looked like a great gesture of  abnegation she obeyed her “inner voice” and offered that position to Manmohan Singh. The loyalists in the party wept uncontrollably on hearing of this decision!

 It is logical to assume that the act of abnegation was based more on the reality of her situation than on a spirit of sacrifice, Soniaji’s sharp mind had realised that if she became PM  she would be in the frontline and the opposition would take potshots at her for the Bofors scam with its Italian connection and the HDW submarine scam over which VP Singh had resigned from the cabinet, Manmohan Singh was the ideal choice with his international standing, total invulnerability to any accusation and, of course, his gentle, peace-loving nature !

 UPA 1 and 2 followed as a  strange alliance of parties with disparate ideals. The result was a period of compromises and smaller parties influencing crucial decisions. It was coalition at its worst. The coal block allocation and the 2G scams broke out which evoked critical comment in mandatory scrutiny  which even suggested incidence of corruption at ministerial levels. The Telecom Minister Raja resigned and had to go to prison.Things got so bad that the stink touched the PM who held the coal portfolio at cabinet level. A rail scandal followed and the coal minister and the rail minister resigned.  In the light of all this there was little surprise that the Congress party was swept away in the 2014 elections and reduced to such a minority that they even had to fight for the position of official opposition with 44 members in the Lok Sabha.

Cutting to the present, Congress feels so badly whipped in the election that the party leadership, despite divisions in the ranks, is indulging in a test of its .obstructive power by disorderly , rowdy behaviour in the parliament to block vital legislation for which it claims credit at the same time. Wasted parliament time is estimated to cost the exchequer nine crore rupees each day. Public outrage is growing and there is a demand that not only should all further increases in MP’s remuneration be blocked but also that they should not be paid salary and allowances for the period of disruption.

 I started with my reverence for the old Congress party and have come full circle.I have traced the decline of the Congress and it seems to be that it started with Indira Gandhi’s clash with the organisation and the exit of the veterans from the party. Since then it has been a constant attempt to keep THE FAMILY in power at any cost and inexperienced leadership has cost the party its numerical and moral authority. The latter could still have been retained if the party had stuck to its old principles and let the members choose the leaders.

Even the depleted Congress presence in Lok Sabha has capable, potential leaders like the Anand Sharmas, Jairam Rameshs and the Scindias. There are the experienced Gulam Nabi Azads and the Digvijays and the sages, Manmohan Singh and Antony who are all strangely complicit in this nasty, unbecoming drama being played out in parliament. It is time that the younger and fitter leaders shook off the shackles of their present state of hypnotised thinking, reopened their own fresh minds, raised the voices of their conscience now in a state of stupor and planned to replace an aging  leadership with young, more potent home-grown leaders. It is true that there was a foreigner among the founders of the Congress party but to sustain a national party and give it eternal life it needs home- grown leaders with national blood flowing through their veins. Indian-ness is not enough to be Indian.

President Abdul Kalam is right when he says  there has to be a dream and that dream has to turn into action. The resurrection of the much-loved old Congress party is a dream which needs to be followed by action. In the present case, Congress has to act  without delay if it is to stem the down- slide of the party and  prevent our great Indian National Congress from turning into Indian Notional Congress.