Anil Anand
For supporters he was the rock-star, for having thrown the cat amongst the pigeons, and for political rivals he was the usual stuff of ridicule questioning his “sense of history” and “perception of India”. The hard-hitting speech of former Congress president, Rahul Gandhi initiating debate on the President’s address, in Lok Sabha, had a stirring effect both in the supporting and opposition camps for obvious reasons.
As Mr Gandhi rose to deliver his opening speech to set the debate rolling, the most gleeful must have been the packed Treasury Benches as they fancied their chances to question his wisdom and pour scorn through their interpretation of what he said or meant. Of course, ably backed by the ruling dispensation’s well-greased social-media network!
The rivals ( read ruling Benches) jeered, the supporters ( read Congress and supporting parties) cheered as Mr Gandhi went ballistic questioning policies of the Narendra Modi government-both on the domestic and international fronts. He had his task clearly cut out that is to rattle the government and the ruling party, and at the same time give a push to the sagging morale of his own-party-persons in the midst of all important five state assembly elections and a reason to cheer for the opposition unity.
At the end Mr Gandhi proved the famed dictum- you love him or hate him but you could not ignore him. Anyone even if tried to feign ignorance of having missed the point in his address, could have only done out of political reasons and not otherwise.
Well, it will be out of place to say that his performance was anywhere near rating him as the emergence of a deft parliamentarian. Nowhere near that, nevertheless, he was able to break the jinxed mindset- more among his own Congress colleagues and opposition parties and less in the ruling NDA- which lets no opportunity go to snare at him and raise questions over his competence. Mr Gandhi must bear in mind that he has hit the proper chord but he still has miles to go.
What did Mr Gandhi say to target the government? According to him the ruling BJP’s wrong policies have united the country’s enemies- China and Pakistan- and the threat is imminent, adding: “The BJP was fiddling with things they don’t understand.” Of particular significance was his reference in this context to the developments in Jammu and Kashmir since August ,2019 which he implied was one of the reasons behind Sino-Pak coalition against India getting stronger.
He hit at the core of the Modi government’s decision making and put forth two competing visions of India. First that of a Union of States, where decisions are taken through conversation and negotiation- a partnership of equals and the other of a rule by a “Shahenshah’s” diktat- a clear dig at Mr Modi’s style of functioning which he felt has not worked in the last 3000 years, and at the same time reach out to the divergent states.
Not leaving it at that, Mr Gandhi claimed that India was currently facing internal and external threats. This situation has arisen as the BJP government is under the illusion that India was a kingdom and not union of states. And he went on and on levelling plethora of charges against the government’s handling of national and international affairs.
Mr Gandhi’s strong disposition has the potential to cement his position within the Congress, not unless he shows grit and determination either to lead or let someone else do the task, but it has caused reactions some expected and others totally on unexpected lines. The most unexpected- though in not as many words- reaction came from some of the opposition parties vying with Congress to become the pivot of opposition unity to take on Narendra Modi’s might in 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Ironically, the Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister, buoyed by the impressive assembly election victory against BJP, Mamta Banerjee chose the same day to give air to aspirations to make her party a national entity before the next general elections. “The Trinamool Congress will contest the Parliamentary elections in 2024 from the state of Uttar Pradesh,” she said while making her intentions clear to take on the BJP at the national levels in 2024.
Many other regional satraps chose to remain silent on the developments as an interesting nugget came from none other than DMK chief and Tamil Nadu chief minister, MK Stalin. Responding to Mr Gandhi’s address, he thanked him “on behalf of all Tamils”.
“I thank you on behalf of all Tamils for your rousing speech in the Parliament, expressing the idea of Indian Constitution in an emphatic manner,” tweeted Mr Stalin, whose DMK is a Congress ally. “You have voiced the long-standing arguments of Tamils in the Parliament, which rest on the unique cultural and political roots that value Self Respect,” he further said.
Well, it is apparent that uncertainty continues to loom large over opposition unity. While Mr Stalin openly came out in support of Mr Gandhi or Congress, there are others in the opposition camp that will still prefer to wait and see how the party and its leaders performed in the days and months to come or whether they come out of inertia or not . One thing is clear that Mr Gandhi has no option but to seize this opportunity or else it will be yet another opportunity lost.
The significance of his hard-hitting address also lay in the fact that though the ruling benches lost no opportunity to ridicule him, nonetheless they confronted him through a battery of ministers, led by External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, chief ministers and MPs. They launched a no-holds-bar attack on him from questioning his dynastic credentials, sense of history, to seeking an apology for his remarks targeting Election Commission and judiciary.
Joining the bandwagon to take-on Mr Gandhi were Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Prahlad Joshi who called him “a confused and mindless leader who says India is not a nation and has all praise for China”, Union Law Minister, Mr Kiren Rijiju demanding an immediate apology from him for his remarks about certain constitutional bodies and last but not the least Minister of State for Electronics and IT Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Mr Gandhi has rightfully kick-started a debate rather stirred a hornet’s nest. As leader of the premier opposition party he has validly questioned the Government’s policies which are woefully short of people’s expectations and the mismatch between the promises made and the delivery.
This debate must go on and the onus would lie on the Congress, if its leaders and rank and file could match Mr Gandhi’s aggressive posturing to carry the spirit forward. At the same time he must use this opportunity to open a dialogue with regional parties and their leaders on the all important question of federalism, which he rightly raised in his address, to arrive at some kind of a common meeting point to wage the battle against the ruling regime.
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