Congress Plenary Session in Hyderabad

Just a bhajan-mandali for Rahul Baba
From Our Correspondent

The only concrete outcome of the grand tamasha of 82nd Congress Plenary session for which arrangements were made on a grand scale by the State Andhra Pradesh Congress Party was actually a stage-managed show for the ascendancy of Rahul Gandhi to the throne. It may have enthused the party leaders and workers but everything else of interest to the nation got sidelined and the more serious and urgent political issues did not come up in the session.

It was part of a strategic plan of Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s advisors to show as if it was a cry from party workers from every State to declare Shri Rahul Gandhi as the crown prince to the dynastic Congress crown. The whole session turned into a bhajan-mandali for Rahul Baba as Congressmen—seniors and leaders alike—in a chorus, competed with each other in shouting themselves hoarse for the Nehru-Gandhi family. It became amply clear that not much has changed in the party’s unique family-centric culture.

It seems to be a sponsored media hype to blast off Gandhi junior’s stranded political career; but it failed to ignite. How real was the cry also became clear from the absence of any overt expression of dismay when Shri Rahul Gandhi played his rehearsed role by saying that so far I have been learning and will continue to do so for some time more.

But the great Raja Arjun Singh who once dreamt of ascending the PM’s throne on the crutches of uncompromising devotion to Nehru-Gandhi family has finally surrendered. He now prefers to serve as a humble courtier at the great Madam’s durbar. Lately, he said Congress was “very weak” at present (despite Sonia’s leadership!) and “there was need for Rahul Gandhi to help strengthen the organisation and Sonia Gandhi’s hands. We should not forget that to continue in the Cabinet he needs Madam’s favour to get re-elected to Rajya Sabha in March-April.

Yet, Rahul Gandhi left the door open for future and there are no two opinions that the chair of leadership of Congress will be kept warm for the fifth generation of this family. Priyanka Gandhi, the next in line of succession to the Gandhi-Nehru family throne, kept herself away to make people miss her presence and not to take the sheen off the limelight on her brother.

Even as the Hyderabad Session got underway, dark clouds were gathering on the horizon for the party. Its coalition government in Karnataka was destined to collapse and the party president Smt. Sonia Gandhi who had not yet come out of the Volcker Committee shock, found herself under attack on the Quattrocchi issue.

The party was also on the mat over the telephone tapping issue, but the Karnataka crisis was the latest headache. Congress was charged with having failed to follow the principles of coalition dharma and had not learnt any lessons from the past. It has not yet accepted the reality of coalition politics and its nostalgia for one-party rule was manifest when Sonia Gandhi said, “There is no doubt in my mind that though we run a coalition government, we must at the same time strengthen our party at all levels”.

In this context the political resolution expressed concern about the weak position of Congress in many northern as well as southern States where the party has been in opposition for long. For such States, especially Uttar Pradesh, both Smt. Gandhi and Shri Rahul Gandhi tried to revive deflated spirits by exhorting party workers to defeat the same political opponents whose government they are supporting at present. Therefore, it was not surprising that Congressmen seemed reconciled to their insignificant role in UP.

Plenty was also said on the thorny relationship with the Left parties, the key supporters of Congress-led UPA. Without taking names, the political resolution reminded the Left parties of their duties. Congress played the role of a big brother by warning all other partners of UPA that they should avoid criticising the government publicly for their political interests.

The economic resolution clearly reflected Congress’s lack of commitment to economic reforms. It assured the Left parties that profit-making Navaratnas would not be sold and the process of disinvestments will go towards the social sector. Congress chose a safe path on disinvestments because it is an issue sensitive for the Left.

The Hyderabad session of Congress was under a dark cloud for the absence of prominent senior leaders. Chief Minister of Uttaranchal Shri Narayan Dutt Tiwari and the senior-most leader from West Bengal Abdul Gani Khan Choudhary were absent. Shri Tiwari was annoyed for being not included in the Congress Steering Committee while Shri Choudhary was missing because Madam was not in favour of ‘Mahajot’ for which Shri Choudhary had worked hard.

Whatever the outcome of Hyderabad session, it is undeniable that the present is critical for the party and its future looks grim. Three of the five States going to polls are ruled by the party and Congressmen themselves are unsure of retaining them. In the two non-Congress States, the party is in no position to capture West Bengal, while Tamil Nadu holds no hope of bringing cheers to the UPA and Congress.