Existing crisis of Congress & PM Narendra Modi's clarion call for Connecticut Mukt Bharat; These-Days 22.10.2021

These-Days national edition published my article on; 'Existential crisis of Congress & the clarion call of PM Narendra Modi's Congress Mukt Bharat' 23.10.2021

Please read and express your views #Neelam_Mahajan_Singh 

☆ There appears to be existential crisis of the Congress party. 

INC is a political party with widespread roots in every nook and corner of India. Founded in 1885, it started the first modern nationalist movement to challenge the British Empire. From the late 19th century and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement. Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Dr. Maulana Azad, Sarojini Naidu, Subhash Chndra Bose and others, directed the course of India's independence from the yoke of British colonialism. Unfortunately we in India are governed by the British imperialistic rules and clauses till date. Congress led India to independence from the yoke of British colonialism and powerfully influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements against in the British Empire in Africa and Asia. In the recently concluded Congress Working Committee meeting, Kumar Shakti Shekhar of The Times of India states, that the dissenting senior leaders of G-23 do not see any hope in the party’s revival after what its interim president Sonia Gandhi said in her opening remarks; that she is the President of the Congress party. Speaking to me, a senior G-23 member said thar what Sonia said  did not mean anything. The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty would keep a stranglehold on Congress party. “What you are seeing is a reverse of PM Manmohan Singh model of UPA. In that decade, while Dr. Manmohan Singh had the responsibility, Sonia Gandhi wielded the authority over the party and the government. Now Sonia Gandhi has the responsibility of her kids, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who are wielding the authority. The kids are messing it all up”. 

Why then the Congress is in such a scenario in all states? Except Punjab, Karnataka  Meghalaya and Mizoram, Congress is wiped out in most states. Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka want to keep full control over the party. The organisational elections would be postponed again on some pretext or the other. Even if it is held, there was no hope of a true organisational election.

Mocking Rahul Gandhi whose re-elevation as party chief is being supported by some leaders, a G-23 member said, "In a rare act of bipartisanship, both PM Narendra Modi and Sonia Gandhi are in complete unanimity that Rahul Gandhi should be the Congress president."

Sonia Gandhi’s said in CWC that the “schedule for full-fledged organisational elections is in front of all members”. Sonia is a full-time and hands-on chief. In what is seen as a rebuttal to what senior leaders like Kapil Sibal, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and P. Chidambaram have been raising about the "sorry state of affairs" in the party, Sonia said: “I am, if you will allow me to say so, a full-time and hands on Congress president." Sonia directed her remark towards the G-23 who have been demanding a transparent, hands-on, full-time and accessible party president and an overhaul of the party.

In her opening remarks, she said, “Finally, the matter of organisational elections. The entire organisation wants a revival of the Congress. But this requires unity and keeping the party’s interests paramount. Above all, it requires self-control and discipline. I am acutely conscious of the fact that I have been interim Congress president ever since the CWC asked me to return in this capacity in 2019. We had thereafter, you may recall, finalised a roadmap for electing a regular president by June 30, 2021. But the second wave of Covid-19 overtook the country and this deadline was extended indefinitely by the CWC in its meeting held on May 10, 2021. Today is the occasion for bringing clarity once and for all. A schedule for full-fledged organisational elections is before you. General secretary, K.C. Venugopal will brief you on the entire process later.” Sonia also said, “In the last two years, a large number of our colleagues, particularly the younger ones have taken on leadership roles in taking party policies and programmes to the people - whether it be the agitation of farmers, provision of relief during the pandemic, highlighting issues of concern to youth and women, atrocities on dalits, adivasis, minorities, price rise and the destruction of public sector.” She stated “Never have we let issues of public importance and concern go unaddressed. You are aware that I have been taking them up with the PM Narendra Modi as have Dr. Manmohan Singh and Rahul. I have been interacting with like-minded political parties regularly. We have issued joint statements on national issues and coordinated our strategy in Parliament as well.” Sonia hinted that she was accessible and that the internal affairs of the Congress should not be raised in the media. “I have always appreciated frankness. There is no need to speak to me through the media. So let us all have a free and honest discussion. But what should get communicated outside the four walls of this room is the collective decision of the CWC.”

To blame the Congress party of being personality centric would be fallacious. TMC of Mamata Banerjee, JDU of Nitish Kumar, BJD of Naveen Patnaik, AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi, BSP of Sushri Mayawati, Stalin of DMK and other political parties are also personality centric. What has happened in Congress is the exodus of large number of dedicated Congress members,  who could not have access to Sonia Gandhi due to private secretary Vincent George. Rahul and Priyanka are also cut off from the masses. That's the reason that they are not vote catchers. Organisational structure of the Congress party needs mass scale revamping. Leaders like Jatin Prasad, Sushmita Dev, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Jyotirditya Scindia and many more quit Congress due to communication gap and moles of Congress President. Captain Amarinder Singh, a senior leader of the Congress was humiliated. This would prove disastrous for Congress in Punjab. 

In retrospect I may say, that while Sonia Gandhi had full on opportunity of becoming Prime Minister in 2004, she listened to the 'voice of her conscious' and declined the same, despite of dramatic opposition by Sushma Swaraj of threatening to become bald and eating chanas! It's high time that Sonia Gandhi allows young and senior leaders to be able to experience their supremacy. If she holds on to power without the will of Congress members, the party will evaporate and PM Narendra Modi's clarion call of Congress Mukt Bharat will be actuaized. The cholce is of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and Congress members. 

Neelam Mahajan Singh 

singhnofficial@gmail.com 

www.neelammsingh.in 

(Sr. Journalist, author, essayist, Solicitor for Human Rights Protection, Philanthropist, Ex Doordarshan News Editor)

#thesedays #laalsitara #narendramodi_primeminister #AmitShah #SoniaGandhi #RahulGandhi #PriyankaGandhiVadra 

#AICC #CPIM #SitaramYechury #TimesOfIndia #NDTV #NDTVIndia #IndiaTV #DainikVirarjun #aalmitv #jawaidrahmani #DrSJaishankar #yuvrassingh #AICCCommunication #Inquilab #haryananewslive #StStephensCollege #Stephanian #IANS #ANI #PTI #combinedlaalsitaragroup