Events & Issues
New
Delhi, 13 December 2017
New Congress President
WILL HE USHER IN CHANGE?
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
The
elevation of Rahul Gandhi to the top position of the Congress augurs well for
the party’s fortunes, which needs a dynamic leader to steer it in the right
direction. The sixth scion of the Nehru-Gandhi to take over the leadership on
the Congress, it is widely believed that he would bring about transformative
changes in the organisation and arrest its decline. Political analysts believe
that Rahul’s elevation is expected to identify the organisation with the
aspirations of a modern, progressive and democratic India.
Rahul
has become a full-fledged politician and lately demonstrated that he could mix
with the masses and win their support. His leadership qualities and commitment,
which was once suspect, is no longer being questioned. Moreover, in the coming
years his strength would lie in his steadfast adherence to idealism
notwithstanding the practitioners of realpolitic in favour of pragmatism.
However,
he would have to make the party more democratic through dialogue, discussion
and contestation of ideas without fear of political repercussions for those who
choose to express judicious dissent. The party president would have to be more
democratic and be easily accessible so that diverse views and opinions are
heard.
There
is another important role before Rahul to unify the dissenting views prevalent
among party leaders in the various States. He has to become a symbol of
leadership that is powered by selflessness and an unswerving commitment to the
party and national governance.
The
question, however, before the new chief is whether he has capacity to frighten
the leading rival party that is, the BJP and take on the various problems
created by the latter. Issues relating to political, economic and secular
matters have created lot of controversy and Rahul has to take advantage of the
fallacies of the party in power.
Firstly,
let us take the case of condition of minorities who are being terrorised and
humiliated in various ways. There is need for the Congress leadership, led by
the new president, to assure the minorities that the country is peace loving as
secularism is ingrained in our Constitution. Religion should not be allowed to
take upper hand in the running of the government as is now manifest to the
detriment of social balance.
Gandhiji’s
uncompromising belief of the need for co-existence between faiths and Nehru’s
emphasis on cultivating a modern scientific temper has to be the new approach
of Rahul so as to promote amity and social and communitarian unity. Fascist
forces – whether supported by Hindutva or Islamic forces – have to be dealt
with an iron hand by people like Rahul.
Secondly,
the recent measures off demonetisation and the GST have become subjects of
controversy as the economy has shown a downward trend. While demonetisation has
not achieved the desired objective of unearthing black money, GST has come not
in the right manner with the highest tax being fixed as high as 28 per cent,
defying all economic rationale and rarely levied in most other countries. These
have been taken up by Rahul and his sharp criticism of the government has been
accepted by the people.
There
can be no doubt that the economy is in a bad shape and the GDP growth rate may
not be more than 6.3 per cent for the current fiscal. Thus all promises of the
prime minister of ‘achhe din’
have become a joke with the condition of farmers having deteriorated in a big
way and unemployment and underemployment having increased greatly. Rahul has
already taken up these issues at the national level but there is need to
organise movements in each and every State and give more thrust to the these
vital matters plaguing the nation.
Thirdly,
Rahul has to ensure that corruption in the organisation is tackled with an iron
hand. During the UPA government, there were various scams that resulted in the
image of the Congress being tarnished to a considerable extent.
Finally,
dissent in the country is slowly being throttled virtually in all spheres by a
section that has the support and active encouragement of the establishment.
Discussion and debate has to be encouraged in a healthy society and Rahul has
to demonstrate this through his own actions. The killings that have taken place
in the past few months bear testimony to societal decline that is, no doubt, a
cause for concern in the country.
The
country is at a flux and there is cause for serious concern keeping in view the
recent developments that have taken place. The Congress party has an upper hand
in the matter and Rahul has to take full advantage of this. As Modi mania ebbs,
he has enough time to build a credible challenge in 2019. However, it needs to
be pointed out that would have to give credit to the BJP masterminds for
bringing the country to such a critical situation.
Rahul
has the leadership qualities but more maturity and dynamism would be needed in
the coming years. One way mention here that he has withstood caricature of Modi
and the BJP leadership which he tackled in a commendable manner. His rebellious
voice was initially not quite strong but over the years this has is being taken
due cognisance. The Assembly election in Gujarat would definitely show that the
Congress may not get majority but would fare much better than the previous
result.
The
future has the potential of transforming society in line with Mahatma Gandhi’s
ideals from all aspects, whether economic social and political. The new
Congress president has the onerous task of gearing the party along proper lines
to ensure a healthy social atmosphere. How much he will succeed and how
far he will be able to gear the party in not just tackling the diverse problems
but also in creating the much needed bondage among members of the community
only time will tell.
To
conclude, we need an inclusive and sustainable society which the masses very
much expect political leaders like Rahul Gandhi to steer ahead with a judicious
and rationale approach. We have to keep hope to face the challenges with
courage and determination so as to bring about transformation in society.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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