National

The Forked Tongue Brigade

Congressmen manage to develop doublespeak into a fine art

Advertisement

The Forked Tongue Brigade
info_icon

What is the average Congress leader’s take on party president Sonia Gandhi? Off the record, he is vociferous and ready to dislodge her/quit the party/go into political sanyas. But on record, he is sugar and maple syrup-a classic flatterer who believes that Sonia is the only answer the party has. Here are some samplings of off-the-record bravado.

  • "There’s no escaping the fact that Sonia Gandhi has lost all grip over the party. Things are bad," confides a senior CWC member.
  • "If the confusion over the party’s position on all important issues persists, our rank and file will desert us," adds a heavyweight from MP.
  • Advertisement

  • A prominent dissident adds: "What Jairam Ramesh, secretary of the party’s economic wing, says is true. There is a crisis of confidence."
  • "Sonia is a loser. The morale of the party is an all-time low," exclaims a Congress MP.

    But for the record, they rue, there is no alternative.

  • For example, Murli Deora, former MP from Maharashtra, dismisses the loud chant of protests. "She is the only one who can keep the party together. Inner party democracy is very much there." Stalwart Kamal Nath says: "One should not read too much into these rantings. She is firmly in the saddle." Says AICC spokesperson Anil Shastri: "Members are free to express their views as long as it does not clash with the Congress ideology." The party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Pranab Mukherjee, says: "Revival of the party cannot take place like instant coffee, it will take time."

    Advertisement

    It would seem that both sets of people belong to different political parties but ironically, they don’t. It is the Congress speaking in different voices and indicative of its schizoid functioning. Given the fact there is no fitting and serious contender-as yet-for the top spot, confusion and chaos reign. That the Congress of late is adrift and appears determined to self-destruct has seeped into the collective consciousness.

    In the ongoing open season for articulating discontent against the party president, Jairam Ramesh (finally made to apologise and recant) and senior Congressman Vasant Sathe have joined the growing list. In some plain-talking with a foreign magazine, Ramesh said party morale was low, and "people who saw her as a ticket to nirvana now see her as a ticket to narak (hell)". In addition, he pointed out that "if things go the way they are, the Congress will not come back to power for another 50 years".

    Barely had the dust settled on these candid admissions than Sathe, in the latest issue of Congress Sandesh, the party’s official organ, listed Sonia’s limitations. Elaborating on the "confusion and mental depression" which had gripped senior party members, Sathe once again touched on the crisis of confidence in the in-house magazine. "The party has do some hard thinking and work as a cohesive team," Sathe told Outlook.

    So is Sonia failing in her job as leader of the principal opposition party? Or are these voices of discontent necessary to allow her to take a fresh look at the party’s functioning? Though some Congressmen like Santosh Mohan Dev dismiss these outbursts as personal frustrations of individuals-brutal candour, say others-there is no hiding the fact that anger and frustration have been mounting at many levels. "The chinks were already apparent in May last year, when Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar raised the issue of her Italian origins," says a Congress MP.

    Advertisement

    After that, the party has been rocked by one upheaval after another. Leading the Congress to it worst ever electoral tally of 112 seats in the last general elections was the first. Subsequently, the party lost four assembly elections this year. Then, Sonia herself experienced the shame of having three of her handpicked candidates lose the race for the Rajya Sabha elections.

    The rumblings of discontent increased. The denial of tickets to old loyalist Natwar Singh, former party president Sitaram Kesri and senior CWC member Vijayabhaskara Reddy left many disgruntled, especially when old faithful Arjun Singh managed a nomination so smoothly. "Those who were not being heard made themselves heard by voting against the party’s official Rajya Sabha candidates," says one Congress MP.

    Advertisement

    But it’s not just Sonia’s tightrope walk on doling out Rajya Sabha tickets that have caused heartburn. Some members point out there is confusion on policy issues and inexplicable indecisiveness on parliamentary tactics. "Why have the decisions taken at the Panchmarhi session been overturned? More importantly, why have the recommendations of the A.K. Antony report not been implemented till date?" asks an MP from Maharashtra.

    His frustration is not misplaced. After last year’s Lok Sabha debacle, Sonia had commissioned senior party leader Antony to conduct a post mortem but the report has not been shown even to CWC members. Notwithstanding these problems, Sonia has also had to grapple with the vagaries of coalition politics, going against its avowed stand on sharing power with other parties.

    Advertisement

    HAVING dubbed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) as "casteist and corrupt" and having fought the assembly elections on its own, the Congress was forced to backtrack and form a coalition swiftly. Similarly, Sonia solicited Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress ahead of the next round of assembly elections in West Bengal. "How can the party do this? What kind of message are you sending down to your workers?" asks Sathe.

    Unfortunately, with the October assembly elections just round the corner, Sonia does not even have time on her side. For instance, a decision will have to be taken on the Mahajot in West Bengal. More to the point, while Pranab Mukherjee does not necessarily agree with Ramesh, he does, however, admit that it would be difficult for the Congress to come back to power. "What he (Jairam) has said is factually correct. If the present state continues in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, it would be difficult for the Congress to come back to power."

    Besides, disorder rules on the party’s economic and nuclear policies. Evidence of the slipshod way Sonia protested against the withdrawal of subsidies on food, fertiliser and kerosene by leading a delegation to the prime minister’s house on Wednesday even as Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha was making a point that non-merit subsidies had to be phased out left many red-faced. Predictably, Manmohan Singh’s call to take politics out of the growing problem of subsidies is cited as supporting Vajpayee’s contention. His statement was music to the BJP’s ears.

    But Deora insists there is no contradiction. "It is nobody’s case that subsidies should be retained at the current high level of 15 per cent of the gdp. But subsidies on foodgrains and kerosene are sacrosanct," he said. However, many feel that the Congress should have done more than hold street demonstrations, given the considerable opposition within the NDA to subsidy cuts.

    Advertisement

    Expectedly, spokespersons at 10, Janpath have dismissed the unhappiness of party leaders as the ravings of the marginalised. "Jairam was denied a Rajya Sabha ticket. His frustration is speaking," says an insider. Pulok Chatterjee, officer on special duty to Sonia, refuses to comment on the rash of outbursts. "I would not like to comment on these political matters," he says.

    So, as the Congress swings between a dilemma and a crisis, no focused efforts are being made to give it a distinct character and coherent voice. The revolts are already out in the open in crucial states like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and West Bengal. The voices are bound to get shriller. And to manage these impossible contradictions requires nothing short of a miracle.

    Advertisement

    Tags

      Advertisement

      Advertisement

      Advertisement

      Advertisement

      Advertisement

      Advertisement