Questions raised

• The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s top decision-making body, assembled for an online meeting on 24th August 2020 to discuss the issues raised in a letter sent by 23 top party leaders to Sonia Gandhi. Now there are some questions that come up on points reportedly raised and their stand.

Whether they are united in their agenda?

• They are a group of leaders who have grievances, disappointments with the present power centre at the top. Some may be uncomfortable with Rahul’s style and approach, others may have felt a distance from the top leadership as they are unable to freely access and communicate. 
• The roots and causes may be different but they had a common ground. Many of them may be well-intentioned. It is right they are taking initiative for discussion. But they are wrong in most of their assumptions, presentation.

“Youth are losing confidence” 

• But the truth is that youth are very confident about Rahul. They are only losing confidence with obstructive dissenting leaders, most of whom are rootless, egoistic with deceptions, illusions on their role/ image.

“Uncertainty and drift” 

• It is only these leaders who are adrift. The party is not drifting except for the seasonal ups and downs in its fortunes that too against extraordinary forces of fascism.
• When you choose a President, they have a right to decide the timing to act on issues with the assistance that is available. That includes corrective actions to set right the organization in the short term or long term. 

“Honest introspection”

•  The latest CWC meet lasted 7 hours. Does it not prove them wrong. How many parties have such introspection, discussions? That too with periodical leakages of information to the media. The leadership is not perturbed but responses of dissenting leaders do not appear so. 

“Call for visible, active, effective leadership”

• The only leader who is visible, active, effective is the person who relinquished the President’s post. Have they stopped any of these leaders or others in undertaking such jobs on the field? Some of them are doing their roles within their ambit, for the benefit of the party and the country. Otherwise, many of them are silent, inactive Dr.Dolittles and embark on adventures rarely. If they do, it is to create a crisis or solve it.

“Collective leadership”

• They praised Gandhis for their contribution as a parting gift and made a passing request for their association as part of collective leadership. They are generous to extend this gift for the mass support that Gandhis still enjoy among the party and the people and also for sacrifices and credibility they have earned.
• It appeared more as their ‘collective demand from leadership’. They perhaps want some inclusions in CWC and other bodies of INC and more specifically some exclusions with whom they are not comfortable.

Are they representing the majority view?

• Not really. They just want to portray their opinion and ideas as views of the majority. Some like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Veerappa Moily may genuinely have fear, anxiety, disappointments in some of the issues about the party. Despite that, they are not reflecting the majority view on matters raised in their letter.
• Some of them are trying to convert a strong chorus within the party for Rahul’s return as Congress President, as unrest against vacuum and for filling it with a non-Gandhi leader as President. Rahul was the first to ask for it. If they could not convince other leaders it not his fault.

Elections – Limited democracy

• The letter called for elections to pick the members of the Working Committee – the highest decision-making body of the party. It is a surprise that these leaders have called for elections only to CWC and not to any other part of the organization to really rejuvenate it at all levels. 
• The CWC election they demand will also be a farce partly as they are again going to be elected by leaders who were really a product of nomination or selection or negotiated election at every level with group bargains. Perhaps this kind of limited democracy and unlimited indiscipline helps ‘experienced leaders’ to sustain their hold and power.
• It is also reported in media recently that “Rahul Gandhi has been genuinely striving to democratise the party in the past 15 years with to no avail. Some call Rahul Gandhi’s insistence as “silly experiment” in hushed voice.” It is perhaps thwarted as the election of mass leaders will make many of the present leaders irrelevant.
• Here the call of Priyanka in the recent CWC meet is significant. She said ‘the membership drive for Congress should be both physical and online.’ So perhaps, the choking the growth starts from the base as uncontrolled independent voices of members may destabilize present hierarchy at lower levels. 
• Congress has enough leaders at the top to tackle all kinds of problems and issues. What is really needed is organizational growth and rebuilding nonexistent or partially alive structures at the ground level. They are dwarfed and stunted more or less deliberately. That is the bitter truth that many may find difficult to digest. 
• It is not that they cannot find a way to conduct totally open membership drives and truly democratic elections, with the kind of facilities now available. We can make advanced satellites and send them to Moon and Mars with precision but cannot conduct democratic elections within the party or the country. It is ridiculous.

Endnote

• There is a lot of fake propaganda and lies that are spread about Rahul. The Congress leaders have also fallen for it. People invariably suffer from ‘herd mentality’. They refuse to go by their own logic and reasoning but blindly believe majority opinion. There is a need for a deeper analysis of the facts and characters involved. No one has time for it.
• Rahul does not defend himself. He perhaps totally believes that truth will establish itself. But we find lies and propaganda are only taking root with great help from the media. How many Congress leaders if not others defend him. When there is no defense, how one can pass a judgment based on one-sided views.
• Why don’t people understand that being amiable and friendly, without dislike or hatred is a positive sign? Why one has to be a cut-throat politician or a thug or a mercenary?
• Let us not bother about a few who brand Gandhis as a privileged class.
• Let us be privileged to be led by people with a good heart and proven DNA. 
• Some get nasty by calling them a dynasty.
• We may ignore such people. They are ignorant or incorrigible.