Earlier, after the defeat of the Congress in any State, its party president offered his/her resignation. This had happened in States like Bihar, UP, Rajasthan and Delhi, though the Congress president had not accepted their resignation for long. However, this time, nobody offered resignations after the rout in the lS polls
Apart from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, not even a single leader of the Congress is willing to take responsibility for the party defeat in the lok Sabha Elections. Sonia had also offered to resign during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. Ironically, those being held responsible by the workers, MlAs, MPs and defeated candidates are trying to save themselves.
Sources in the Congress say that not even a single Chief Minister, State president or general secretary has offered to resign.
This is the first time something like this is happening. Earlier, after the defeat of the Congress in any State, its party president offered his/her resignation. This had happened in States like Bihar, UP, Rajasthan and Delhi, though the Congress president had not accepted their resignation for long. However, this time, nobody offered resignations after the rout in the polls.
CMs like Prithviraj Chavan, Tarun Gogoi and BS Hooda are doing everything to save their chair. In fact, every Congress leader has held Sonia, Rahul and his team responsible for the defeat as they had led the election. Amid all this, party leaders in Delhi are puzzled. They are not able to understand how the regional stalwarts would be brought to the feet of the Central leadership. They are afraid that if large scale changes are made in the organisation, they might face a revolt.
Debates aplenty in Congress
Congress leaders are having debates on topics on which even whispering was unpardonable. Earlier, there couldn’t be a debate on the leadership quality of any member of the Gandhi family. But Digvijaya Singh — said to be very close to Rahul — has started a debate on the scion’s leadership quality, claiming he doesn’t have the temperament of a ruler. To this, the Congress has replied that Rahul has all that is needed to be one.
But it is not only Singh who has raised questions over Rahul. Before him, TH Mustafa — who was the leader of Kerala Congress — had said that Rahul was a joker. Rajasthan’s Bhanwar lal Sharma followed suit and called Rahul and his team jokers. Aslam Sher Khan, leader of MP Congress, said Priyanka must join active politics. In Gujarat, when the Congress organised a chintan shivir, Rahul was overlooked and only Sonia and Manmohan Singh were discussed.
Many leaders have also given statements against Rahul’s experiments, especially the one related to election in the organisation. It is also being said that officials would be nominated in the Youth Congress. It is true that Congress leaders have firm belief in the leadership only when they win and come to power.
Old problems for new Government
PM Narendra Modi is right when he says that his Government has not even got a honeymoon period. The Opposition and media have started attacking his Government. In fact, it seems that the history is repeating itself. Within a month of the formation of the new Government, problems faced by the previous Government are back to haunt it.
last April, Chinese troops had made incursions into the Indian territory after which the Manmohan Government was targetted. After the formation of the new Government, the Chinese entered ladakh’s territorial water. Not just this, China has shown Arunachal Pradesh in its official map. From Digvijaya Singh to Shakil Ahmed, almost all Congress leaders have attacked the Government on the issue. Similarly, Pakistan has violated ceasefire in Samba and Poonch sectors four times.
Another issue is inflation; prices of onion and potato have increased. Petrol, diesel and lPG cylinders have also become costlier.
Antony Committee report awaited
The Congress is waiting for the AK Antony Committee report, which will shed light on the possible reasons of the party’s defeat in the lok Sabha Elections. Antony has talked to leaders in various States. His close sources say what he has said regarding the affection of the Congress toward minority, in reference to Kerala, is true for the all-India level. Though there are many reasons for the defeat, this cause is said to be the most important from the point of view of polarisation in favour of the BJP.
Sources say the Antony Committee will mention that the majority drifted away from the Congress due to UPA’s repeated statements on Hindu terrorism, Sachar Committee etc, and this was the biggest reason why the majority vote bank was polarised in favor of the BJP. So, the Congress will try to set this right. That is the reason why the party is not very enthusiastic on reservation for minorities. Many leaders feel that after the defeat in 1999, the election report of Antony was implemented and the Congress came to power twice after that. It is expecting the same miracle this time too.
PM’s love for social media
Narendra Modi’s passion for social media continues even after he has become the PM. He has instructed all his ministers to open Facebook and Twitter accounts so they can be directly connected to people. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is helping all ministers in this endeavour. Even the MPs have been instructed to be active on social media. In the camp at Surajkund, ministers Piyush Goel and Prakash Javadekar had briefed all MPs on the same. It is being said that on the request of MPs, the party will facilitate them to become active on social media. There is another proof that the PM loves this medium — the main achievements of his Government in the past one month are being campaigned on YouTube.
Apart from this, the PMO has instructed the I&B ministry to keep an eye on Twitter trends. Probably, a team of 20 people is working on this in the ministry. Every hour, Twitter trends are sent to the PMO. The team is also said to be monitoring who tags Modi’s posts, shares and likes them.
Why delay in appointmentsIJ
While the Government is taking policy decisions quickly, several crucial appointments are stuck. Case in point is the post of secretary of Urban Development Ministry. After the retirement of Sudhir Krishna, neither was anybody appointed nor was anyone given additional charge. Generally, new names are decided before the retirement of secretaries.
Many other important posts are also lying vacant. For example, in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the vice-chairman and almost all its members have resigned, but appointments have not been made. In the same manner, the vice-chairman and other members of the Planning Commission have resigned, and the Government hasn’t decided whether it will continue it or scrap it.
Four Governors have submitted their resignation and the tenure of two is over.This means that six Raj Bhawans are currently unoccupied. Many old BJP leaders are in the queue, waiting to enter either the NDMA or Raj Bhawans, but the files of the Government are stuck.