Sir — This refers to the article, “No road to recovery in sight for the Congress” (January 19 ) by Balbir Punj. Congress leaders are in a relaxing mood, let them enjoy. They ruled the country nearly for a decade, which was the worst one ever.
Our economy is in doldrums precisely because of their extravaganza. Even earlier, Congress rule was no good. Jawaharlal Nehru and his socialism, put the country under enormous economic strain. Indira Gandhi started off well, but fell to the temptation and imposed Emergency. She also ruthlessly assaulted the Sikhs ego by operation Blue star. However, she deserves full credit for Pakistan’s defeat in 1971.
Her son, Rajiv Gandhi, too started off well but lacked the knowledge and experience to rule a big country like ours. He committed a big blunder by getting involved in the Sri lankan war and paid the price for it.
On the whole, we see that the Congress ruled the country not because it was good but because there was no one to challenge it. Presently, there is no one who can lead the Congress because the party is still in dynasty mode. If it dethrones this dynasty, then there is a possibility for revival.