|
Congress at the cross-roads : How to re-establish relevance |
 |
B.I. Saini
The Congress has now completed more than two-thirds of its first spell of rule at the Centre at the head of a coalition. The party has had some success in the economic sphere, with the share market booming, but this has not necessarily meant that the benefits of development have reached the aam admi (common man), whose interests the party claims are uppermost on its agenda. A recent report said that the number of the super rich is growing faster in India than in any other emerging economy. But at the same time, India fares very poorly in the human welfare index. The condition of the poor has not improved much over the years and what is more alarming is that the gap between the rich and the poor is growing all the time.
When heading a coalition arrangement, what is required is the ability to further your agenda while not treading on the toes of the allies and partners. The Congress has been partially successful in achieving a balance between its objectives and those of the other parties in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), and more crucially, the parties which are supporting the Manmohan Singh Government from outside. The Congress has had to make many compromises while pursuing its agenda of economic reforms, mainly because of the rival agenda of the Left parties.
But the most serious crisis, in a way, the Congress has faced till now is the conflict with the Left parties over the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. The Left parties have now allowed the Government to go ahead with talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on India-specific safeguards which is one crucial step in operationalising the nuclear deal, but have laid down the condition that no agreement will be signed or even initialled with IAEA without the approval of the UPA-Left political committee, which is examining the nuclear issue. Despite the Left concession, which has come as a face-saver for the Manmohan Singh Government before the international community, there appears to be very little chance of the Left parties ultimately agreeing to operationlisation of the 123 agreement with the United States. CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and other Left leaders have made it clear that there is no change in their basic position on the nuclear deal, that it is unacceptable to them.
Another major crisis which has risen is over the developments in West Bengal, especially what has been happening in Nandigram and surrounding areas. It almost appears as if the writ of the state has ceased to run and the whole administration has been taken over by CPI(M) cadres and their cohorts. While for the record, the Congress has condemned what it called the culture of violence and the cult of armed cadres in Nandigram, the Manmohan Singh Government has shown no sign of taking any step to end the mayhem. The Centre’s concern has so far been confined to “keeping a watch” over the situation in Nandigram. At the time of the Gujarat riots, the Vajpayee Government came in for criticism for not taking steps to put a swift end to the communal violence against a certain community. The Nandigram incidents may not amount to a massacre or genocide, as alleged in some quarters, but certainly a more pro-active approach was needed from the Manmohan Singh government.
With the AICC session held in New Delhi last week, the Rahul Gandhi has come to the centre-stage of the Congress. But apart from pleading for linking progress to merit in the Congress, he has not spelt out how he plans to achieve his vision of an India where young Indians can come forward to serve the country.
|
