How Rahul Gandhi wasted the opportunity that JNU fiasco created
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is known for not missing any opportunity to miss an opportunity. The role he has played at a time when the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is facing a serious criticism over the JNU fiasco is too limited. Whereas, Rahul could have really kicked off a campaign for the next set of Assembly elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha election at this time by building up on this issue.
On Wednesday, the Congress leader said: "I will speak but they [the government] will not let me speak because they are scared. They are scared of what I am going to say in Parliament so they will not let me speak." Did this remark speak of any significance? Does Rahul really want to make the JNU issue help revive his party inside and outside Parliament or is he just satisfied giving media bytes?
Congress is predicted to lose three more states: JNU gave them a rope but was it used?
The JNU issue is a very significant one for the Congress. The party, which has been pushed to the fringes across the country, could lose power in Assam, Kerala and Karnataka in months to come. That will leave the party with smaller states like Himachal Pradesh and a few in the north-east and Bihar where it is part of the Grand Alliance which is in power now. But yet, before the disaster really strikes, there is hardly any effort seen from the top leadership to boost the party's psyche.
The Congress's top leadership is ignoring two important steps at this moment.
Congress
needed
to
take
the
lead
in
forming
an
anti-NDA
coalition
now
First,
the
party
has
a
great
opportunity
now
to
lead
an
anti-NDA
coalition
by
capitalising
on
issues
like
suicide
of
Rohith
Vemula,
crackdown
on
students
in
JNU
and
the
Jat
agitation
in
Haryana.
This
is
the
time
when
the
Congress
should
have
approached
parties
like
the
BSP
and
Left
on
sensitive
issues
like
targeting
Dalit
and
Left-minded
students.
It
could
also
engage
the
Haryana
Janhit
Congress,
which
had
a
bitter
break-up
with
the
BJP
after
the
2014
Lok
Sabha
election,
in
Haryana
in
the
wake
of
the
Jat
attack
which
has
left
the
Manohar
Lal
Khattar
government
in
a
tricky
situation.
On Wednesday, the BSP raised Vemula's death issue in Parliament. Did the Congress think of backing it in both Houses of Parliament and engage with the Modi government constructively? Useless noise in the name of protest will not earn the party anything.
The Congress should have sealed an election alliance with the Left after the JNU fiasco occurred for this incident had every potential to revive the Left activism in the country.
The
party
could
have
also
used
this
opportunity
to
seal
an
alliance
officially
with
the
Left
for
the
Bengal
polls
and
moved
closer
to
AAP's
Arvind
Kejriwal.
A
call
for
unity
would
have
rattled
the
NDA
for
sure.
But
Rahul
Gandhi,
instead,
was
making
some
strange
remarks
about
his
wish
to
speak
but
facing
hindrance
from
the
government.
Nobody
will
lay
out
red
carpets
for
you
Mr
Rahul
even
if
you
belong
to
India's
'first
family' in
politics.
High
time
for
Rahul
Gandhi
to
embark
on
a
national
mission
The
other
step
that
the
Congress
could
have
taken
now
is
a
country-wide
march
to
mobilise
support
in
its
favour
by
campaigning
against
the
hyper-nationalist
sentiments
and
the
polarisation
we
all
saw
recently.
In
the
early
1990s,
Lal
Krishna
Advani
gave
a
history-making
push
to
the
BJP
by
mobilising
the
majority
support
through
his
chariot
campaign,
something
that
changed
the
political
discourse
in
India
in
later
years.
Couldn't Rahul Gandhi do something similar to raise a counter-sentiment against the majority sentiments that are being misused politically today? Given the Congress's centrist legacy, it wouldn't have lacked support had Rahul Gandhi made a move for a far-reaching march across the length and breadth of the country.
But the Congress didn't succeed in visualising anything like that. May be, India's grand-old party is too tired to make a comeback.