Congress dilemma on role for Rahul continues

New Delhi, Dec 30: Even as speculation persisted all through the year 2006 about Congress MP Rahul Gandhi being inducted into the AICC, through the Congress leadership appeared to be in a dilemma, unable to decide the role to be assigned to him in the party set up.

Amid the pressures from a section of the Congress workers across the country for launching Mr Rahul Gandhi wholehog in the national politics, and the varying suggestions from senior party leaders for some responsibility to be entrusted to him either in the party or in the Government, the Congress High Command kept postponing the matter waiting for the right moment to take the decision.

The initial reaction of Mr Gandhi to the demand for his playing a more active role in national politics left no one in doubt that the young MP was reluctant to take the plunge and that he was content performing the role of an MP, nursing his constituency in Amethi. Mr Gandhi, being seen by many as the future Prime Minster, visits his constituency occasionally and interacts with the people there, often attacking the Mulayam Singh Government for its alleged non-performance.

However, what fereaged the speculation about his joining the AICC as a General Secretary was Congress President Sonia Gandhi's open praise of Mr Gandhi's ability as a campaign manager for her in a by-election in her Rae Bareli Parliamentary constituency, which re-elected her as an MP with a massive margin, as also her indication that he would be given some responsibility in the party shortly.

Speculation about Mr Gandhi were further fuelled when Railway Minister Lalu Prasad,during his visit to Varanasi recently, expressed the view that Mr Gandhi should be projected as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in the Assembly elections to be held early next year. However, the Congress did not take the suggestion of its RJD ally seriously.

Meanwhile, the long-pending reshuffle of the AICC to fill up the vacancies caused by some of its office bearers shifting to the Government as Ministers is repeatedly being put off as the proposed reshuffle is linked to Mr Rahul Gandhi likely to be inducted as a General Secretary. According to indications available the reshuflle and the simultaneous induction of Mr Gandhi into the AICC is unlikely to take place until after the Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.

The year passing by was an eventful one for the ruling Congress party. The Congress appeared to be confident of completing its five year term in power, having already been half way through it.

Barring the TRS which quit the UPA on Telangana issue,the ruling Congress Party during the year in question managed to keep its flock of UPA coalition partners together. In spite of the occasional pinpricks by the Left parties,supporting the Government from outside, the Congress managed to ensure its continued support to keep the UPA Government going.

The Congress-led coalition Government in Karnataka fell making the way for a JD(S)-BJP coalition Government while the Congress lost another of its party-ruled state, Kerala, in the Assembly elections making the way for the CPI-M.

Although heading a coalition Government at the Centre for the first time,the Congress seemed to have learnt the art of accommodating the viewpoints and the needs of its allies while sticking to its principled stand on issues in conformity with the CMP. It sought to resolve the ticklish issues through dialogue and discussion when it found that the allies had different and opposing agenda on any issue.

The Congress held its first plenary session after it formed a coalition Government at the Centre at Hyderabad in January. It specified its commitment to a coalition Govenment of like-minded secular parties. The party hoped that its allies would air their differences within the parameters of coalition dharma. The party also reiterated its resolve to continue its policy of econcomic reforms with a human face.

Mrs Gandhi continued her practice of holding Congress Chief Ministers Conclave to monitor the performance of the States in implementation of the party manifesto, which was started by her during the NDA regime, A Congress Chief Ministers conclave was held in Nainital, attended among others by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh besides Ms Gandhi and 14 Congress Chief Ministers. The Conclave deliberated on agrarian crisis and internal security.

Concerned over the rising prices, Ms Gandhi called a meeting of Congress Chief Ministers in Delhi and discussed with them the strategy to be adopted to contain the rising prices. The meeting,also attended by Dr Manmohan Singh, decided that strict action would be taken against hoarders and black marketeers. It sought the cooperation of the Congress-ruled State Governments in not passing on the hike in petroleum prices to the consumers.

In the Assembly elections held in W Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Asom and Punducheri,the Congress returned to power in Asom and Punducheri while it supported the DMK in forming a Government in Tamil Nadu. The party observed, in October, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the centenary of the Satygraha, started by the Mahatma in South Africa hundred years ago against the racist policy of the British colonial empire.The Congress organised several activities connected with Gandhian philosphy during the year.

The ruling Congress Party faced an embarrassment when the Congress and a long time associate of Nehru -Gandhi family Natwar Singh, former External Affairs Minister, were accused of being beneficiaries of the Iraqi Oil for Food scam in the Volcker Committee report.The Justice Pathak Committee,constituted by the Union Govenment to go into the charges levelled by the Volcker Committee,found Mr Singh guilty of misusing his position to secure oil contracts for the associates of his son.

Mr Natwar Singh was subsequently suspended from the party by its Disciplinary Committee, headed by Mr A K Antony. Mr Singh later turned rebellious threatening to spill the beans and challenging the party to expel him.

Ms Gandhi resigned from her Parliamentary seat of Rae Bareli and from the post of Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) upon her name figuring in the Office of Profit controversy. Her stand was vindicated when she romped home as an MP in a by-election from Rae Bareli with a massive margin of victory of four lakh votes.

As the Congress-led UPA Government completed the first half of its five year tenure last month,the Congress claimes it had substantially fulfilled many of the promises made in the party's election manifesto that were subsequently incorporated into the National Common Minimum Porgamme of the UPA. Ms Sonia Gandhi in a letter to Congress workers claimed that the party had strengthened the secular foundations of governance. The party had got increased significantly Government spending in critical areas like elementary education, nutrition, public health, rural infrastructure and urban basic services.

The Congress-led Government, according to Ms Gandhi, had launched many far reaching programmes, most important of them being the National Rural Employment Gurantee Act.

''It is time now to consolidate our achievements,'' Ms Gandhi said.''Our party organisation has to propagate these initiatives of our Govennment by mobilising people and getting actively involved in implementation.'' The party claimed credit for having got enacted by Parliament several important legislations including OBC reservation in educational institutions,tribal forest rights bill, and prevention of child marriage bill.

Ms Gandhi called upon the PCCs and DCCs to organise conventions regularly to highlight the legislative accomplishments of the party to create awareness among the people.

Meanwhile, the party has geared up its machinery for the Assembly elections to be held in four states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab and Manipur, three of which are Congress-ruled states. A good showing by the party in Uttar Pradesh, the largest state having 80 Lok Sabha seats,is crucial for the Congress to be able to come back to power at the Centre in the next General Elections.

UNI