The infectious sycophancy witnessed in the Congress from the days of Indira Gandhi is still alive and kicking. No one was in doubt that Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s offer of resignation as the party president over the party’s disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha election would be wholeheartedly rejected by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) packed with Gandhi-family loyalists. The CWC has authorised him to undertake a complete overhaul and restructuring of the party. A good suggestion. But should this not begin from the top? There are reports of Mr. Gandhi pointing fingers at the State leaderships for their failure to highlight alleged corruption in the Rafale deal, little realising that his poorly crafted slogan, “chowkidar chor hai”, had not only failed to gain any traction but also backfired on him with Narendra Modi accusing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of corruption. If Mr. Gandhi is adamant about stepping down, why force an unwilling soldier to lead the charge in politically challenging times?
S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru
The result in Karnataka (considered a Congress bastion) and the surge of the BJP in West Bengal should have forced the grand old party to initiate drastic measures. Continuing with Mr. Gandhi will progressively push young blood to defect to some other party since a Congress revival is not on the cards — at least in the near future.
V. Lakshmanan,
Tirupur, Tamil Nadu
Victories and defeats are not uncommon in electoral politics. Mr. Gandhi is a charismatic leader and he must display an attitude of courage. Just as there are millions who support the party that has won, equally there are those who look to him with hope and expectation. One election debacle is not the end of the world. Mr. Gandhi must guide and inspire the party rank and file, revamping and rejuvenating the party at the grass-root level. He must advise the cadres to work among the people. Act like a statesman and look forward to the next election. Work sincerely for the people and power will follow.
Dr. George Vareekal,
Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh