The people of India may agree or disagree with the policies and decisions of political parties and governments, but they do not forgive those who harbor ill will towards the country, spread propaganda against democracy and conduct thoughts and behavior that are adverse to Indian culture. If political parties ignore this and do not change their direction, then no one can save them from their plight.
Shared responsibility of all parties in national challenges.
Congress will have to come out of the Gandhi-Nehru syndrome.
Problem of dynasty and individualism even in regional parties.
Dr. AK Verma. Today the country stands in a complex global situation. Amidst all the aspirations, the happenings in the neighborhood are also not a good sign. This is not just the government and the ruling party but a common challenge of all political parties. Just as fingers are small and big, but everyone has their contribution in making a powerful fist, similarly parties are small and big, but everyone will contribute in making a powerful and developed India.
In dealing with all the challenges facing the country, it is the responsibility of the ruling party to take the opposition parties into confidence and communicate with them regularly. The way Prime Minister Modi took all parties into confidence regarding Operation Sindoor was praiseworthy. This increased the stature of both the Prime Minister and Indian democracy. Opposition parties also felt that they had a role to play in resolving the national crisis. The Prime Minister's resolve of 'Sabka-Saath, Sabka-Vikas, Sabka-Prayas and Sabka-Trust' should be visible not only in elections but also in policy-making, serious decisions and dealing with national crises.
Congress is the most important opposition party in the country. She remained in power for a long time. He would know what difficulties the government faces and what are its expectations from the opposition? Once the political system of the country was called 'Congress System', but today the country is moving towards 'BJP System'. If Congress has to remain relevant in Indian politics, it will have to change the 'gear' of its leadership, ideology, organization and work culture. First of all, Congress will have to come out of the 'Gandhi-Nehru syndrome'.
Why does Congress think that without 'Gandhi' its boat will sink? Why was 'a Gandhi' needed over the Manmohan Singh government? Why does Mallikarjun Kharge need 'Gandhi high command' despite being the Congress President? Many leaders in Congress are capable of leadership, but why does the party want to depend on Gandhi even after seven decades of independence? ‘Gandhi’ is a nickname that Mahatma Gandhi gave to Indira Gandhi’s husband Firoz. The surname ‘Gandhi’ can neither change religion nor give any caste.
Today Congress has become directionless even at the ideological level. Why do the leaders of the party which led the freedom movement go abroad and question Indian democracy and constitutional institutions? Instead of meaningful, logical and constructive criticism, most of the opposition leaders tarnish the image of themselves and their parties through allegations, objections, sarcasm and indecent behavior.
Even at the organizational level, Congress is in a very weak position. In the states where Congress has any political ground left, it is not because of its organisation, but because of public displeasure with non-Congress parties. The hard work of an ordinary worker has no meaning in Congress, because every decision is decided by the high command or the first family. Then why should the workers work hard? The result of this is that the Congress organization exists only on paper.
This high command culture destroyed the internal democracy in the party and corrupted the work culture, due to which the process of leaving Congress which started at one time by Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Kripalani, continued and is continuing through Morarji Desai, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandrashekhar, Jagjivan Ram, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee to leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasad, Jagan Mohan Reddy. It is natural to raise the question that what is the invisible power in the Gandhi family that Congress is unable to get out of its control?
More or less, the situation is similar to that of Congress in Mayawati's BSP in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh's SP, Lalu's RJD in Bihar, Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR-Congress in Andhra, MK Stalin's DMK in Tamil Nadu, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in Bengal etc. BSP was once an effective party at the national level, today it is becoming irrelevant due to Mayawati's work culture. Due to Akhilesh pursuing casteist identity politics and not understanding socialist ideology and inclusive politics, SP has sometimes been in alliance with Congress, sometimes with BSP and sometimes with small and marginal parties.
The criminal working culture of the RJD government in Bihar has become a thorn in the neck of party leader Tejashwi Yadav. Jagan created a personal-organizational system in Andhra by ignoring his party-organization and projected himself as an angel, the ill effects of which are visible. In Tamil Nadu, when Chief Minister Stalin is doing politics of Tamil identity and anti-Hindi, Prime Minister Modi is threading the thread of unity between North and South through Kashi-Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi. The way Mamata Banerjee is giving protection to Bangladeshis and Rohingyas under the guise of Bengali identity, it may give her the pleasure of power, but it is a big challenge for Bengal and national security.
Political parties have to understand that they can enjoy democratic politics and federal system only as long as the sovereignty, security and prosperity of the country remains intact. These parties have to run the central, state and local governments in the country. Therefore, there is no need to harass them. The people of India may agree or disagree with the policies and decisions of political parties and governments, but they do not forgive those who harbor ill will towards the country, spread propaganda against democracy and conduct thoughts and behavior that are adverse to Indian culture. If political parties ignore this and do not change their direction, then no one can save them from their plight.
(The author is director and political analyst of the Center for the Study of Society and Politics)
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