Monday Post

So with Covid 19 cases in India crossing the figure of 3 million , exactly it stands at little over 3.1 million as of yesterday. The number of cases are increasing day by day across India as there is now easw of movement between cities, plus migrant workers are also returning  to the places from where they have migrated to home town in the beginning of pandemic. It looks like Central/State govts have reconciled to the fact that if people are coming out for work because of economic reasons then cases are bound to increase. Now coming to Maharashtra, where more than 10,000 cases are being added on daily basis, is really in bad state and one of the reason being that the state govt is not firm on their decisions. Recently before the start of Ganpati festivities , they allowed people to travel to Konkan region without any  e passes, and started special State Transport (ST) buses, and even Konkan railway was also requested to start few special trains. Two days back when Central govt told states to ensure unhindered inter and intra state movement of people and goods. Responding to this state home minister Anil Deshmukh made a statement the with the rising of covid 19 cases in the rural area, meant the state could not abandon the e passes for inter state and inter district travel in private vehicles. Now I do not under stand why they are against travel by private vehicles, when other  mode of transport govt only allowed.

In the other news, recently you all must have heard about a letter being written by Congress leaders to Sonia Gandhi regarding present state of affairs in Congress party and nothing has been done by the top leadership to resolve so many pending issues. Actually since May 2019 when Rahul Gandhi resigned as party president after 2^nd successive defeat in general elections Congress has not taken any concrete steps, so that, there down the leaders and workers feel not confident about the top leadership. In Aug 2019, after big charade of Congress Working committee (CWC) to select new  Congress President, it was decided that Sonia Gandhi will be interim president till new president is selected. Now for last one year Sonia Gandhi is interim president, and no sight of permanent president.

This said letter is supposed to be signed by 300 Congress office bearers, ex CMs, ex ministers and MPs. The main content of the letter is ‘ the party is in state of drift and decline and there is urgent need for corrective measures’. They have suggested the following points

• Appointment of full time & effective leadership active in field and available at national and Pradesh Congress committee (PCC) head quarters.
• Elections at all levels in a transparent manner, including for CWC.
• Institutional leadership mechanism to collectively guide revival.
• Constitution of central parliamentary board ( with party chief & 9 others) to decide on organisational matters and policies.
• Need to unite opposition, rally parties headed bt those who left congress.

All these points which are referred above, must have been pointed by congress members umpteen times earlier also, but the Party which has been behaving like Gandhi family’s private enterprise, has failed to resolve these issues. Now let us ponder about the affect of this letter:

• Rahul Gandhi said that he is determined to not return as the Congress president and will continue to work for the party and fight BJP. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also clear that she will remain as general secretary and not take on any bigger leadership role in the party.
• After the letter became public, there is talk of Sonia Gandhi stepping sown as interim president. She has already taken a back seat over the last few years in view of her health situation, and this was one of the main reason for Rahul’s promotion as party president.
• The letter has split the congress down the middle with leaders like Amarinder Singh, Siddramaiah and Bhupesh Baghel soming out in support of Gandhis. “ Sonia Gandhi should continue as long as she wants; Rahul Gandhi should take over after her as he is fully competent”, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh said. Chattisgarh CM Bupesh Baghel said “ hon Soniaji and Rahulji are the ray of hope for us in every challenge. We are all with you”.
• The Gandhi family loyalists have also questioned why the letter had to be sent before the meeting of CWC scheduled for 24^th This is not the time to raise such an issue, given need for strong opposition against BJP led NDA, that was out to destroy country’s democratic principles.
• Last working committee meeting of last month saw arguments and sharp criticism by younger leaders who were seen to blame the party’s last govt for its massive downfall. The said who were part of last UPA govt should take the blame for congress’s decline.
• Sonia Gandhi, however, has made it clear that she does not want to continue in view of her health. Amid a strong chorus to bring back Rahul Gandhi, a group of leaders have argued that he and his team lack political experience. Some leaders also indicate that they feel Rahul is remote controlling the party, making all decision without being accountable.

In my opinion nothing concrete is going to happen, as Congress members are incapable of choosing any body else for Congress President’s post other than member of Gandhi family. There will be drama all around and in the end either Rahul will stage a grand come back on members’ request or Sonia again will be persuaded to continue at the post. The crucial fact for the Congress party is that they have no pan India leaders other than Rahul Gandhi at moment, and you all know capability of him. So if Congress has to survive, they will need  some sort of miracle to happen in national politics.

Awaiting your comments/views/feed backs.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India,

24^th August 2020