Rao resurrection aimed at course correction by Congress

Recognising that it had faltered in undermining the achievements of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, as also in bifurcating its erstwhile stronghold, Andhra Pradesh, on Friday, the Congress high command attempted to make amends for its monumental mistakes. Interim president Sonia Gandhi, who had not even allowed Rao’s mortal remains to be brought inside the premises of the party headquarters at 24, Akbar Road, following his death in 2004, showered lavish praise on him, while congratulating the Telangana

unit of the Congress for organising such a befitting function to launch Rao’s birth centenary celebrations.

Apart from Sonia Gandhi, her predecessor, Rahul and former Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh also paid rich tributes to the scholarly politician, regarded as the “father of economic reforms in India”. It was during his tenure as the head of the government, that Manmohan Singh, as the Finance Minister, initiated the revolutionary steps to overhaul and reenergise the economy.

The political significance of this public display of adulation by its top leaders was to prevent the BJP or any of the regional parties from appropriating his legacy. Telangana Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, has already urged the Central government to confer the Bharat Ratna on the former Prime Minister, and a section of the Sangh Parivar is expected to endorse this demand on account of the high regard for him. After Friday’s elaborate eugolising of Rao, the Congress, which at one time was hesitant to concede his immense contribution, would be compelled to also make a similar pitch for a Bharat Ratna.

The reaching out to reconnect with Rao is also directed at a course correction, which the Congress is seeking in