Setback for Rahul, not Congress

There are multiple dimensions regarding the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, following his questionable conviction by the Surat Court, in a defamation case pertaining to his remarks during the 2019 Parliamentary poll while he was campaigning in Karnataka.

The foremost matter which needs to be clearly understood by his party colleagues is that what is seeming to be a huge setback for Rahul Gandhi should by no means become a setback for the Congress as well. If the Congress has to help its former president, its primary objective should be to win Karnataka to begin with and follow it up with victories in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

These wins are possible and the focus should remain on achieving the target. A proper strategy and line of action should be in place and no distractions, including the disqualification of Rahul should come in the way. Rahul himself would want this and it would reaffirm his commitment to serve the people once the BJP is vanquished in these four states where the two major parties are locked in virtually a straight fight.

So far as Rahul’s disqualification is concerned, the legal luminaries would take up the matter at relevant courts to absolve him of the charges. It is indeed surprising why the Congress had taken this matter so casually, knowing full-well that Rahul was on the BJP’S radar and would not be spared if any opportunity arrived.

The verdict of the Surat court leaves a lot to be desired and the Congress should have been more cautious when the case was put on fast-track. This itself does not sit well with anybody that comments made by a leader during the heat of a campaign in Karnataka invites punishment in a court of law in another state, thousands of miles away. This is one of the issues which may be examined by the higher courts when the case is taken up.

The tearing hurry with which the Lok Sabha Secretariat acted in disqualifying Rahul as the representative of the Wayanad constituency in Kerala has also invited criticism from Opposition parties. This is true that under the existing law, the disqualification of the member is automatic once he gets convicted, but in the larger interest of democracy, perhaps some time could have been provided to enable the affected person to get relief from a higher court.

Ironically, Rahul today has become a victim of his own action of 2013 when an ordinance sought to be brought about by the UPA government to offset the Supreme Court judgement pertaining to the disqualification clause, was publicly torn by him at the Press Club of India. That ordinance was to enable Lalu Prasad Yadav to get relief after his conviction and it may have helped even Rahul Gandhi had it become the law of the land. Many people who philosophise on such matters may attribute it to karma.

The Congress party has reacted very strongly to the development and rightly so. However, why did the party not take up this issue seriously and why was there a delay in approaching a higher court? A few weeks ago, the party had acted with the requisite speed when its functionary, Pawan Khera was asked to deplane at the Delhi airport by the Assam police. The Supreme Court was approached and Khera got immediate relief.

There is no doubt that Rahul’s disqualification has evoked a lot of sympathy for him, notwithstanding the BJP’S claims to the contrary. However, the Congress does not have a robust and strong organisation to capitalise on this development. Therefore, political dividends would not easily come its way. Protest marches and demonstrations can bear fruit only if the organisation has muscle. Addressing press conferences and making announcements cannot be any sort of substitutes for carrying the fight to the people in as many places as possible, to seek their endorsement and support.

The party must protest but these per forma agitations should not act as distractions from its primary objective of winning elections. There is no doubt that Rahul is considered by many of his colleagues as the principal leader but he has yet to prove himself so far as the electoral arena is concerned. He had attracted a lot of attention during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, and his comments abroad on the state of democracy in India and crony capitalism were central to the political narrative his party was attempting to create.

A significant aspect of the disqualification is that it has brought the Opposition parties together in their support for the Congress on this particular matter. From Mamata Banerjee to Arvind Kejriwal and from Akhilesh Yadav to K. Chandrasekhar Rao, top leaders have condemned the action and expressed their solidarity.

However, it does not imply that these parties have accepted the Congress as their leader for a non-bjp alliance in 2024. This question remains open and their protest is primarily against the threat to our democracy from the current dispensation.

Both Congress and the BJP have spoken about the need to minimise the role of regional parties in national affairs. The resurgence of the Congress and the increased influence of the BJP in some states would only be possible if regional forces get weakened. Why would these players want their role to be diminished?

For the Congress to replicate the feat of Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi in the late 1970s appears difficult. The solution lies in strengthening the organisation. Between us.