‘Govt is sabotaging democracy’

ATTACK Congress president blasts Modi govt over delay in Parliament’s winter session amid reports that it could be shortened due to Gujarat elections

Congress president Sonia Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Monday of “locking up the temple of democracy” amid reports that Parliament’s winter session could be shortened because of polls in Gujarat.

Her comments, made at a meetingoftheCongressWorking Committee (CWC), came in the backdrop of a high-stakes election next month in Modi’s state, where an intense campaign is expected to keep many top leaders of both parties away from New Delhi.

There is no official word on a shorterwintersession,butSonia Gandhisaidthegovernmentwas sabotaging it on flimsy grounds. Usually, Parliament meets midNovember for a month.

“The Modi government in its arrogancehascastadarkshadow onIndia’sParliamentarydemocracy by sabotaging the Winter Session of Parliament on flimsy grounds,” she said.

“Thegovernmentismistaken if it thinks that by locking the temple of democracy it will escape constitutional accountability aheadoftheassemblyelections in Gujarat,” Sonia Gandhi said.

But Union finance minister Arun Jaitley rejected the charges, saying Parliament sessions were often rescheduled in the past, even by the Congress, to ensuretheydidnotoverlapwith elections.

“It has been a tradition and it has happened several times that Parliamentsessionsarerescheduledwhenanelectionishappening,” hetold reporters here. Jaitley also said the winter session would be held and the Congress “totally exposed”.

Theprincipaloppositionparty saiditwillholdanewsconference on the issue on Tuesday. It also planstohitthestreetsagainstthe governmentfor“eroding”parliamentary democracy.

In one of her most stringent attacks onPrimeMinister Modi, SoniaGandhialsoroundedoffon the government’s radical economicpoliciessuchaslastyear’s scrapping of high-value banknotes and a nationwide Goods and Services Tax.

She said the Prime Minister had the “audacity to hold a midnight celebration in Parliament to launch an ill-prepared and flawedGSTbuttodayhelacksthe courage to face Parliament”.

Sonia Gandhi congratulated Rahul and his team for their effortsinGujaratandaskedthem to do their best.

“Let us do our best to prove thatpeoplearenotfooledandthat theywillmaketherightdecision and defeat the present dispensation there,” she said.

The Congress chief said even afterayearofnoteban“demonetisationhasdonenothingbutrub salt on the wounds of distressed farmers, small traders, housewives and daily workers”.

“Thefortunesofahandfulare being built by destroying the future of the poor and the oppressed,” she said, adding that joblessness and inflation were on the rise while exports were falling.

The Congress president accusedthegovernmentofseeking to changethehistory of modernIndiabysystematicallyerasing the contributions of first the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and later by Indira Gandhi.

“Thisvilificationisblatantand for all to see,” she said. STRENGTHS

CONNECT WITH THE YOUTH

Bringing the youth into political mainstream has been the motto of the 47-year-old leader. To achieve this, he initiated internal elections in the Youth Congress and the NSUI, the party’s students’ wing. His attempt to re-connect with the aspirational youth, however, got a blow as the UPA II government faced a slew of corruption charges. Gandhi’s recent interactions with students in India and abroad have turned the mood in the Congress upbeat.

READY TO EXPERIMENT

His experiments to strengthen the organisation have often failed, be it the so-called democratisation process (internal elections) in the Youth Congress or primaries-style selection of candidates for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But he remains undeterred. He has set up new departments such as Fishermen Congress, Unorganised Workers Congress and Overseas Congress, among others.

CONSENSUS-BUILDER

Rahul allows party colleagues to speak their mind. He listens to all shades of opinions, including rivals within party units.

HARD WORKER

Rahul is known to put in long hours, be it his pada yatras or sustained poll campaigns. His sustained poll campaign in Gujarat has charged up the workers.

RAHUL GANDHI FACES SEVERAL CHALLENGES AS HE PREPARES TO TAKE OVER THE REINS

He has to ensure a smooth generational transition in the party, strike a right balance between the GenNext and the old guard, and restore confidence among seniors and young leaders.

He has to lead from the front to galvanise the cadres struggling to recover after a series of electoral setbacks. Reviving the party in states such as UP, Bihar, TN, MP, Gujarat and Odisha, where it

INDECISIVENESS

His endeavour to build consensus might be treated as a virtue by his party colleagues, but it often results in prolonged. He has been holding consultations with party leaders from Madhya Pradesh and Odisha for over six months, but hasn’t been able to make up his mind about the appointment of party chiefs in these states. Over a year after Capt Amarinder Singh, the then Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha, resigned from the House, the party hasn’t found his replacement.

NEW DELHI:

ORATORY

Though Gandhi’s recent speeches, laced with wit, humour and sarcasm, are receiving rave reviews, he himself has admitted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has much better oratorical skill.

PERCEPTION MANAGEMENT

Rahul has often faced criticism from his political adversaries for being a ‘reluctant politician’, a charge they seek to validate by citing his frequent breaks. They have also tried to project him as an immature politician, but Gandhi there has been a substantial change in the public perception in the past few months.

NO ADMINISTRATIVE SKILL

Gandhi consistently declined to join the government during 10 years of the UPA in power. His administrative skills remain untested.

has lost its political space over the years, is another major challenge for him. He needs to end factionalism.

He has to turn the party into an aggressive Opposition.

Reconnecting with the people and the grassroots. With around 16 months remaining for the next Lok Sabha elections, he has to take a call on alliances in different states.

The government is mistaken if it thinks that by locking the temple of democracy it will escape constitutional accountability ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat.