Fault Lines
Chaos reigns in Congress party
Bleak Future With defeat in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections staring in its face, the Congress is in a tight spot and there is a feeling of unease among the party leaders (“Out of Hand”, February 17). Thanks to the waning charisma of the Gandhi family, dissenting murmurs inside the Congress party are growing louder by the day. Even the coalition partners are flexing their muscles and looking for a better deal with a weakened Congress. But desperate, last-minute measures like raising the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders will not be enough to reverse the party’s fortunes. It is all gloom and doom for India’s grand old party.
VIJAI PANT, Hempur The laundry list of scams and misappropriation, which Rahul Gandhi does not recognise or willingly ignores, are the cardinal reasons why the Congress party is in such disarray. Rahul’s experiments, including road shows and
People living near ‘fault lines’ have always exercised caution. But the Congress did not pay heed. So now they have to deal with NaMo mania and the Arvind Kejriwal storm.
KRISHAN KALRA, via email
interaction with the masses, assuring them that their demands will be included in the manifesto, are a damp squib. Such tactics would hardly fetch the party any seat. At this juncture, the Congress should ask senior, experienced leaders to take the lead in campaigning and ask Rahul to postpone his revival tactics.
INDU SHANKAR, Varanasi Owing to the poor performance of UPA 2, the Congress party is in doldrums. It seems that the citizens of this country are not willing to accept Rahul Gandhi as the country’s future prime minister. And unfortunately for the Congress, there is no other face to project— thanks to its history of dynastic politics. Moreover, the rising stock of Narendra Modi and BJP have further dented the prospects of Congress. In all likelihood, the party is going to face the biggest debacle in its history in the coming elections.
V.K. TANGRI, Dehradun The repeated failures of Rahul Gandhi in reviving
the sagging fortunes of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and defeat in the recentlyheld Assembly elections have categorically proved that the Gandhi family has lost its mojo. Like rats abandon a sinking ship, other parties and leaders are distancing themselves from a floundering Congress. In a party where voicing sentiments against the High Command was considered akin to heresy, notes of dissent are getting shriller. However, in all this turbulence, it is the Gandhi family which, like glue, is binding the disparate elements within the Congress together. But in the absence of a strong leader like the towering Indira Gandhi, one wonders for how long they will be able to keep the party together.
MANJU P. , via email Jaya’s Left Leanings Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s ambition of becoming the prime minister of India with the help of the Left parties can hardly come true (“Looking Left, Aiming for Centre). The Left has already lost relevance and it is doubtful if their support will do Jayalalithaa any good. Besides, Jayalalithaa does not enjoy panIndia popularity. However, to stall the prospect of a Congress-led UPA forming the government—which in itself is a very remote possibility— BJP might support her candidature. However, if she wants to realise her dream in the forthcoming elections, it can be safely said that she is being over-ambitious.
VIRENDRA T., via email Say No to Racism The death of Nido Tania should be treated as a symptom of the pervasive racial discrimination that people from the North-east face, especially in metropolitan India (“In the Name of Nido”, February 17). Even when it does not result in such tragic incidents as murder or rape, the young from the region face discrimination in everyday life. It comes as a relief that in the Nido case, at least, Rahul Gandhi and the then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal were seen with North-east protesters promising support to their demand for justice and security.
J.S. ACHARYA, Hyderabad The nation was shocked to learn about the tragic death of Nido Tania, the 19-yearold college student from Arunachal Pradesh who became a victim of racial discrimination and hate crime. However, it was encouraging to see political leaders raising their voice, at last, against this discrimination. It’s important that laws become stringent; also, we must stop this culture of regionalism and parochialism immediately.
JACOB SAHAYAM, via email