MANIFESTO & SPEECH

From silence on OPS to promise on bail, Congress makes some right noises in manifesto but campaign is the challenge

OVER THE LAST decade that it has been in the Opposition, the Congress has seemed inarticulate and inconsistent in terms of what it stands for. Having lost its centre of gravity, it has been often pushed and pulled to the extremes. This, as it confronts a sure- footed, organised and ideologically- driven adversary. Now, with elections barely two weeks away, the grand old party's manifesto, or “Nyay Patra”, breaks some of that standstill and the flailing. Compared to the fire- and- brimstone 2019 manifesto, which promised to scrap the sedition law and review AFSPA, this one offers a more nuanced rethink on politics and policy. The “Nyay Patra” promises to relook at laws that hinder free speech and place stringent conditions on bail – the roots of such provisions under the PMLA and the power to censor online speech ( first enabled by Section 66a of the IT Act), that are being weaponised by agencies today can be traced back to the UPA government. The manifesto takes a clear position on the Delhi government — the L- G must abide by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers — and urges full statehood for Jammu & Kashmir. It is, to its credit, silent on the Old Pension Scheme, which has been implemented by Congress governments in states like Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, where it places a mounting burden on the exchequer. While anti- business signals were read into Rahul Gandhi's posturing on “suit- boot ki sarkar”, the Employment Linked Incentive Scheme in the manifesto acknowledges the imperative of job creation and the private sector's centrality.

A question can be asked of Congress: Why has the pragmatic balance evident in the manifesto been missing from the speeches of its leaders and the party's campaigns, yatras and rallies? The Congress's political messaging has been of three kinds: First, it has played a kind of “me- too” politics in its attempt to take on the BJP. Two, Congress's top leaders — including and especially Rahul Gandhi — have indulged in rhetoric more suited to a college campus than a national party. Think the ill- advised “chowkidar chor hai” campaign or his more recent fires- will- rage warning. The other side of this coin has been the wellmeaning but apolitical formulation of “nafrat ke baazar mein mohabbat ki dukan”. Mostly, Congress has sought to paint an apocalyptic picture of BJP rule and leave it at that, instead of providing an alternative vision of governance and politics.

The election manifesto does make an attempt to fill the gap in the creation of which the Congress has been complicit. But for it to influence the voter, this needed to be the culmination of work — not its inauguration. As a starting point, it has come late. The document shows an ability to formulate innovative policy proposals but the challenge for the party is to translate this text into a campaign language that can persuade — and carry credibility.