The directive issued by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to party units across states to come to the aid of migrant labourers set on their return journey to their homes, via the special facilities arranged by the railways, is significant. She has asked party members to offer cash support in case state governments and the Centre failed to assist them by way of free travel. While such a gesture was aimed at millions of the workforce, the Centre came up with an explanation that the expenses will be met in large part by the railways and a small part by respective state governments.
The migrant workers, also named as guest workers by states like Kerala and Telangana, have passed through a bad patch of late, with the lockdown extending through weeks while they remained confined to their labour camps, away from their near and dear ones. The way the lockdown was announced in a huff left no room for them to hurry back to their native places. With no work and no pay for over a month, these workers were at their miserable worst. This was time to extend them maximum help. The credit for the ultimate turn in their favour – by the government agreeing for free travel – must partly go to the principal opposition.
Clearly, there is still scope for the Congress party to re-engage the masses. Rahul Gandhi’s own attempts in recent weeks to engage the government with valuable suggestions vis-à-vis the present lockdown or vis-a-vis “attempts” by China to poach on business units here were well-received and the government acted fast. His engagements with former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee in recent times helped start some meaningful discussions on the Covid front and might be of help to the government too in handling the emerging difficult financial situation for the nation. This is time for putting brains together and for emergence of new ideas. More so on the economic front, where things were not looking up even before the arrival of the Covid pandemic.
However, it must also be noted that Rahul Gandhi has often exhibited a blow-hot, blow-cold attitude and he ran away from the centre stage. Yet, signs are that he would re-occupy the President’s post of the party and run it with a young team of leaders. He will have full four years to shape the principal Opposition before another parliamentary election comes calling. In a democracy, even the strongest leaders have an expiry date.