The Congress party is set for a change – and, as Sonia Gandhi stated at the leadership transfer event in Delhi, change is the order of the world. She led the Congress ably, raising much beyond the expectations of ordinary Indians and even die-hard Congressmen as she held the reins of the party in two phases for 13 years. During her term, the first defeat for the Congress in 2014 came after the party ran the government for two terms in succession and anti-incumbency was natural. The party suffered the second defeat after two years of leadership by Rahul Gandhi and the blame cannot be put on her. As she quits the (interim) party chief post for good at the ripe age of 75 this week, the nation’s standing ovation for her leadership qualities are well in order. The grit and determination with which she held the reins of the party and guided its governments from behind were unique and she rose much beyond the normal concept of a leader. She spoke less and acted firmly. This was unlike the image of footloose Indian politicians known for their indiscipline and loud mouths. The political class here has a lot to learn from the way Sonia Gandhi as an outstanding leader conducted herself. Without Sonia being around, the grand old party would have collapsed like a pack of cards.
All these are not to ignore the stigma she carries with her vis-à-vis the perpetuation of corruption in the party and government directly under her watch. She hardly ever wielded the stick or tried to cleanse the system. The UPA ministers, of the Congress as well as the allies, were mostly corrupt even as Manmohan Singh as prime minister might not have had such proclivities. By contrast, there is a general sense of satisfaction about the Modi dispensation vis-à-vis corruption at the ministerial levels – at least as far as we know. Yet, the graphs of corruption at the bureaucratic and regional parties’ levels are skyrocketing and systems are subverted by them today in gay abandon.
Sonia Gandhi, unlike Modi, had no administrative experience when she ventured into politics. She did so as a call of duty imposed on her. Sonia could have been the prime minister but chose not to. Her lack of experience in governance and the soft nature of Manmohan Singh were perhaps the reasons why there was wholesale corruption under the two UPA terms. The bandicoots in politics naturally took advantage and made hay. To err is human. The good qualities of leadership displayed by Sonia Gandhi merit appreciation.
