IT is not surprising that the Gandhis should have been in the dock for the dismal failure of the Congress party in the recent general elections. It was only predictable that the party president, Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi should offer their resignation. But that was only ritualistic. Evidently, everybody knew that the resignations would be rejected. That emphasized the fact that the party regards them as indispensable at the top. Perhaps the reason was not merely the sycophancy of the party members. There was an attempt to silence all criticism of party affairs. The Gandhi phalanx refused to face the need for accountability. This way the Congress can never recover from its present chaos. Rahul Gandhi’s inner circle is reported to have rejected the idea that it cannot be business as usual in the higher echelons of the organization. Of course, some critics said that the leaders did not have their ears to the ground and that Rahul lacked mass contact. But it made small ripples. The Congress should realize that it has to mobilize itself to be a voice in parliament and that it is an uphill task with just 44 MPs in the Lok Sabha. The leaders will have to pull up their socks to make the Congress a constructive opposition.
The party will have to revive its state units as well. District level committees will have little impact if there is no accountability. Rajya Sabha members and backroom advisors should not be allowed to push their oars in. It is this kind of operation which has brought what was called the Grand Old Party to such a humiliating state. The Opposition benches will be in disarray if the Congress does not vitalize itself.
