Congress Undemocratic Ideology - 4

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[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/304656/Overconfident-Cong.html"]Congress after 125 years[/url]



A Surya Prakash

The Congress we see today is vastly different from the Congress that was formed in 1885. Earlier it valued democracy. Today it worships dynasty



The Indian National Congress, the country’s grand old party, which took birth in Mumbai on December 28, 1885 has just concluded its 125th anniversary celebrations. Though this ought to be party time for all its members, the Congress leadership and the cadre are aware that the year that was has been so scam-tainted that the anniversary will in all probability be remembered for all the wrong reasons. So, far from celebrations, the focus at this anniversary ought to be on introspection and even penitence over all the unfulfilled promises.



As everyone is aware, the party has come a long way since its formation. When it pitched for ‘Poorna Swaraj’, it drew lakhs of idealistic men and women into its ranks. Many of them gave up their professions and ploughed all their wealth and resources into the struggle. Since it was built on the blood, sweat and sacrifices of lakhs of workers, the party came to symbolise the very essence of patriotism and freedom. It came to represent a political force that adopted a ‘nation first’ policy; stood for democracy in its truest sense; believed in equity and equality in every sphere; had a secular, liberal outlook; and, valued probity in public life.



We need to see where this party now is, on each of these counts. Taking the last point first because of its topicality, it must be said that the spirit of sacrifice began evaporating after 1947. In the initial years after independence, the Congress had no challengers either at the national or regional levels and members of the party began to relish the loaves and fishes of office.



Side by side, the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru’s dalliance with socialism resulted in the pernicious licence-permit-quota raj which became the breeding ground of corruption. Initially, industrialists offered bribes by way of ‘party funds’ to bag licences. Later, Ministers began pocketing something for themselves. That was the starting point of corruption in New Delhi and in the States. Later, corruption became institutionalised during Mrs Indira Gandhi’s era after the great Congress split of 1969.



Let us now examine the Congress’s commitment to democracy. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel and BR Ambedkar ensured that we got a democratic Constitution which guaranteed equity and equality. But, as we began working this Constitution, the dominance of the Nehru-Gandhi family became a reality. The emergence of such a political dynasty ran contrary to our Constitutional ideals, but party members encouraged this trend because they saw the party’s first family as the ticket to power.



Motilal Nehru (Congress president in 1928), started it all when he ensured that his son Jawaharlal succeeded him as Congress president in 1929. Jawaharlal Nehru continued the tradition by ensuring that his daughter Indira Gandhi became president of the Congress in 1959 when he was Prime Minister. Mrs Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966 and split the party in 1969. Since then the party has virtually become a private limited company that is owned and controlled by the Nehru-Gandhis.



Mrs Indira Gandhi first promoted Sanjay Gandhi in the 1970s. Later, she promoted Rajiv Gandhi after Sanjay’s death. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Ms Sonia Gandhi took charge of the party and now Mr Rahul Gandhi is being groomed for the Prime Minister’s job. He is already a general secretary of the Congress.



The basic principle is that if you are a Nehru-Gandhi, you are a natural claimant to political office. You need no other qualification. Since 1885, members of this family have been presidents of the party for 39 years. Motilal Nehru was president for two years, Jawaharlal Nehru for nine years, Mrs Indira Gandhi for eight years and Rajiv Gandhi for seven years. Ms Sonia Gandhi holds the record both within the dynasty and within the party by having the longest, unbroken tenure of 13 years and is still going strong.



Because of the stranglehold of one family on the Congress, many stalwarts have moved away from it, resulting in a substantial decline in the party’s popularity. Among those who broke away were Jagjivan Ram, Devaraj Urs, Ramakrishna Hegde, Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr Purno Sangma and even Mr Chandrababu Naidu. Many others like Veerendra Patil, Mr AK Antony, K Karunakaran and Mr S Jaipal Reddy, have been in and out of the party.



This has eroded the party’s vote share substantially. Since the first general election in 1952, the party, on an average, had a 45 per cent share of the national vote, which translated to about 65 to 70 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies. However, this has dropped by about 15 to 20 per cent in the last two decades.



The Congress’s worst performance was in 1999 when it secured 25.82 per cent of the national vote and just 114 seats in the Lok Sabha. It has since recovered and got over 200 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha election but its vote share remains at around 28 per cent. The party has never got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha since 1984.



The bigger problem is that the Congress’s support base has suffered terrible erosion in several big States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar since then. Therefore, despite Mr Rahul Gandhi’s strenuous campaigning, the party’s vote share crashed to just eight per cent in Uttar Pradesh in 2007 and in Bihar in 2010.



Apart from parivarvaad, there is yet another issue — the Emergency of 1975-77 — that has damaged the party’s democratic credentials. The stamp of approval that the party gave to the fascist regime that Mrs Indira Gandhi presided over during the dreaded Emergency remains a big blot on its image.



Finally, let us examine the Congress’s commitment to equity and equality. During the years when Mrs Indira Gandhi was in power, the party played a cruel joke on the poor when it incorporated ‘Socialism’ in the Preamble to the Constitution and raised the slogan of “Garibi Hatao” from every public platform. This was a well-conceived plan to garner the votes of the poor. But the party had no clear plan to tackle poverty. Four decades after Mrs Indira Gandhi’s ‘Garibi Hatao ’ campaign, India has 300 million people living below the poverty line.



Yet, we cannot wish away the Congress. It will be around for a long time to come because the people are far more worried about the alternative that is available to them at the national level — the Bharatiya Janata Party. But, that is another story. So, in the meanwhile, let us not deny the Congress the right to celebrate the glory of the past and the good fortune of the present. Congress Jai Ho!