All The GOP Thinking For The Delhi Durbar

Congress didn't present a clear vision, and again failed to admit the obvious in Udaipur

- Rahul Verma

If you are a Congress sympathiser, you would have read about Sonia Gandhi’s inaugural speech at the party’s three-day Chintan shivir, which ended yesterday. She said an exceptional situation needs exceptional solutions. Depending on how you feel about the current leadership, you may have been enthused or disappointed at the changes proposed.

But the speech you should have listened to was by Sunil Jakhar, former Punjab PCC chief, who quit Congress on May 14, while the Udaipur meet was on. Jakhar’s diagnosis of the party’s exceptional situation was far better. His 40-minute speech, broadcast over Facebook, had more clarity and content on the nature of Congress’s crisis than what was discussed at the chintan shivir.

Udaipur was mostly about challenges India faces, not about challenges Congress faces. The 430 invited delegates at the shivir were divided into groups to brainstorm on six issues – political, economic, organizational, social justice, youth, and farmers. Of course, as the main opposition party, Congress must deliberate on national issues, and highlight the failings of BJP governments. But that wasn’t surely the main purpose.

Jakhar cited a Wasim Barelvi couplet that neatly summed up what this shivir missed – “Ghar ko sajane ka tasavur toh hai bahut, paheley yeh toh tai ho ghar ka bachae kaisey (There’s so much desire to decorate the house, but first we have to decide how to save the house).”