Resigned to rule
Editorial
The Times of India
May 26, 1999
Title: Resigned to rule
Author: Editorial
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 26, 1999
By withdrawing her resignation, Mrs Sonia Gandhi has made it explicit
that she has bowed to the overwhelming sentiment in favour of her
continuing as Congress president. What is disquieting about the whole
episode is not that so many Congressmen share each other's view - not
so much because unanimity has the knack of degenerating into
uniformity - but the probability that noble sentiment is being faked.
Congressmen for long have devised all kinds of detours, piled up lies,
pulled the strings of their semi-nepotic connections and arranged
shady deals with the leader of the day in order to survive. Hence, no
party president can afford to turn his or her back from preserving and
perpetuating this legacy by going into a prolonged sulk. What, then,
remains of the resignation saga is for political commentators to
continue to speculate about the reasons and timing for Mrs Gandhi's
sudden decision. There were legitimate fears that the collective
wrath of the rank and file of the party might once again fall on
senior leaders of the party at the AICC session resulting in torn
clothes and broken bones. Also, to leave the AICC session without the
last remaining mascot of the party might have emboldened closet
rebels. Factions within the party would have vied with each other for
the guardianship of the grand old party in absence of the glue that
perilously binds them together. Instead, the AICC has hailed the
saviour and pledged eternal allegiance to the first family and the
totemic symbol of the Congress. The Congress banners on the streets
leading to the AICC venue said it all: You love India, and we love you
too.
In a speech that was meant to tug at the heartstrings of Congressmen
and voters alike, Mrs Sonia Gandhi sent an unequivocal message that
since she did not doubt her own loyalty to this country, all those who
were questioning her allegiance to the Indian soil had no place in the
party. In a dramatic invocation of the life-cycle of a woman, Mrs
Gandhi observed that she was married in this country, her children
were born here, it is here that she became a widow. As if this was
not sufficient expression of her fidelity to the idea of India, after
seven years of self-imposed political exile she had entered politics
to uphold secularism and fight communalism. Not only has Mrs Gandhi
managed to put the stamp of her supremacy over the Congress, she has
also brought into sharp focus the central election issue the party
will use against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. If handing
over the top posts of the country to individuals of foreign origins
militates against the spirit of India, Mrs Gandhi seems to be arguing,
then, communalism is equally alien to the essence of India. Beyond
doubt, the Congress has been given a fresh lease of life with Mrs
Gandhi's return. Actual and potential rebels will find it hard to
counter the emotional rhetoric of the Congress president. Meanwhile,
the stage is now finally set for what is going to prove a bitter,
divisive and issueless election.
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