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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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