Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Practical thinking and not aggression needed' that was published in Newsband

Practical thinking and not aggression needed

The president of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, is becoming more and more aggressive day by day. He attacks the Bharatiya Janata Party for its divisive ideology and its failings on the governance front. But does he have an alternative vision?

He keeps on attacking BJP’s two main leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. But mere aggression is not enough and such words will ring inevitably hollow in the absence of a clear and granular action plan. He comes up with such vague generalities, that there is little to separate the Congress’s policies from those of the BJP.

Although the Congress will undoubtedly be the single largest party in any anti-BJP alliance, it will have to play the role of a very junior partner in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In States such as Gujarat and Karnataka where it is a dominant party, it needs the help of smaller allies.

Modi and Amit Shah are become Frankensteins and real nightmare for Rahul Gandhi as he and Congress party is unable to forget continuous drubbing that they are getting from BJP in elections. They are afraid that these two gentlemen might make Congress an extinct in India, a party of yesterday.

As far as the economic policies are concerned the Congress is the 'B' team of the BJP and vice versa, which is quite clearly reflected in its plenary held in Delhi. Nehru's socialism and secularism are being allowed to be diluted to project it as a soft Hindutva as being projected by the serial temple visits of Rahul during the Gujarat state election. So, corporates are trying to bring the two party systems of USA and Britain which quite safely protect their interests​. So the real alternative is the Left alone.

What Rahul Gandhi wants to do is piece together a coalition against the BJP. It is a Himalayan challenge. Is Rahul equal to the task? Is there anyone in Congress who can do this successfully?

Rahul Gandhi should have concentrated more on constructive or practical programs that can be workable rather than BJP bashing. Congress, people are aware, has done little to solve people’s problems which is a major reason to the rise of communal forces which have usurped power from the Congress.

Congress party should restore inner party democracy if it wants to win the confidence and affection of the masses. The main thing is that the Congress should stop being anti-Hindu and just pro-minority.