BJP failed on all fronts: Sonia
Congress conclave begins
From K.V. Prasad
Tribune News Service

PACHMARHI, Sept 4 — The Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, today set the tone for the three-day brainstorming session of the party with candid observations on all-round approach, distortions that have crept in and need to have course correction.

In her elaborate address to the over 230 delegates invited for the "vichar manthan shivir", Mrs Gandhi also attacked the ruling BJP coalition government at the Centre for its non-performance on all fronts.

More than the attack on the party’s principal political rival, the Congress President gave several talking points for the party members which clearly indicated that the present set-up did not quite approve of the policies pursued by the previous Congress government.

The criticism was more pronounced on the change in the general perception that the Congress in the past had at times compromised with its basic commitment to secular ideals, which reflected the disagreement over approach of the Narasimha Rao government.

"Many of us thought that economic development and progress would roll back the spread of communal ideologies and put an end to the politics of hate. This has clearly not happened", she said in an apparent reference to policies of the Narasimha Rao era.

Manmohanics also came under scrutiny with Mrs Gandhi suggesting that the party must constantly interpret its economic philosophy in the light of changing circumstances, emerging challenges and the experience it gained while implementing policies.

She said the Congress must acknowledge that it had not been successful in accommodating the aspirations of a whole new generation of Dalits, adivasis and backward people particularly in the north.

The loss of base, particularly in the states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, she wondered, could be because of this factor.

She regretted that by not paying enough attention to the growth of such sentiments and feelings, the Congress had to pay a heavy price.

The near-total loss in these two politically active states engaged her attention and she linked the decline of the Congress in these states to damage at the national level politics.

She said while electoral reverses were inevitable, the loss of the party’s social base and the social coalition that supports it was disturbing.

"What is also worrisome is that intra-party discord seems to take up so much time and energy when it ought to be channelised for working together to regain popular support and public credibility", an obvious reference to the groupism that afflicts the party.

Moving over to the current state of polity, Mrs Gandhi said it remained committed to electoral reforms to reduce the role of money and muscle power and said the Congress would demand the introduction of the electoral reforms Bill during the winter session of Parliament.

However, it clearly distanced itself from the ongoing debate on the efficacy of the parliamentary system of democracy, stating that the party would campaign to ensure that it was not tampered with.

"There is nothing permanent about uncertain mandates and coalitions. Society itself is in a state of great transition and flux. To a large extent, shifting alliances in society reflect themselves in changing electoral mandates. We must not jettison these processes in the name of stability", she said.

On international relations, Mrs Gandhi minced no words in criticising the BJP-led government for destroying what the Congress "had painstakingly achieved over a 10-year period", specially of peace with neighbours.

She said while the Congress must make efforts to become part of the international mainstream on disarmament without jeopardising the country’s security options it must consolidate on its technological capacities for defence following nuclear explosions.

She said the BJP-led government, had in less than 200 days proved "its inability to govern India". There is no evidence of firm and decisive direction in any branch of its activities. The economy is stagnant, inflation is on the rise and investors' and business confidence is at an all-time low. Foreign policy is in a shambles".

After her inaugural speech, the delegates broke up in groups to have threadbare discussions on political, economic, agricultural, international and organisational affairs.

The former presidents — Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao and Mr Sitaram Kesri — were conspicuous by their absence in the opening session. While Mr Rao is expected to arrive later, Mr Kesri may not come as he is still recovering from recent ailment.

There was a break in the speach of Mrs Gandhi, as she had a throat problem She proceeded with the speech after taking throat lozenges.

Organisational affairs generate heat

Tribune News Service

PACHMARHI (MP), Sept 4 — After a sedate start this morning the Congress brainstorming session hotted up in sharp contrast to the cool winds that blew across this hill resort.

The mood of the 230-odd delegates could be gauged from the fact that almost half of them — 109 to be precise — opted to participate in the deliberations of organisational affairs, a sub-committee under charge of Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad who stepped in after its original chairman, Mr A.K. Antony, failed to arrive here.

The absence of former presidents — Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao and Mr Sitaram Kesri — was noticeable, with some attributing their staying away from the "vichar manthan shivir" to the sharp attack their policies came under. Mr Antony and Mr K. Karunakaran were also not present.

The Congress spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi, confirmed that Mr Rao would arrive here to partake in the deliberations tomorrow while there was no word from Mr Kesri. Mr Karunakaran was yet to recover from a serious leg injury, he added.

However, Mr Jogi steered clear of the heat that was being generated by senior party leaders who did not mince words at the closed-door session.

Leading the charge was former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president, Mr Virendra Kataria, who equated the current state of organisation as a Jurrasic Park and said the presence of dinosaurs in the party would not let in fresh air.

In a note which he circulated to the sub-committee, and later released to the press, he said there was a total loss of credibility of politicians, including Congressmen, inner strife, absence of workers in the party, presence of leaders with no popular base, and promotion of regional and sectional interest at the cost of national party interest.

Mr Sunil Dutt, former MP from Mumbai, said the party must realise that the real power was with the people who would decide the electoral fate of the party and its candidates. He was all for strengthening of the party.

Much of the grouse was regarding the manner in which people with little or no base had come to decide the party policies. Heartburning was evident with many claiming that while ‘genuine’ party leaders had to face the humiliation of not being invited or being done so after persuasion, while others managed it.

The second largest interest was discussion on political affairs followed by economic and agriculture affairs. International affairs attracted the least number of delegates — just 14.

While participation in economic affairs was limited to 25, the debate which will continue till tomorrow saw diverse opinion between the pro-reforms and those who are rallied against it.

The party spokesman, Mr Jogi, refused to comment on individual members’ opinion, however harsh they may have been. He summed it up stating that the whole idea behind the Pachmarhi exercise was to debate — something which was on.