M A I L B A G

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Congress has run out of ideas

APROPOS of the article "Sad times for Sonia" by H K Dua (Dec 10), it is really a shock for the Congress party that it has got a drubbing at the hustings in three states. Your view that by being in power for quite sometime in these states, the Congress had lost the support of the masses is right and there is no doubt the anti-incumbency factor did play its part and it does help to lessen the sting the verdict has given to the Congress party.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi, whom the Congressmen believe to be beyond reproach, should have become much wiser now. The people, it is clear, have lost faith in the constructs of the past. People who directly suffer at the hands of those whom they elect have a knack of deciding whom to vote for on the basis of present perceptions and in this matter, the Congress sorely lacks direction, dynamism and discrete leadership.

The writing on the wall is very clear. Congress is a divided house with a leader who can't generate fresh ideas and propose new solutions to problems such as communalism, casteism and corruption. The Congress today is a poor shadow of the Congress it used to be.

J.S. ANAND, Bathinda

II

Though Mrs Sonia Gandhi has been at the helm of the Congress party for quite some time, she has failed to develop any political identity of her own. This is because she has neither a political vision for the country nor does she seem to have any strategy or ideas to tackle national issues or solve the people's problems. That is why despite her intensive campaigning in the recent Assembly elections she has failed to make any impact on voters.

If Ms Sonia Gandhi sincerely wants to serve the Congress party and thereby the country, she should immediately step down from its presidentship. She must also ensure that its command is given to some intelligent, energetic person with a clean political image. In no case should she extend the dynastic rule by bringing in Priyanka or Rahul to lead the party. The more the Congressmen depend on dynasty the weaker the party will grow.

VED GULIANI, Hisar

III

Mrs Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin has already cost the Congress senior leaders like Mr Sharad Pawar and Mr P.A. Sangma.

The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, whatever it contribution to the nation, is dead long since. It's time the veterans in the Congress came out of the stranglehold of a political baby called Sonia Gandhi and revived the dead Congress to ensure that the BJP doesn't go authoritarian. Rulers are paid to rule and Opposition to oppose. Both are needed to keep democracy alive and kicking.

S.S. JAIN, Chandigarh

IV

I fully subscribe to Mr Dua's observation that it is the senior Congressmen surrounding Mrs Gandhi who create problems for her. But then the question arises: If the hitherto charmed inner circle (the so-called "coterie") consists of individuals of dubious political merit, should the person who chose them—the party president —not be held responsible?

The Congress may still be a good idea but somebody needs to manage its affairs. Unfortunately, Sonia Gandhi and her current groupers seem unequal to the task.

K.M. VASHISHT, New Delhi