Addressing a meeting of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) on January 17 in New Delhi, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi set tone for his campaign for the Lok Sabha election due in May this year. He mounted blistering attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for nominating Narendra Modi as their prime ministerial candidate. He said those who dream of Congress-free India will themselves be destroyed. Joining his mother Sonia Gandhi, President of All-India National Congress, Rahul accused the BJP of 'lighting fires of communal hatred and setting people against each other'.
The All-India Congress Committee meeting took place immediately after Maneka Gandhi, aunt of Rahul and who is an MP from the BJP, called him a bird and Gujarat Chief Minister Modi a tiger as a candidate for premiership of India. This is perhaps the first time that Maneka criticised the Gandhi family in such a manner. Wife of Sanjay Gandhi and a member of the Lok Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, she saw no hope for the Congress unless the party is revamped. She said no one could save the party from its present pitiable condition.
The Congress Committee, however, did not take a decision to nominate a candidate for premiership in contrast to the BJP which declared Modi as the future Prime Minister of India. Sonia Gandhi said, as is the tradition, Congress, would select the party candidate for PM from among the elected MPs.
Endemic corruption at all levels in India has etched out the basic fabric of the society. That is why Rahul Gandhi in his speech said, "I will fight against corruption and dishonest officers would be punished". He said that he would introduce minimum wages for all employees.
But it is too late for the Congress to talk about corruption in India. The Congress could not take a stand when Anna Hazare had spoken to eradicate corruption from the society in 2011. At times Hazare was compelled to go on hunger strikes to introduce the Jan Lok Pal (JLB) bill against corruption. Preventive arrest of Anna and his close associates helped mobilise huge crowd against the Congress-led coalition government in Delhi.
In his speech, Rahul Gandhi said tickets for 2014 will go to partymen who 'have Congress in their blood'. He sought support of all like-minded political and social forces to come together at this critical juncture. It means the Congress is having difficult times in the history of modern India.
The party will face a big hurdle in Uttar Pradesh where the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will contest the Lok Sabha polls in 80 seats. This clearly indicates a bad omen for the Congress. It seems the BSP is divorcing the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). By now, the Congress lost Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where the BJP secured 80 per cent seats while Mizoram was like a consolation prize for the Congress.
Meanwhile, there has been a change of wind in favour of Narendra Modi when BJP stalwart L.K.Advani showered praises on him while addressing the National Council of the BJP in New Delhi on January 18.
In his speech, Modi gave an outline of a plan the federal government would execute for India, if voted to power. He criticised the United Progressive government led by Manmohan Singh who, he said, took the image of the country back to the time when India was considered 'a land of snake charmers'. Apart from developing 100 smart cities as models for information technology, Modi emphasised establishment of a price stabilisation fund to check price rise and inflation while controlling poverty, securing security for women and empowering the poor and creating improved health infrastructure. Political manifesto of the BJP sounds holistic.
BBC says that the Congress is doing badly amid slow economy recovery and a string of damaging corruption scandals. Some have thought that poor approval ratings and recent defeat in four state elections may have prevented the Congress president from choosing Rahul as a Prime Minister candidate. However, Rahul will remain the chief campaigner for the Congress in the Lok Sabha election.
The writer is a retired Bangladeshi diplomat. amjad.21@gmail.com
Countdown for Lok Sabha polls: Corruption issue is at centre of focus
Mohammad Amjad Hossain from Virginia, USA | Published: January 21, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like