Come December

It is often said that many good deeds are overlooked while one bad act could pull you down like nothing else. Nonetheless, to recover from that one slip, the effort has to be nothing short of gargantuan.

The story of UPA II runs on similar lines. While it made substantial political gains during its first tenure between 2004-2009, Anna Hazare's 13-day stir and the subsequent opposition attacks in Parliament has exposed the Congress underbelly like nothing else with the party acknowledging tacitly that corruption and inflation are issues that need to be addressed urgently if UPA has to keep the show going till 2014.

The party is already in the damage control mode with two immediate goals, the short and long term. In the short term, it is making inroads into Uttar Pradesh which goes to polls mid next year. The long term obviously remains 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The UP assembly elections are going to be Rahul Gandhi's first litmus test and are likely to decide the road map for the party's poll campaign in the general elections in 2014. It is easy to believe BJP leader Sushma Swaraj that during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the opposition presented an united picture while the ruling party the Congress and its allies were a picture of disunity and disarray.

"During Anna's anti-corruption movement, I saw a clear divide Rahul Gandhi and the new generation of civil society activists which was exploited well by the opposition who managed to corner the government on corruption. Until this happened, the government had become virtually unaccountable and was tending to become dictatorial,'' Sushma Swaraj told TSI.

Like Sushma, there are young Congress leaders who feel similarly. They feel that senior party leaders who are as experienced have mishandled the Anna Hazare-led civil society movement.

They say that after Baba Ramdev's agitation was busted in the first part of the stir, the government took Hazare's Ram Lila Maidan agitation a little too casually. Some young Congress MPs like Pravin Singh Aaron, Priya Dutt and Sanjay Nirupam actually ended up supporting Hazare's demands.

The reality, as explained by a Congress leader is this. The core committee meant to look after the affairs of the party in Sonia Gandhi's absence was riven by factional fights and snafus.

In the end, Rahul Gandhi only depended upon veteran Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee for advice who cleared the air considerably with his statement in the Lok Sabha.

Party insiders say that if anyone has been most affected by the Anna Hazare's campaign, it is Rahul Gandhi's election road map. It has to a great extent derailed his UP poll programme.

Law minister Salman Khurshid told TSI that undeniably the party's image has taken a beating while the UP Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi says that the party organisation has to be looked afresh. To gauge Anna's impact on the Uttar Pradesh elections, the party announced a list of 73 candidates for the assembly elections. To Congress's eternal grief, no newspaper thought it worth its while to even mention the story which came as a dampener to the party.

Insiders say that when the civil society gave a notice for dharna, the matter came up before the Congress Core Committee which deliberated changes in the party organisation.

For instance there was an active proposal for making Rahul Gandhi the working president. Young MPs felt that a new change like Rahul would galvanise the party cadre.

Senior party leaders, some of whom were aware of the Congress's president's impending operation, took the view that the civil society agitation would peter out on its own and things would settle down. It did not turn out that way.

Even though Rahul Gandhi's accession in the party hierarchy still remains on the top of the party agenda, it would be instructive to remember that even at the height of Anna's movement, there was speculation that Rahul may replace Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister even though the view from within 10 Janpath was that even the next general elections would be contested in Manmohan Singh's name.

But it was also tempered by long term political realism. To promote Rahul would be to acquaint him with the socio-economic realities, including a party programme which would lead him to interact with the lowest in the society while strengthening his grip over the party organisation.

According to the plan, the Congress proposes to hold organisational elections next year, a fact confirmed by CWC general secretary Oscar Fernandes.

In an effort to establish a base among the lowliest of the low, the government has ordered a survey under the aegis of the National Productivity Council to examine several aspects of the below the poverty line (BPL) features like an education campaign, employment and health.

This survey, to be held for the first time since 1931, will look at the total number of BPL beneficiaries. The exercise involves 6 lakh people calculating the rural BPL while the urban development ministry will identify their numbers in the urban areas.

The government has allocated Rs 10,000 crores for this population survey even though objections have been raised by the Unique Identity Card planners.

The Congress-led UPA II government has held the view that  by December, the total allocations would be complete, despite objections from various ministries.

Clearly then, this is the underpinning that the Congress is hoping to give. They have decided to go back to the masses. Point is how much is this going to help the party?

  

‘Government is under pressure from party’


Minister of state for agriculture and parliamentary affairs Harish Rawat is a veteran Congressman.


Inflation and corruption are two issues through which the opposition has been able to undermine the Congress. If elections were to be held today, your party can lose.

It is true that these two are important issues. But it is not that they cannot be addressed. The government will try to keep inflation within single digits. As for corruption, everyone knows how many ministers are in jail and all cases are in the court. It is the duty of the opposition to level charges.

You talk of government efforts but for a long time you have been not been able to get a grip on inflation. As a result, images of both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi have taken a beating. According to our survey, many ministers could become former ones if polls are held.

I believe that the government is under pressure from the party to counter inflation and efforts are being made in that direction. As for elections, we will continue our full term and then seek a mandate.

In UP, the Congress will have to reply to these charges earlier than that.

Assembly elections are fought on local issues. Rahul Gandhi's ideas on land acquisition and his anti-corruption line is drawing big crowds.
But the responsibility of inflation would be laid down at the doorsteps of the centre.

The centre has adequate food grains which are made available to the states. Therefore the state governments bear more responsibility for this inflation than the centre. As agriculture minister I can tell you that prices of vegetables and fruits are all in the hands of the state governments.

If you talk of corruption, the states can level the same charges at you.

I have already explained the steps being taken by the centre. Now look at the states. The Karnataka BJP government is in the dock. The removal of Uttaranchal chief minister Nishank Pokhriyal on corruption charges have exposed his talk of zero-tolerance against corruption. Narendra Modi may be happy but it is only short lived.

How will the Congress counter LK Advani's anti-corruption rath yatra?

Then Advani will also have to answer questions on corruption in the BJP-ruled states. Our fear is that his yatra has more to do with spreading communal tensions than waging a war against corruption. Even Anna Hazare, who is the inspiration behind Advani's move has disowned the yatra.

But Anna Hazare has put the government on the defensive and some young MPs have supported Anna.

This is a difference of perception. Please remember that on top of the UPA government's agenda was the Lok pal bill. Anna Hazare's demands have come later. We are the government and our hands are tied by law.