Momentous occasions usually skim over me like the flat stone in a game of ducks and drakes.

Exhibit One: When I got married, I forgot to change into the shirt I had bought with my savings from the Debonair shop on the Grand Arcade in Calcutta and tied the knot (actually a crimson garland that is used to break fasts unto death) in what I was wearing overnight.

Exhibit 2: At the 75th anniversary of the Anandabazar Patrika in 1997, when Prime Minister I.K. Gujral signalled fresh general election, I was still marvelling at then editor, Aveek Sarkar’s suggestion that it was ABP that taught CPM how to spell Harkishen Singh Surjeet in Bangla. The thread was broken by the rushing feet of agency reporters scrambling to call in from landlines the news alert at a time mobile phones were a luxury. I was blissfully unaware that the Prime Minister had just then announced the biggest announcement of the day.

The old habit almost repeated itself in Rae Bareli on Friday — the penultimate day of campaigning here — when Sonia Gandhi said something that hardnosed political reporters would not pay much attention to because the generational change in the Congress had already taken place years ago.

I was at the rear of the audience on the ITI grounds in Rae Bareli, where the Jan Sabha attended by Akhilesh Yadav, Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi was winding down with Rahul’s blistering speech.

Then Sonia took the podium and started speaking. I had already worked my way forward, threading through the multitude so that I could catch a closer glimpse of the dais. Then I paused.

“I entrust Rahul to Rae Bareli,” Sonia told the audience, most of them made up of those who suffer in silence as 21 Indians hold as much wealth as the 70 crores.

I am not sure whether the Hindi word “saump” translates better as “entrust”, “cede”, “hand over” or “dedicate”.  

The handover marked a milestone in an extraordinary journey in public life in the world. Having represented Rae Bareli — an unrivalled name for a century as far as political recall is concerned (my mother gasped when I told her this evening where I was when she made the weekly call to check on me) — for decades, Sonia was saying farewell in the briefest manner possible but with unmatched elegance.

This note is not for any news columns. My quota for the month is over and I came to Rae Bareli on my own and not as a journalist, careful not to tread on any oversensitive toes.

Now comes the occasion — personally momentous but not so under any other yardstick— that sailed past me. Harshita Kalyan, among the journalists I now respect the most and my former colleague, called me and asked me if I recall a coincidence. I did not.

Harshita reminded me that I had covered the very first campaign rally of Sonia in Calcutta in 1998 on the great Brigade Grounds, where Indira Gandhi and Bangabandhu Mujib Ur Rahman held a gigantic rally after the birth of Bangladesh when India took on Nixon and did not blink when he sent the Seventh Fleet.

I think it was Sonia’s third or fourth meeting after the campaign debut in Sriperumbudur where Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. I was assigned by deputy editor Deepayan Chatterjee to cover Sonia’s speech. I don’t think I did a memorable job, focusing more on how the previous speakers tortured the audience until Sonia arrived. I remember vaguely Harshita, who would speak her mind then as now, asking me why I wasted precious space on the others while the focus should have been on Sonia.

In hindsight, I think I was influenced — if not blinded — by the anti-Congressism sweeping Indian newsrooms, especially English, and a Khan Market variety of wordplay that couched the unkindest and most condescending labels and sobriquets in words that I found difficult to decipher without a dictionary. “Dowager” was a particularly patronising term where as “So near, yet so far” was done to death whenever photographs of Sonia appeared in newspapers. It was as if newsrooms could not wait for Sonia to enter politics — so that they can criticise her for doing so.

I suppose that is the done thing in a democracy: no quarters asked and none given. But I did not find the same sniggers and the same scrutiny being applied to Narendra Modi.

In fact, few public figures in India have faced relentless and unfair attacks as Sonia has — starting with her place of birth, the partner she chose, her accent, her skin colour, her part-time job, her clothes, her children…. Does any person indulging in such regressive behaviour have a place in a modern society? In India, they have a perch in high places.

Then in 2004, she showed how out of touch most of the editors were with what was happening in the country. “India Shining” was everywhere — when the Indian cricket team beat Pakistan in Pakistan in a one-day match it was “India Shining”. Perhaps, that was symptomatic: a bunch of highest paid players owned by a private club were being toasted as the symbols of India’s prosperity! Was it any different from the pride of India being equated with the gains of Ambani and Adani (till the tempo van hit the road)? But Sonia literally led the Congress by foot and put together an implausible coalition — a testimony to her political sagacity and accommodative nature.

The greatest — and hard to contrive — gift of Sonia was her ability to bring out the best in others. I remember a story (I don’t know if it is true but it is such that I want it to be true) in which a communist veteran tells a profusely perspiring Sonia at his modest flat in Delhi summer that the only AC there was in his bedroom. You are like my daughter. Will you mind if I invite you there so that you can be more comfortable while we talk, the veteran asked Sonia. Sonia apparently laughed and readily moved to the bedroom. Only those who respect each other can make such an offer and accept it.

I am sure you did not miss the point here that the greatness of the gesture lies more with the communist veteran than with Sonia. I never tire of telling this story, perhaps because somewhere deep down I give the credit to Sonia also for making him respect and trust her judgement.

Sonia again stunned the know-it-all pundits by declining to be Prime Minister. All these are well-known. I mentioned it here only because the best-ever edition of The Telegraph was brought out by Deepayan Chatterjee when Sonia gave up the post. That edition remains by all-time favourite although I suspect Harshita will choose the 2004 verdict edition with the Power of Finger headline that showed our former colleague Nupur’s inked finger. These are now a days worth losing your job for.

Sonia presided over a political system that undoubtedly was the most just and invested heavily in equity and empowerment. I do not know of any dispensation that piloted so many projects in such a short time (of course with the prodding of the Left) that empowered so many people.

By then, the India Shining armchair specialists were back, sniping and griping that the national wealth was being frittered away on the wretched and the damned. What about “development”, they groaned, unwittingly or otherwise making it the most treacherous word in Indian politics that helped Modi legitimise his run for national power.

At Rae Bareli this afternoon, as I was pushing to maintain my balance amid the heaving crowd, I heard Sonia say “Fear not”. She also underscored the need to respect others, protect the helpless and fight whoever it may be for the rights of the people — isn’t this what journalism also claims to aspire to, however hollow and laughable it may sound in many a newsroom?

It also struck me that countless mothers have little option but to entrust their children to God. In an extraordinary and reciprocal play, Sonia has the fortune of entrusting her son with Janata Janardan, a phrase that has lost is meaning over the years and the butt of ridicule in cynical newsrooms. 

Equally, Rae Bareli could not have asked for a better choice to call as its own and protect as its own. (Those making a face about dynasty and fief and other phrases but have a problem with inheritance tax, please remember: Sonia did not bequeath Rae Bareli to Rahul. It is not Sonia’s to do so. She has done it the other way round. Rahul will have to earn Rae Bareli as his guardian.)

I have no access to a newsroom now but I could not resist the temptation to wonder what would have been the headline had I led a team in producing a paper. Without hesitation, it would have been: GRACE.

(The author is a senior journalist; this is from his social media post)

The post The handover at Rae Bareli appeared first on SabrangIndia.

So, when the Congress leadership, on January 10, 2024, in a carefully worded statement politely declined to attend the inauguration of the unfinished Ram Temple on January 22, 2024 at the north Indian town of Ayodhya, stating this was an RSS-BJP event, it drew the predictable Sangh-BJP driven diatribe. Never mind the fact that organised Hinduisms four Shankaracharyas have unequivocally announced their decision to skip Ram Mandir consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, and have, moreover stated that the event is being held ‘against the shastras.”

The Congress’ stand, belated as it may have been, was clear. Representatives would certainly pay respects individually at some later date but not on January 22. If there was a single issue that was left unsaid –the elephant in the room so to speak –is the sheer bloodshed and demonizing that has underlain the RSS-BJP-VHP campaign behind Ram temple and Ayodhya. It has never really been about religion or personal faith but the aggressive and violent methods used to galvanise a section of the population (at last count 37 %) to validate attacks on lives and properties of fellow Indians who belong to another faith, Muslims. 

“Kan kan mein vyape hai Ram, Mat Bhadkaon Danga lekar unka naam” was an evocative poster line in the mid 1980s coined by the Delhi-based Sampradayikta Virodhi Andolan in response to the violent “Garv se kaho hum Hindu hai. (Say with pride that we are Hindus)” (some Mumbaikars had come up with “Prem se kaho hum Insaan hai” at the time as well). The poster line says, Ram infuses all aspects of our lives, Do not instigate riots invoking His name. The poster line draws the single most crucial line of difference between say what Congress should be saying in response to the violent aggressive cries of the RSS-BJP: Spirituality and faith are personal, not always rational but true, organised, politicization of this, invoking violence and hate in the name of faith icons, is a recipe for disaster.

Is this language of outreach or inclusion –to an alienated and fractured population –missing from the present Congress response?

The fact that the RSS-BJP’s Narendra Modi-driven orchestrated event is being planned months before a general election (April-May 2024) when the present regime faces a population restless with rising prices, unemployment and sheer despair, has now put a peculiar onus on the Opposition on just how it calibrates its response. Especially so that this (response) does not further contribute to polarisation of voters, the only plank that gives the RSS-BJP unsurpassed success.

2024, New India, the regime’s aggressive posturing’s are also conveniently echoed by electronic media outlets, clearly aligned to government. That the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with its leadership has made no secret of its brazen motives behind the timing of the inauguration of the temple at Ayodhya, a town, always associated with the spiritual tale of Ram and Sita, the Ramayan months before poll dates is no secret. That the same media outlets have been sorely wanting in calling out this brazen misuse and manipulation is also a given. The Opposition therefore faces a particularly unfair and even shrill test, with no level playing field, when media and state agencies, together collaborate on this.

It was the Communist Party of India (Marxist) set the ball rolling on December 26, when in a public communication, the party through its general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, turned down the invitation, stressing that religion is a personal choice. “Our policy is to respect religious beliefs and the right of each individual to pursue their belief. Religion is a personal choice not to be converted into an instrument for political gain. Comrade Sitaram Yechury will not attend the ceremony despite receiving an invitation to do so,” he had said in a post on X. The very next day the Trinamool Congress leadership indicated to the media that chief minister, West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, would not be attending either. Banerjee has, since been vocal in criticizing the trumped up inauguration as a stunt being put on by a “desperate Narendra Modi.”

Will the average Hindu Indian see attendance or non-attendance as a slight of her or his faith? Does the average Indian Hindu endorse this brazen manipulation of the party in power (state) of religion and religious symbols for political gain?

It is well settled political knowledge that the BJP’s sharp rise in the electoral arena from two seats in in Parliament in 1984 to 85 seats in 1989 is largely due to a mobilisation or consolidation of a ‘all Hindu consciousness’ largely –but not only — focused around the campaign to build a Ram Temple at Ayodhya (that was also visceral and clear about its objective of demolishing a 450 year old Mosque, the Babri Masjid). This consolidation of the consciousness was equally pitched on the hysteria around ‘appeasement of the minority’ which is a misnomer when it came to economic, social and citizenship rights for Indian Muslims (the indicators were and are still pathetic) but more to do with symbolisms of religiosity and conservatism (of the minorities) that worked to re-enforce embedded societal prejudices. [1] The infamous Rath Yatra of 1989-1990 was preceded, accompanied and followed by concerted attacks on India’s minorities across the length and breadth of the country; several of these attacks took on the characted of “pogroms” with a heightened communal consciousness manifest in the anti-Muslim bias among India’s police force and law enforcement agencies. The project of Hindutva then, (unlike Hinduism) has always been about the re-fashioning of India into a majoritarian theocratic state and Indian society on hardened racial and ethnic speratives.

Coming back to the present, when the BJP sits with 303 sits in Parliament, and its scion at the top wishes to rake in all credit (including non-invites to Lal Krishna Advani former deputy prime minister and union home minister apart from being the maestro behind the 1980s Rath Yatra) for the grand temple in the name of Ram, is the Congress’ response wanting in depth and nuance?

All organs of the state have been employed, including the questionable move of providing “free” rail travel to “pilgrims” for a month (sic), all of which point to a near desperation in the nine and half year old Modi government to pull out all the stops behind this issue to beat the nagging anti-incumbency that threatens its vote.

While, several Congress leaders have wondered whether passing the “loyalty test” set up by the RSS-BJP had now become an essential qualification for being considered a Hindu. Since its declaration on January 10, the party has been trying to confront the BJP’s “anti-Hindu” slur over its refusal to attend the January 22 Ayodhya ceremony by citing the Shankaracharyas’ decision to skip the event for being held against what they consider scripture-mandated norms.

“The sycophants who are breathlessly screaming since last evening against the Congress should debate why all the four Shankaracharyas are not going,” Congress social media head and spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said. She asked: “Why was the Nirmohi Akhara, which performed the rituals for Ram Lalla for decades, side-lined?”

Significantly, top spiritual leaders of the Sanatan Hindu Dharma, Jagatguru Shankaracharyas, won’t be part of the ceremony to inaugurate the Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya, The Struggle for Hindu Existence reported on January 7. This is a pro-Hindutva portal dedicated, it says, to protect and struggle for Hindus globally.

Yet, remaining mum on the Shankryacharyas, both spokespersons of the BJP aided by some media outlets have targeted the Congress leadership, accusing it of an “anti-Hindu and pro-Muslim mind-set.” They have displayed photographs of Congress leaders attending iftar events. Predictably, the BJP has also flagged a letter that India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote rejecting an invitation to the inaugural ceremony of the refurbished Somnath temple in Gujarat.

Nehru had adopted a principled stance, underlining the need for the State to keep its distance from religion. However, today’s majoritarian India under the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unabashedly (and in a self-glorificatory fashion) projecting him the sole guarantor of “Hindu interests.” Modi and the mammoth party’s PR machine has been behaving as head priest of the State, laying the foundation stone for the Ram temple in Ayodhya and performing the required religious rituals. He is also going to be the main host at the January 22 ceremony, too.

It is, clearly more convenient for the BJP to target the Congress than the Shankaracharyas, who are widely revered in the country. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on Thursday claimed that the difference between Mahatma Gandhi’s Congress and Nehru’s Congress was visible now.

He sought to argue that the Congress had abandoned Gandhi and his quest for “Ram Rajya”.The Mahatma’s perception of religion, however, was entirely different from the Sangh Parivar’s. Gandhi believed in the plurality of religions and abhorred any concept of the superiority of some races or religions. Stressing the need for equal respect for all religions, Gandhi had said: “While I believe myself to be a Hindu, I know that I do not worship God in the same manner as any one or all of them.” Gandhi had also insisted that the desecration of any temple, mosque or church amounted to a denial of God’s existence. In his Collected Works, there is a powerful definition of what Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi meant by RamRajya.

“By Ram Rajya I do not mean Hindu Raj. I mean by Ramarajya Divine Raj, Khuda ki Basti or the Kingdom of God on Earth” M. K Gandhi, Collected Works.

Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi, the former president of the Indian National Congress and a consistent target of the supremacist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has recently become the focus of the RSS mouthpiece. The Organiser shares Sonia Gandhi’s 2016 letter to the Pope, a day after she declines an invitation to the Ram Mandir event. This letter is published on X, wherein the Congress leader reportedly expressed in the 2016 correspondence to the Pope, ‘if I had not been unwell, I would’ve been there to witness this sacred ceremony,’ referring to the canonisation of Mother Teresa. The Organiser is a weekly magazine affiliated to the RSS.

“If I had not been unwell, I too would have been there to witness this sacred ceremony, and to pay my humble homage to the woman who was the very embodiment of boundless compassion, mercy and grace,” she wrote. Hailing Mother Teressa, Sonia said that every citizen of India, “including our nearly 20 million Catholics takes immense pride and joy on the recognition by Your Holiness and the Catholic Church of Mother Teresa’s profound nobility of soul, purity of purpose, and service to God through service to humanity”.

X user Vinod Sharma, who is followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many other BJP leaders, shared the Congress’s old post with Sonia’s letter to the Pope, saying, “No such letter of joy and devotion, to any Hindu dharmguru about pran pratistha of Ram Temple. Religion becomes a personal matter for Sonia and Rahul, the moment they have to make a ‘Hindu’ choice that runs afoul of their personal Christian religion and Muslim vote bank.”

In a quick and sharp response, Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor from Kerala at 8.15 a.m, Friday, January 12, was quick to counter this propaganda on ‘X’. Tharoor is also author of the much-acclaimed book, “Why I am a Hindu.”

“25 years ago, then Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, delivered this thoughtful address at the #National Youth Day function at the Ramakrishna Mission on January 12, 2009. It’s hard to imagine a more effective message about Swami Vivekananda’s teachings today. And good to recall that the INC’s identification with Hindu liberalism is not a reaction to events in the last ten years, but a long-held conviction.

[1] The vociferous demand for a special law for Muslim women’s divorce rights while Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister (1986) followed by the opening of the locks of the Babri Masjid for Hindu prayers (Shilanyas) where an inserted Ram idol had been placed in 1949 is seen as one of these acts; other responses to the male clergy from among the minority re-inforcing a religious identity label rather than enforcing social, economic and cultural rights of Indian Muslims are other issued left unresolved by the Congress.

25 years ago today, then Congress President Sonia Gandhiji delivered this thoughtful address at the #NationalYouthDay function at the Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi on 12th January 1999. It is hard to imagine a more effective message about Swami Vivekananda’s teachings today. And… pic.twitter.com/pGuvmMD69O

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 12, 2024

Sonia Gandhi’s 2009 address invokes Vivekananda, “Vivekananda uniquely combined in himself the fiery national spirit of a patriot and the deep spirituality of a saint. He was a thinker and a doer, who endowed within himself the knowledge of the ancient, with the appreciation of the modern, the wisdom of the East and the science of the West, the sacredness of tradition with the necessity for modernity…. It is not just Vivekananda’s understanding and explanation of Hinduism that must be brought home to our youth. His emphasis on literacy and social renaissance is equally relevant… A few thousand graduates, he argued, could not be the basis of a great nation. Educating the masses was his constant refrain. This remains our country’s single greatest challenge as we enter the 21st century.”

Sonia Gandhi’s address may be read here:

[1] The vociferous demand for a special law for Muslim women’s divorce rights while Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister (1986) followed by the opening of the locks of the Babri Masjid for Hindu prayers (Shilanyas) where an inserted Ram idol had been placed in 1949 is seen as one of these acts; other responses to the male clergy from among the minority re-inforcing a religious identity label rather than enforcing social, economic and cultural rights of Indian Muslims are other issued left unresolved by the Congress.

Related:

Breaking: Religion a personal matter, BJP politicising Ram Temple: Congress declines invite to inauguration

The post Is the Congress anti-Hindu or anti Hindutva? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s National President J P Nadda seemed to have been in an angry mood when he wrote to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to complain about Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders. According to Nadda’s open letter, which the party openly shared on social media, Rahul Gandhi “will be remembered for duplicity and pettiness.” This would be a relevant attack if Rahul Gandhi was the Union Health Minister at least, however, he is a member of parliament, who does not decide the government policy to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic currently ravaging the country.

However, JP Nadda in his letter-for-letter, tit for tat, mode has notified Sonia Gandhi that “the Congress Working Committee talks about the Modi Government “abdicating” its responsibility on vaccination. Is there so much of a communication gap between the Congress party and the states it shares power in? In April itself, topmost Congress leaders were calling for ‘decentralisation of vaccination’.”

However, it is known that most of the Covid-19 policies are now Centrally controlled, and state governments are often taking to social media to raise concerns about the shortage of Oxygen supplies to the states and of vaccine stocks running out. Nadda’s letter came on the heels of the remarks at the Congress’ Working Committee Meeting held on Monday where Sonia Gandhi reportedly said that the Union Government, and the Prime Minister had “mismanaged” the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the Prime Minister continues to maintain silence on the issue, Nadda seems to have once again been asked to deliver the response, as he is the party chief.

Nadda writes in defence of the BJP-led Government that it “has already ensured that considerable coverage has been achieved in priority groups by providing over 16 crore vaccines to states in the first few phases. Even now, it continues to give 50% of the total vaccines, free of cost.” The BJP Chief also expressed sadness about the conduct of the Congress Party during these challenging times, saying, “While there are certainly a few members of your party who (like several other selfless citizens) are doing commendable work in helping people, their hard work gets eclipsed by the consistent negativity spread by the more senior members of the party.” 

BJP National President Shri @JPNadda writes an open letter to Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi on Congress’ role during the pandemic and how the rest of the nation is fighting it together under the leadership of PM Modi. pic.twitter.com/Cr3zDYek68

— BJP (@BJP4India) May 11, 2021

He then launched a counter allegation at the Congress accusing its leaders of, “creating false panic and even contradicting their stands just based on political considerations.” He takes a flashback to 2020 and says when “scientists, doctors and innovators were racing against time to find a vaccine, your party leaders left no opportunity to mock these efforts. A vaccine that is made in India should be a matter of national pride. Instead, Congress leaders tried to ridicule it and create doubts in the minds of people.” He added that a ‘Congress Chief Minister’ spread rumours about the vaccine and tried to create vaccine hesitancy, “in a nation that has almost no recent history of vaccine hesitancy, your party has the dubious record of trying to actively create it, that too, in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic.” He did not name the CM he accused. He asked if the states which have Congress Governments will “also come out with a similar decision to provide vaccines for free?”

As expected, the BJP leadership and supporters amplified the long letter all day. However, what JP Nadda the letter writer perhaps did not bargain for was the deluge of responses to his penmanship, including those from non-Congress leaders. Here are two examples:

JP Nadda writes to Sonia Gandhi, urging to not weaken country’s fight against Covid

Why doesn’t he just write to PM urging to strengthen fight against Covid? #GiveItUpGuys

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) May 11, 2021

‘Fine Fettle’??????????….It cannot be @JPNadda ji https://t.co/RMoTSjpRzQ

— Manoj Kumar Jha (@manojkjhadu) May 11, 2021

Related:

Covid-19: UP’s local representatives present only in photos not district offices!
If we do not face up to the reality, we will not draw the right lessons: Sonia Gandhi
Congress offers suggestions for Covid control, financial relief in Assam
65 Congress MLAs, Jignesh Mevani move Gujarat HC to utilise MPLAD funds for medical facilities

The post How will an angry letter to an Opposition party help curb Covid-19 pandemic in India? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has firmly told her party colleagues to take stock of what has gone wrong and not to soften the blow of the party’s loss in the recent Assembly elections by calling the results “disappointing”. According to a report in The Hindu, Gandhi has set up a group to analyse the results and said that the party needs to know why it “failed in Kerala and Assam”, and more importantly, why it drew “a complete blank,” in West Bengal. She told her colleagues to be ready for “uncomfortable lessons,” adding “if we do not face up to reality, if we do not look the facts in the face, we will not draw the right lessons.”

According to news reports, Gandhi said senior leaders from Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Bengal, where the party faced one of its worst poll fates yet, will be asked to “brief us, very frankly, on our performance… tell us why we performed well below expectation. These results tell us clearly that we need to put our house in order.”  

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) retained power in West Bengal after one of the most aggressively communal electoral battles in the history of the state. But the electorate stood united and rewarded Mamata Banerjee another term with a vote share of nearly 50 percent! In Kerala The Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 97 seats, United Democratic Front (UDF) 41; and the BJP scored Zero. Puducherry, was another area of concern for the Congress where ex-partyman N Rangaswamy led his party the All India N.R. Congress to victory and is in alliance with the BJP. Puducherry was under President’s Rule after the collapse of the V Narayanasamy-led Congress government. 

Gandhi was addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Monday, this is where the party’s decisions are made and plans of future actions discussed with the top leadership.

The HIndu reported that Gandhi sought the CWC’s opinion on appointing a full-time Congress chief by June-end as it had been planned before Covid-19 second wave hit India. Gandhi said that party’s Central Election Authority chief Madhusudan Mistry “had already worked out a schedule”. This is crucial as it was in 2020, that the party’s senior leaders including Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Kapil Sibal who had been asking that a “full-time” and “effective leadership” be  in place and that it should  “visible” and “active”. These, along with other leaders of the party had written Gandhi on the issue and called for an internal reform in the Congress.

Related:

Congress offers suggestions for Covid control, financial relief in Assam

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“Let’s move ahead,” Congress President, Sonia Gandhi had reportedly told the senior leaders at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held in the last week of August. It took the party leaders seven hours of deliberations, to convince 73-year-old Sonia Gandhi to continue to lead them. The party is likely to hold elections for the post of its president sometime next year, however, the “necessary organisational changes” that were decided at the CWC have been put into place. Sonia Gandhi on Friday, has appointed a six-member core committee that will assist her in discharging her duties as the party president. 

She has also attempted to address the ‘rebellion’ within the party and moved many major functionaries to new duties that will keep them engaged away from their ‘home turfs’. For example, Jitin Prasada, is now a CWC permanent invitee and has been appointed as the party’s Incharge-West Bengal & Andaman and Nicobar Islands, taking him away from Uttar Pradesh politics where he had begun active campaigns, projecting himself as a ‘leader of Brahmins’, rather than just a Brahmin leader. Prasada, a former Union Minister of State for Steel, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Road Transport & Highways and Human Resource Development had even launched an ‘awareness crusade’ for his community. He had posted the event proudly as: ‘Brahma_Chetna_’ dialogue, as descendants of lost Parshurama, “walking on the path of justice, will bring back the lost honor, glory and pride of our society.” 

“ब्रह्म_चेतना_संवाद” जन-जन के आस्था के प्रतीक जनपद #चित्रकूट से हुआ। हम सभी न्याय के पथ पर चलते हुए भगवान परशुराम के बंशज अपने समाज के खोये मान-सम्मान, गौरव को वापस लाकर ही रहेंगे। संवाद में शामिल सभी का आभार…? pic.twitter.com/vIqWGuf03a

— Jitin Prasada जितिन प्रसाद (@JitinPrasada) August 26, 2020

However today, he has accepted the new appointment as expected, and is “grateful” to both the Congress President Sonia Gandhi, as well as Rahul Gandhi for “reposing their faith” in him. 

I am grateful to the Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji and @RahulGandhi ji for reposing their faith in me and my commitment to the Congress party. I hope to fulfill my new responsibilities to the best of my abilities. @INCWestBengal pic.twitter.com/CR6vV2Eyy8

— Jitin Prasada जितिन प्रसाद (@JitinPrasada) September 11, 2020

Sonia Gandhi’s organisational reshuffle on Friday has mixed up ‘seniors’ and ‘juniors’ at various leadership levels. Perhaps this mix of loyalists and those with rebellious streaks is going to help address dissent as soon as it is voiced. The Indian Express reports that a six-member special committee, will now assist Gandhi in organisational and operational matters. The members are AK Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, KC Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Singh Surjewala. The CWC meeting of August 24, it was decided that a committee would be set up to assist Sonia Gandhi to look into the issues raised in a letter that 23 leaders had signed calling for reforms within the party. They were instantly called ‘rebels’. However, Gandhi has used this as an opportunity to restructure, and send the message that the party leadership was as democratic as it claims.

The new general secretaries of the Congress are Mukul Wasnik, Harish Rawat, Oommen Chandy, Tariq Anwar, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Surjewala, Jitendra Singh, Ajay Maken, KC Venugopal. Many prominent names have been dropped from this much coveted party position. They are : Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, Motilal Vora, Ambika Sonia and Luizinho Faleiro, reported IE. A direct impact it seems, of the letter signed by 23 senior leaders of the Congress, including five former Chief Ministers, many Congress Working Committee members, sitting MPs, and several former Union Ministers.

They had asked for “visible” and “active” and a “full time and effective leadership”. They had also sought elections to the CWC; and the urgent establishment of an “institutional leadership mechanism” to “collectively” guide the party’s revival, reported the IE. Azad, the leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, former Union Ministers Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor were among the signatories to the letter.

Now, the CWC itself  has been reconstituted the CWC, led by Sonia Gandhi, the other members are former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, AK Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Sonia, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Harish Rawat, Venugopal, Kharge, Wasnik, Chandy, Maken, Priyanka Gandhi, P Chidambaram, Jitendra Singh, Anwar, Surjewala, Gaikhangam, Raghuveer Singh Meena, and Tarun Gogoi.

Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi has reconstituted the Congress Working Committee as follows: pic.twitter.com/Fti9oYxJUr

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 11, 2020

The CWC permanent invitees include, Digvijaya Singh, Meira Kumar, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khurshid, Avinash Pandey, KH Muniyappa, Pramod Tiwari, Tariq Hameed Karra, Pawan Kumar Bansal, Rajani Patil, PL Punia, R.P.N Singh, Shakisinh Gohil, Rajeev Satav, Rajeev Shukla, Jitin Prasada, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Manickam Tagore, Chellakumar, H.K Patil, Devendra Yadav, Vivek Bansal, Manish Chatrath, Bhakta Charan Das, and Kuljit Singh Nagra

Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi has reconstituted the AICC Central Election Authority. pic.twitter.com/BhfBnejk3P

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 11, 2020

Related: 

Congress CWC puts ‘rebels’ in place, starts planning for political combat 
Why did Priyanka Gandhi’s comment on crime in UP get so many official responses?
Uttar Pradesh’s alleged ‘Brahmin victimhood’ fuels saviour complex in Opposition parties

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The Covid-19 pandemic rages on in India despite the nearly three month national lockdown that has been called the biggest and perhaps the most stringent in the world. In India, besides being an unprecedented and unpredictable health crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic has hurt the poor and the marginalised disproportionately more, and slowed the economy down to alarming levels. The Union government has been announcing various financial stimuli from time to time too, however, the results of most are yet to show on the ground. More people are now facing unemployment, hunger and ill health across the country. Then there are price rises which add to the misery. The latest is a hike in fuel prices, announced by the Union Government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often said the national leadership must work together across party lines in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. He has even held meetings with chief ministers of states to draw up joint strategies. However, he is yet to directly respond to a steady stream of letters written by senior Opposition leader, Congress president Sonia Gandhi. She has written many letters to the PM raising crucial issues such as price rise, the misery of migrant workers, wages for labourers. The PM is yet to hit ‘reply’. Here are some of the letters from Congress President Sonia Gandhi to PM Modi that await a response on crucial issues:

June 16: Fuel price hike during Covid-19 pandemic

As petrol and disease prices were raised for the tenth day in a row, Sonia Gandhi wrote, “India has faced unprecedented public health, economic and social challenges during the ongoing battle against Covid-19. I am deeply distressed that in these exceedingly difficult times since the beginning of March, the government has taken the wholly insensitive decision to increase petrol and diesel prices on no less than ten separate occasions.” 

She urged the Prime Minister to rollback the hike, and pass on the benefit of low oil prices directly to the citizens already suffering hardships, writing, “I see no logic in why the government would even consider such a price increase at a time when the economic impact of Covid-19 is depriving millions of jobs and livelihood, devastating business big and small, rapidly eroding the income of the middle class, even as farmers are struggling to sow the crop for the Kharif season.”

Mentioning that the international price of crude oil has fallen, Gandhi said the government is profiteering off the people, “Given that the international price of crude oil has fallen by approximate 9 per cent over the last week (coming after a collapse of crude oil prices over the last few months), the Government is doing nothing short of profiteering off its people – when they are down and out.” She added, “It is a matter of record that despite historically low oil prices over the last six years your government’s revenues have been massively enriched by the cumulative increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel on twelve different occasions (by an additional Rs 23.78 per litre on petrol and Rs 28.37 on diesel). This translates into a 258 per cent increase in excise on petrol and 820 per cent hike in excise duty on diesel yielding in these six years a staggering Rs 18,00,000 crores from excise collection on petrol and diesel alone. If ever there was ever a time to deploy these resources in the service of the people, it is now.”
 

April 25: Asks for a special package for MSMEs

Sonia Gandhi wrote, “Every single day of the lockdown comes at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore to the sector. Nearly all MSMEs have lost sales orders, seen a complete cessation of their work, and have had their revenue negatively impacted by the lockdown. Most worrying, the 11 crore employees are at risk of losing jobs…”
 

April 13: Suggestions to combat chronic food insecurity

Sonia Gandhi, once again wrote to the PM urging him to increase free grain supply to 10 kg per person for a longer period, till September 2020 under the National Food Security Act. She also suggested that this also include those who do not hold ration cards, but also face massive food shortage including migrant workers. The letter can be read here:

https://www.inc.in/en/media/press-releases/congress-president-smt-sonia-gandhis-letter-to-the-prime-minister

April 7: Five Points of austerity measures for the PM to consider 

•  Suspending the Rs 20,000 crore “Central Vista” project. 

• Putting  “all foreign visits” on hold. The amount (which is around Rs 393 crores for just the Prime Minister and Union Cabinet’s trips in the last five years) can be utilised extensively in measures to combat Covid-19,” she had written.

• Two-year ban on TV, print and online media ads by the government, except coronavirus-related information.

• Transfer money collected under the “PM Cares” to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to “ensure efficiency, transparency, accountability and audit.” 

• Government can make a “proportionate reduction of 30 per cent” in its expenditure. The funds saved can be used to help migrant workers, and those who work in  unorganised sectors.

Congress President and CPP Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi writes to PM Modi suggesting various measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/77MzCYiokl

— Congress (@INCIndia) April 7, 2020

April 1: Sought advance wages to labourers registered under MGNREGA

Sonia Gandhi wrote to the PM, that lakhs of agricultural workers were not able to earn during the harvest season once the lockdown was announced and social distancing was essential. She had suggested they be paid 21 days wages in advance, so they could survive in the interim, and that it could be adjusted once work resumed. Here is the letter: 
 

March 27: Drew attention to the plight of migrant workers

In this letter Gandhi highlights the impact on the already marginalised migrant workers, who were forced to walk hundreds of miles to their hometowns. She had sought special transport for them.

March 26: Sought more PPEs, and a ‘risk allowance’  for healthcare workers

While assuring her party’s support to steps taken by the Union Government to help contain the Covis-19 pandemic, Sonia Gandhi had asked that health workers be equipped better. She said it was urgent to give doctors, nurses and health workers ‘Personal Protection Equipment’ including N-95 masks and hazmat suits. She said the government must scale up “manufacture and supply of these items so that not a single health professional faces the predicament of contracting or passing on COVID-19 owing to unavailability of ‘Personal Protection Equipment’.” She also sought a “Risk Allowance” for doctors, nurses and health workers for a period of six months retrospectively from the 1st of March 2020.

March 23: Asked for financial aid to construction workers and labourers hit by the lockdown

Gandhi wrote, “… lakhs of migrant workers in major cities across India have left for their hometown and villages fearing a prolonged economic downturn.” She also wrote about migrant workers who were “deprived of their livelihoods” and were “stranded in the cities.”

https://www.inc.in/en/media/press-releases/congress-president-smt-sonia-gandhis-letter-to-prime-minister-regarding-covid-19
 

The Union Government has addressed some of the points raised by Sonia Gandhi, but many still remain to be considered, even as the Covid-19 curve continues to rise in many states. The letters have also acted as a booster shot of energy in the Congress rank and file, which is now seen to be working with a new plan of action in place. The crucial, Bihar Assembly election is due this year. 

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May 4 2020, will be marked as an landmark date in Indian Politics, for it has brought forth a leadership lesson, from an unexpected quarter, It took one empathetic decision from Opposition leader,  Congress president Sonia Gandhi, to send the Union government into firefighting mode. Gandhi, who has never held a cabinet post, or ministership offered to pay rail fare for migrant labourers, desperate to get home to their villages. Already hit by joblessness, and facing impending starvation in the cities they work in, thousands of labourers had hoped to get home safely in the special trains run by the Railway ministry for the purpose. To their shock they were expected to pay the full fare.

So bizzare was the move that even Subramaniam Swamy, senior lawyer and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member had commented: “How moronic of the Government of India to charge steep rail fares from the half starved migrant labourers! Indians stranded abroad were brought back free by Air India. If Railways refuse to budge then why not make PM CARES pay instead?” It is well known that Swamy is one of the most vocal critics of Sonia Gandhi, her family, and party. He then went on to add that he had spoken to the concerned ministry, who in turn said they will now pay 85% of the fare for each ticket.

How moronic of the Government of India to charge steep rail fares from the half starved migrant labourers! Indians stranded abroad were brought back free by Air India. If Railways refuse to budge then why not make PM CARES pay instead?

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) May 4, 2020

The fact that it took one statement from Sonia Gandhi to rattle the Railways Ministry and the union government has exposed the manner in which such a crisis is first created, and how it harms the most marginalised sections. It is unlikely that the Rail Minister, Piyush Goel, had not known the situation before Sonia Gandhi’s orders alerted the system. 

“What is the responsibility of our Govt? Even today lakhs of workers & migrant labourers are languishing in different parts of the country. What is disturbing is that the Govt is charging them for train tickets in this crisis,” she had asked.

Sonia Gandhi had called the government out for this anti-labourer, anti-poor move,  and said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure “safe” and “free rail travel” for migrant workers who wanted to go back to their  home-towns as they had no options left. 

She questioned the Rail Ministry’s “largesse to donate ₹151cr to PM’s Corona fund,” and asked, “why can’t these essential members of our nation’s fabric be given a fraction of the same courtesy, especially free rail travel?”

Sonia Gandhi, then said her party will pay the rail fares of all the migrants who could not afford to buy their train ticket home. “The Indian National Congress has, therefore, taken a decision that every PradeshCongress Committee shall bear the cost for the rail travel of every needy worker and migrant labourer and shall take necessary steps in this regard,” she said. 

This she said was her party’s “contribution in service of our compatriots and to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with them.” This was an offer for all states, not just the ones governed by the Congress. Her announcement must have sent alarm bells ringing in the Rail Ministry. Though a clarification came from party leader Subramanian Swamy, and not from the Rail Minister, or the Prime Minister’s office.

“Talked Piyush Goel office. Govt will pay 85% and State Govt 15% . Migrant labour will go free. Ministry will clarify with an official statement

Talked Piyush Goel office. Govt will pay 85% and State Govt 15% . Migrant labour will go free. Ministry will clarify with an official statement

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) May 4, 2020

Sonia Gandhi had reacted to the news that migrant labourers, many now jobless, had been forced to pay for their travel  charged migrant labourers who desperately need to get home to their villages. The government, it seems, reacted to Sonia Gandhi. 

It is a matter of record that since the national Covid19 lockdown, now in its third phase, labourers have faced massive job loss, and do not have food and health security at the cities they work in. Thousands have been walking to their villages from across the country. Many have died on the way. It is now being seen as one of the biggest humanitarian crises in India, emerging in the wake of the Covid19 pandemic. 

“Thousands of migrant workers and labourers were forced to walk home… without anything except for the desire to return to their families & loved ones. Their plight breaks our hearts,” said Sonia Gandhi. She called the workers the backbone of India’s economy, and said they have been denied the opportunity to return to their homes as the nation was put in lockdown suddenly. 

“Post the Partition of 1947, this is the first time India witnessed a tragedy with such a massive human cost,” she said and added that it was “particularly disturbing that the Central Government and the Rail Ministry are charging them for train tickets in this hour of crisis.”

She said that the Union Government had  “recognised its responsibility by arranging free air travel for our citi-zens stranded abroad,” and spent “nearly Rs. 100 crores for just one public programme in Gujarat”. 

As expected her statements, and offer to pay, set off a discussion online with BJP supporters in fire fighting mode and Congress spokesperson raising more questions. A case in point was BJP spokesman Sambit Swaraj who answered Rahul Gandhi’s question on railways donation to PM Cares fund with this:

“Rahul Gandhi ji,
I have attached guidelines of MHA which clearly states that “No tickets to be sold at any station” Railways has subsidised 85% & State govt to pay 15%

The State govt can pay for the tickets(Madhya Pradesh’s BJP govt is paying)
Ask Cong state govts to follow suit” 

Rahul Gandhi ji,
I have attached guidelines of MHA which clearly states that “No tickets to be sold at any station”
Railways has subsidised 85% & State govt to pay 15%
The State govt can pay for the tickets(Madhya Pradesh’s BJP govt is paying)
Ask Cong state govts to follow suit https://t.co/Hc9pQzy8kQ pic.twitter.com/2RIAMyQyjs

— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) May 4, 2020

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera put out the original orders which showed that the state governments were to collect fares and issue tickets to the labourers who wanted to travel. “For the record, this is what the government of India had issued. No harm in accepting the mistake and undoing it. We owe it all to our workers.”

For the record, this is what the government of India had issued. No harm in accepting the mistake and undoing it. We owe it all to our workers. #CongressCares #CongressForIndia pic.twitter.com/Td0Sye5GeP

— Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) May 4, 2020

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Image Courtesy:bangaloremirror

“Let me also share with you something that should worry each and every one as Indians. When we should be tackling the coronavirus unitedly, the BJP continues to spread the virus of communal prejudice and hatred,” Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s words are the strongest criticism of what has widely been reported as the communalisation of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. 

For nearly a month after the sudden national lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an attempt to slow the Coronavirus spread, a dangerous trend of  targeting members of the minority communities, has emerged. Though the incidents are regularly reported and analysed, mostly by independent media houses, the government has not really cracked down on communal hate speech, and hate crime. The government critic has come on crimes committed in non-Bharatiya Janata Party ruled states, and not much has been said on the attempt to communalise the spread of Coronavirus in the country by putting the blame on Muslims. 

Speaking to party workers over a video telecast of a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on April 23, Gandhi minced no words and said even as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was spreading “communal prejudice and hatred”. As reported by The Hindu, her remarks come just a few days after the BJP targeted the Uddhav Thackray led Maharashtra govt, where the Congress is an ally, over the Palghar lynching incident. Three people, including two Hindu ascetics, were killed by a mob on April 16. Since then a narrative was built to give a dangerous communal spin to the incident. 
 

Sonia Gandhi called such attempts damaging to the social harmony of the country . “Let me also share with you something that should worry each and every one us Indians. When we should be tackling the coronavirus unitedly, the BJP continues to spread the virus of communal prejudice and hatred. Grave damage is being done to our social harmony. Our party, we will have to work hard to repair that damage,” she said.

She also took the government on and raised the issue of the low levels of testing for Covid19 and said the kits were in short supply and often of poor quality, “We have repeatedly urged the Prime Minister that there is no alternative to testing, trace and quarantine programme. Unfortunately, testing still remains low and testing kits are still in short supply and of poor quality,”. She also raised the most critical  issue being faced by medics and other frontline workers, “ PPE kits are being provided to our doctors & healthcare workers but the number and quality is poor,” she said.

She also spoke at the CWC on how the lockdown was affecting the poor, especially farmers, and migrant workers and said that the Central government “does not appear to have a clear idea on how the situation will be managed after May 3,” Gandhi’s remarks were quoted in multiple news reports.

However, what was interesting was the fact that Sonia Gandhi completely ignored the massive volatile allegations made by Arnab Goswami of Republic TV, linking her name to the Palghar incident. The issue only came up in the online press interaction when a related question was asked by a journalist. 

Congress spokespeson KC Venugopal added that the Palghar incident was not communal, “Palgar is a stronghold of BJP, out of the 110 people not even a single muslim is there. How can it be communal?

“Everyone has the right to criticise but in the name of criticism malicious  propaganda is spread to motivate communal clashes across the country,” he added.

Additional questions were asked about the many complaints being registered against the TV Anchor after he accused Sonia Gandhi of ‘celebrating’ the Palghar violence, on his show in his characteristic rabble rousing style.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said only someone with a “cheap mentality,” could have done something like that. He said that the “friendship” between Prime Minister Modi and the TV channel’s anchor was “known to the world”. 

He hinted the “vulgar” comments were reflective of a collective thought  of the anchor and the party that supported him. Adding to the colorful vocabulary of the strangest discourse  fuelled by the TV anchor yet, Surjewala said such journalism was ‘Chatukaar’ roughly translated as licking, or bootlicking. 

According to a report by Bar&Bench, Goswami has clearly stated that he suspects the attack to be “orchestrated by Sonia Gandhi and the Congress leadership and that he and his wife would not cow down by “this cowardly attack which cannot have happened without the go ahead by Sonia Gandhi.”

Surjewala refuted allegations made by the Republic TV editor, co-founder, owner and anchor and amplified by his supporters, that he was attacked by youth Congress members, after his show, and said, “we respect even our opponents”.

Surjewala said such allegations were not good for Indian journalism nor for democracy. “Why is the PM quiet mode? If you have the courage, come and face Mrs Sonia gandhi. Do not hide behind bootlicking reporters,” Surjewala challenged.

Meanwhile, On April 23, the Press Council of India took suo motu cognisance on the alleged attack on Arnab Goswami

“Violence is not the answer even against bad journalism” stated  the Council. 

It said every citizen, including a journalist had a right  to their opinion. The council has sought a report from the authorities on the investigations into the alleged attack on Arnab Goswami’s car. 

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No sooner was Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s  advice to Prime Minister Modi made public, both critics and followers sat up and took notice. Social media, now fuelling news media more than ever, has made everybody online a political observer and commentator.  

The Congress President’s response has the tone of a factual report and was a reply to suggestions sought by the prime minister himself. PM Modi had sought suggestions from Opposition parties at a time when the nation may be a few days away from the next stage of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, it has done something bigger. Each of the points she has raised, has put many expenditures under the public scanner. Most of these had been put on the back burner as all political, public, and media focus has been on the Coronavirus pandemic. 

She had suggested five steps, which according to her would help the government to save money and add the funds to the budget needed to deal with the pandemic. Her suggestions were not as simple as they seemed in writing. Each is a critique of massive expenditure that the Narendra Modi-led government has incurred so far, and planned for future projects that the opposition feels should not be a priority.

Topping her list of austerity measures was a “complete ban on media advertisements – television, print and online – by the Government and Public Sectors Undertakings for a period of two years.”  As reported in the Indian Express the only advertisements allowed should be Covid-19 advisories and those on issues relating to public health. “Given that the Central Government currently spend an average of Rs 1,250 crores per year on media advertisements (not including an equal or greater amount spent by PSUs and Government companies), this will free up a substantial amount to alleviate the economic and social impacts of COVID-19,” she is quoted in the IE. She has asked for a two-year ban on this expenditure.

This suggestion got a sharp response from the News Broadcasters’ Association (NBA) which has strongly opposed Sonia Gandhi’s suggestion. According to a report in the economic times the NBA has reacted strongly and issued a statement. The NBA has stated that her suggestion was “highly demoralising”, especially now when the media was out reporting on Covid-19. The statement was also shared by journalist Rajat Sharma, who heads the NBA, called it deplorable. “News Broadcasters Association (NBA) deplores Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s suggestion for 2-year ban on govt ads to print, electronic, online media,” he stated.

Gandhi also pointed out the Rs 20,000 crore Central Vista ‘beautification’ project, and suggested that it be put on hold.

“At a time like this, such an outlay seems self-indulgent to say the least. I am certain that Parliament can function comfortably within the existing historical buildings. There is no urgent or pressing requirement that cannot be postponed until this crisis is contained. This sum could instead be allocated towards constructing new hospital infrastructure and diagnostics along with equipping our frontline workers with Personal Protection Equipment (‘PPE’s’) and better facilities,” she is quoted in news reports.

According to the IE report, Sonia Gandhi also asked the Prime Minister to ‘order a proportionate reduction of 30 per cent in the expenditure budget of the Government’. She also pointed out that all the money collected for the ‘PM Cares’ fund be transferred to the ‘Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund’. This brand new ‘PM Cares’ fund has been in the spotlight and questions have already been asked about the need for this second fund, and also how even government doctors were being ‘encouraged’ to ‘donate’ to it. Many celebrities, including actors, sports-persons, industrialists have made public declarations of their support and promised big donations to the fund.

Gandhi said “it seems like a waste of effort and resources to have and create two separate silos for the distribution of funds.” She added that the yet to be utilised Rs 3,800 crores of the  PM-NRF, and the additional money from the PM-Cares fund will ensure security to those who need it most urgently.

Her other suggestions also put a critical spotlight on the other big expenditures this government has undertaken on foreign visits by the prime minister, president, vice president and other union ministers, state chief ministers etc. One of the sharpest suggestions include the suspension of international travel by the Prime Minister, as well as other dignitaries. Gandhi put it on record once again that these international trips by the PM,and ministers had cost Rs 393 crore, in the past five years. She suggested that the PM allow travel in special cases, and the money saved can be used for anti-Covid-19 programmes.

Gandhi has, of course, supported the ordinance slashing the salaries of all Members of Parliament by 30 per cent. “Every single Indian has made great personal sacrifices to fight this disease. They have complied with every suggestion, instruction and decision taken by your office and the Central Government. It is time that the legislature and the executive reciprocate this trust and good faith,” she stated.

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Amethi:
Amethi has so far been considered the safest seat for the Congress. It has been represented by Sanjay Gandhi (1980), Rajiv Gandhi (1981-1991), Sonia Gandhi (1999-2004) and since then by Rahul Gandhi. This time incumbent Rahul Gandhi faces his former adversary actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani again. Last time Gandhi had defeated Irani by a margin of over 1 lakh votes, but his vote share had dropped from over 70 percent in 2009 to just over 46 percent in 2014.

Amethi is a prestige seat and the Nehru-Gandhi family cannot afford to lose it. Interestingly, the SP-BSP Mahagathbandhan has not fielded any candidate from this constituency. While 7.31 per cent of the population identifies as Muslim, 18.9 per cent belong to scheduled castes according to 2011 census data.

Rae Bareli:
Another Congress bastion, this is Sonia Gandhi’s constituency. She has held it since 2004. Before her two other members of her family namely, Firoz Gandhi and Indira Gandhi have won from this constituency. Though Sonia Gandhi secured well over 5 lakh votes in the previous election from across religious and caste lines, it is noteworthy that the Congress has been losing assembly polls here since 2007.

While 12.3 per cent of the population identifies as Muslim, over 30 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes. The constituency has over 2 lakh voters from the Vaish community that had overwhelmingly voted for BJP’s previous candidate Ajay Agarwal in 2014. Agarwal had managed to secure the maximum number of votes ever by an opponent of Sonia Gandhi, totalling over 1.73 lakhs, from this constituency. But the BJP dropped him in favour of Dinesh Pratap Singh. Meanwhile, the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) has fielded Ram Singh Yadav.

Lucknow:
The constituency is associated with deceased BJP heavyweight Atal Bihari Vajpayee who won the seat five times consecutively since 1991. Even after Vajpayee stepped out of active politics, the seat has remained with the BJP with Lalji Tandon winning in 2009 and Rajnath Singh getting elected in 2014.
This time though, it will be an interesting triangular contest with Singh going up against the INC’s Pramod Krishnam and Samajwadi Party’s Poonam Sinha. Lucknow is also interesting as it is a very demographically diverse constituency. According to census data, over 21 per cent of people are Muslim and over 20 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes.

Faizabad:
This is another important parliamentary constituency as it is home to Ayodhya, the temple town where the Babri Mosque was razed to the ground in 1992. Key election issues here include unemployment, absence of proper healthcare facilities as well as the shut-down of small businesses due to economic slowdown. The constituency has changed hands and everyone from the BJP, INC, SP, BSP and even the Communist Party of India have come to power here.

The incumbent is BJP’s Lallu Singh who is facing Anand Sen Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and also curiously Mahesh Tiwari of the Shiv Sena, the sons-of-the-soil party from Maharashtra that now has national expansion ambitions. The INC has fielded veteran Dr Nirmal Khatri who had won the seat in 2009. And though no VIP really represents the constituency, the age old demand for construction of a Ram Temple makes the deity the VIP here.

According to Census data, while just over 9 per cent of the people belong to Scheduled Castes, over 28 per cent identify as Muslim, making this a very diverse constituency.

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