Faced with the charge that it had been complicit in corruption by its allies, the Congress party today attempted to regain lost political ground by attacking Hindu extremism and renewing its aam admi appeal.
In speeches that were virtually mirror images of each other, mother and son spelt out the larger political agenda of the Congress party: inclusiveness, the challenge that Hindu fundamentalist groups posed to this and the cost that India was paying because of corruption and cronyism.
Both appealed to the government to find time for the party and this touched a responsive chord in the 10,000 or so Congress workers gathered in Burari. Interestingly, this was the first time that Rahul Gandhi directed ministers to find time to meet party workers and incorporate their voice in policy. Every time the mother-son duo made this point, the hall erupted in a frenzy of applause.
Among the speakers, the star of the day was Digvijay Singh, who delivered a fire-and-brimstone speech on “fascist forces” like the RSS and the BJP. Singh, who sparked a controversy about the circumstances surrounding the 26/11 death of anti-terrorism squad chief Hemant Karkare by hinting he might have been murdered by Hindu terrorists, had clearly decided that his strategy would be never apologise, never explain.
He said the RSS was sowing the seeds of hatred in the minds of a new generation and “this is the biggest danger for us”.
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He said RSS activists had infiltrated the bureaucracy and the army, and asked: “Why did all the people involved in various bombings like Malegaon, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta Express have links with the RSS?”
In his speech, Singh congratulated Home Minister P Chidambaram for instituting an inquiry into so-called “saffron” terror. This is significant because on another occasion, he had been critical of the minister. He also took a mild dig at those “who had attempted to water down the right to information law”, possibly hinting at the Prime Minister, who was reportedly not in favour of file notings being made public.
Speakers were carefully selected to represent various parts of India, but Bengal had two speakers: Deepa Dasmunshi, MP, and Manas Bhuyan, chief of the party’s state unit. Both attacked the politics of the Trinamool Congress, Dasmunshi even naming Mamata Banerjee.
“The Congress needs to be more aggressive. When the railway minister speaks against the United Progressive Alliance and criticises the Prime Minister, when the railway ministry holds functions, but no thanks are given to Sonia Gandhi or the Prime Minister, it hurts, it really hurts,” Dasmunshi said.
She pointed out that the trust deficit was such that not a single joint programme had been taken up by the two allies over the past one year. “We want an alliance,” she added, “But not at the cost of the Congress party’s self respect.”
Bhuyan was more restrained, but he told the meeting that at a time when Left Wing extremism was making its presence felt in West Bengal, the Congress ally wanted paramilitary forces withdrawn.
While delegates heard Rahul Gandhi’s speech in pin-drop silence – prompting the next speaker, a Goa Congressman, to remark ruefully that he was given an impossible task — many felt that his speech was more suited to the UN General Assembly for its philosophic tone. “We would have liked to hear a more ladenge, marenge type of speech” said a delegate from UP.