“Dangers of hubris” (March 10) has got it absolutely right. The Congress party is so convinced it is on a winning streak that it has forgotten the coalition dharma of consensus. Which is why it is in the mess it is today and has got its allies withdrawing support to it. In the process, it has even legitimised the BJP, and the party is no longer the pariah the Congress party had sought to make it out to be all these years. This is indeed a self goal, though it is doubtful that the Congress party’s political managers will see it as such.
The irony is that, having pushed the Women’s Reservation Bill through the Rajya Sabha, the government does not have the nerve to push the Bill in the Lok Sabha since it has to get both the Vote-on-Account and the Budget passed. While the BJP has said it will not fish in troubled waters, the government cannot take a chance — if the Budget is not passed, the government could fall. So, in order to placate its angry allies, the government may just be forced not to rush the Bill in the Lok Sabha. In which case, why did it create all the fuss in the Rajya Sabha?
Sanjiv Gupta, New Delhi