Disturbing portents: Congress' tepid response to fate of Zakia and Teesta

A powerful factor in the party's retreat from the minorities is its increasing reliance on micro-management of elections, a style driven by the BJP's successes

The Supreme Court judgment in the Zakia Jafri case was delivered on June 24. The Congress party took three days to comment on the judgment and mark a token presence at a citizens’ protest in Delhi against the arrest of Teesta Setalvad. Only in response to pressure from within did it release a statement on June 27 raising the question of the constitutional and moral responsibility of the chief minister and the Gujarat government in the communal riots of 2002. It also said the party stood by “our colleague, the late Ehsan Jafri and his family.”

The hesitation points to