Letter to BS: For Congress party's survival, Gandhi family needs to give up

Apropos your editorial “Grand old implosion” (March 12), whether Jyotiraditya Scindia’s resignation from the Congress was a principled stand or not, it is certainly a wake-up call for the party. After its rout in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019, followed by the resignation of its president, Rahul Gandhi — owning moral re­s­ponsibility — one expected the party to reinvent itself by inducting young, untainted faces in le­adership positions. But what one witnessed was the familiar sight of seniors, long used to enjoying power, going back to Sonia Gandhi and be­seeching her to accept the party’s interim presidentship, though its constitution does not allow for such a post. The servility of the party seniors to one family is pathetic.
 
The present day Indian voters are mature enough to differentiate between national- and state-level elections and vote according to issues and performances. They have provided a number of opportunities to the Congress by voting it to power in many states, even after defeating them in the national elections. But unless the party gives up its obsession and cuts its umbilical cord from the one family, the prospect of “Congress-mukt Bharat”, which is a cherished goal of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, may well become a sad reality.
 
V Jayaraman, Chennai Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to: 

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