Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday, 15 May, wondered if the Bharatiya Janata Party, its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or even regional parties would allow the kind of discussions that the grand old party has been having at its chintan shivir in Rajasthan.
"Which other political party in this country would allow this type of conversation where the senior most leadership is bluntly told, without any hesitation, what the Congress party feels...certainly the RSS and the BJP won't allow such a thing."Rahul Gandhi
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who addressed party workers after Rahul, announced a "bharat jodo yatra" from 2 October, which is also the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Yatra, Sonia Gandhi said, will be held to "strengthen the bonds of social harmony that are under stress," while also attempting to preserve constitutional values that she said are under assault.
Interestingly, Gandhi repeated "we will overcome" thrice, signaling the determination of the party.
Gandhi Backs One Family One Post Rule, With a 'Caveat'
Gandhi said that he was involved in some of the discussions. "People of the country don't know the level, type, intelligence of conversations taking place in closed rooms," he said.
He also said that the Congress has to revive its "connection with people & need to accept that it was broken down. We will strengthen it, This will not happen with any short-cut, it requires hard work."
Gandhi also supported "One Person One Post" and "One Family One Ticket" resolution, although he admitted that the latter comes with a "caveat".
While the One Family One Ticket rule was passed, it left a loophole which allowed the all the three Gandhis to hold positions in the party.
The loophole says that more than one member of a family can hold a position within the party only if they have been active for five years.
Conversation Vs Violence
Alleging that the party is attacked everyday in the media for allowing conversations, Gandhi said that that such conversations between the people and the party is in the DNA of Congress.
The only alternative to a conversation between the people of India, Gandhi said, is violence between the people of India.
"The only alternative to a conversation between the people of India is violence between the people of India. You can either choose a conversation between the people of India or violence between the people of India."Rahul Gandhi
Gandhi added that "unfortunately," the politics of this country now does not entail a conversation or the expression of views.
Maintaining that institutions belong to every single person in India and not to an individual, Gandhi said that today there is a "systematic destruction of the institutions that helped the states of of India speak to each other".
He alleged that switching-off of microphones of members in the house, the pressure on the judiciary, the clipping of the election commissioner's wings and the muzzling of press freedom are all signs of that conversation being lost.
Future Steps
Stressing that the that a section of people have become alienated from Congress, Gandhi talked about the steps to be taken by the party:
Mass contact programme: go the people and spend months instead of days
Nature of Congress needs to Change
Our oppnents outdo us in terms of communication. We need to rework our communications system.
The idea that certain number of positions should be for younger people is important.
Only one person of a family should get a ticket.
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