All fire over Rahul, can Congress finally course correct, sustain the same over Agnipath? | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
The protests remained a show of solidarity by its own leaders, with even Opposition parties -- barring a tweet by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin – not rallying behind the embattled party and the Gandhis.
After three days of ‘satyagraha’, the Congress must have realised, rather painfully, that its street protests over the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate may have charged up the demoralised cadre but not caught the imagination of the people.
The protests remained a show of solidarity by its own leaders, with even Opposition parties — barring a tweet by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin – not rallying behind the embattled party and the Gandhis.
This realisation appears to have nudged the party to marry its protests with that of the stir against the Agnipath scheme for recruiting soldiers across the three services. This is a pragmatic decision which should be an eye opener for the grand old party: that its stock as well as its mascot is so down that the long hours of grilling of Rahul (which the party has called harassment and persecution) have created barely a ripple.
But the fact that the party is out of touch with ground realities also became clear from its initial response to the Agnipath scheme. Many of the leaders leaned on the side of the argument that the ethos and discipline of the forces will be impacted by the scheme and stopping regular recruitment and inducting people into the forces for just four years may affect the country’s security. It was only after violent protests were reported from several parts that the party started aggressively talking about the disenchantment among the youth and how the scheme would impact a large section of the youth with hopes resting on getting into the Army.
While the party has now welded its protests on the questioning of Rahul with the Agnipath scheme, the way the Congress has rallied behind its first family is resonant of the kind of sycophancy its critics have often accused it of. It also highlights that it took a blow to the Gandhis for the Congress to hit the streets, a demand that has been made by an influential section of the party for long. Their argument was simple – with its popularity in free fall, being visible on the streets was the only way for the party to mobilise its cadre and remain in contention.
Rating: 5