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Congress tries to counter BJP's emotive pitch with debate on economy, China

Last Updated 10 August 2020, 04:03 IST

Battered by internal divisions and leadership confusion on one hand and stumped by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that steered the public discourse towards emotive issues of Ram temple, Kashmir and triple talaq, on the other hand, the Congress party is trying hard to steer back the political narrative towards basic issues—jobs, health and economy.

Knowing well that opposing the BJP's stand on the emotive issues of temples and religion could turn public against it, the Congress has treaded cautiously on contentious issues at the cost of inviting some criticism from leaders within and allies.

Having burnt its fingers in 2014 over perceived minority tilt of the party (pointed out by A K Antony Committee report), the party has now chosen to keep its attack on the government on Modi's development model (Gujarat model in particular), governance model at Centre (Covid-19 management), economy, unemployment) and picking holes in BJP’s national security claims instead of scratching on the BJP’s core issues.

A look at the Twitter timeline of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi makes this obvious. On Saturday, Rahul took up the issue of a defence document, which confirmed Chinese incursion, disappearing from defence ministry website, and took a jibe at Modi government calling it “no chance but an anti-democracy experiment (ye sanyog nahin, Modi Sarkar ka loktantra Virodhi prayog hai). He linked it with the "stolen" documents of Rafale, the escape of Vijay Mallya, Neerav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

He raised concerns over the plight of agitating six lakh Asha workers. "The government is deaf, dumb, blind to their problems”. "RBI reveals the real 'Mood of the Nation. People's confidence is at an all-time low. Fear and insecurity are at an all-time high. Expect more bad news on the economy and jobs front,” he said in another tweet.

He has kept up attacks on Covid-19 front, saying the government is missing when the number of cases has crossed 20 lakhs. While the BJP rubbed salt on Congress' wound by bringing Shah Bano case back to discourse while celebrating Triple Talaq Act, Rahul tried to push the ball to BJP's court with comments on China and economy.

On China and economy, he has kept attacking the government even this week when BJP was celebrating the first anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 and passage of triple talaq bill reminding Congress of Shah Bano.

In his interaction with party workers in poll-bound Bihar, Rahul Gandhi spoke about the need to campaign around education, health and employment and asked party activists to tell people how the government ignored his warnings on coronavirus and how it failed on China front.

He also underlined that there is a need to join hands together in Bihar, to consolidate the Opposition, something which Goa Congress leader Digambar Kamat also batted for in his state asking the like-minded parties such as Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, the Goa Forward Party (GFP) along with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) should to come together to fight the 2022 state Assembly elections in the state against the BJP.

Political analyst Rasheed Kidwai says the hope for the Congress is only when the narrative shifts back to basic issues of ‘roti kapda or makan’ or broadly to economy and employment. "And all the more important when it puts its house in order first."

Also, the Congress has to consider alternative politics to be considered an option in future and chasing the BJP on the latter’s plank won’t work for it, he said alluding to the soft Hindutva plank peddled by a dominant section in Congress.

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(Published 09 August 2020, 14:23 IST)

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