Narendra Modi or his policies? Six years on, Congress debates its target

Six years in Opposition, Congress still continues to debate on whether to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly or criticise his policies.

The fault lines in the Congress came to the fore at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday when a section of the leadership expressed discomfort at the aggressive personal attack on the prime minister, contending that the BJP often succeeded in benefiting from it.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has been attacking Modi sharply, took umbrage at the remarks and told the CWC that he was not scared of the Prime Minister and that he would continue to criticise him unless the party told him otherwise.

Congress leaders did not deny the different opinions voiced during the CWC meeting, pointing out that it was the forum to air views freely to enable the leadership to take decisions by consensus.

“Unlike the BJP, which is completely totalitarian. The Congress is different and we are proud we are different,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said when asked about the differences within the CWC.

Rahul has been attacking Modi sharply and his jibe at the prime minister calling him ‘Surender Modi’ had stung the BJP, which had hit back at the Congress with a vengeance.

Rajya Sabha member Rajiv Satav’s remarks about Congress lacking the fighting spirit drew a sharp reaction from former Union minister Anand Sharma who pointed out that senior leaders have been vocal against Modi and his policies both inside and outside Parliament.

Another senior leader sought to bring about a consensus on the different views expressed in the meeting by noting that there was no harm in attacking the prime minister but advised against the use of reckless language.

Tewari said despite the differing views expressed in the CWC, the will of the party gets reflected in the CWC resolutions which are adopted unanimously.

He pointed out that the CWC resolutions were direct in its attack on the government and did not exclude the prime minister.

A section of the Congress leaders also believe the party lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections due to excessive personal attacks on Modi when compared with efforts to popularise the party manifesto.