Rahul Gandhi has found his voice—Can Congress match it?

In problem solving, first ideas are usually worthy of being discarded. They tend to be jaded and borrowed, reflecting established patterns of thinking and stereotypes, without factoring in the future into the process.

One such first idea appeared in the aftermath of the just concluded general elections in which the Congress party was left gasping for air—that it should find a substitute for Rahul Gandhi as its president. He doesn’t have what it takes to be a street fighter in today’s politics; the Congress needs an Amit Shah, some said.

National, Opinion, Politics

May 26, 2019

Rahul, Now Is Not Your Time To Quit

The 2019 election campaign did not give too many indications of the eventual one-sided outcome. Narendra Modi, backed by Amit Shah, managed to defeat the opposition comprehensively and come back to power. As usual, the winner takes all the accolades and the mob needs a scapegoat.

In what is now being termed as a Modi wave, Ocean, Tsunami and what not, most of the opposition parties, each one with their own Prime Ministerial aspirations, received massive setbacks. However, accountability is solely being demanded from Congress President Rahul Gandhi. It is curious that the very same commentators who tried to establish the irrelevance of the Indian National Congress and Rahul Gandhi in the run-up to the polls are precisely the ones demanding his resignation today.

National, Opinion, Politics

August 18, 2017

Thomas Chandy’s resort: Congress to remain firm on Minister’s resignation

Even though Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly defended Transport Minister Thomas Chandy in the allegations raised by the Opposition regarding the construction of road leading to the Lake Palace resort Chandy owns, the Congress party in Kerala is firm on its stand. The Congress leaders on Friday made it clear that they would strictly defend their stand demanding the resignation of Minister Thomas Chandy and immediate investigation into the issue.

The resort is situated near Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha. Pinarayi Vijayan, while responding to the adjournment motion held by Congress MLA V. T. Balram in the Assembly last day, had said that Chandy had already given an explanation and the Government did not find anything serious to be investigated in the matter. Balram while speaking to The Kochi Post said that his party would never allow a large-scale scandal to go unnoticed.

“We have made our stand clear on the issue. As long as Chandy continues to hold the Minister’s office, he will do whatever to cover up the issue. Incidents like intimidating public officials who look into the matter will continue. Files will continue go missing. If an influential figure like him continue to hold the Minister’s office, the evidence destruction process will be easier. That is why myself as well as the Opposition leader demanded his resignation,” Balram said.

Economy, Law, People, Politics