Opinion: Congress is not taking the name of ending the discord, is the party moving towards disintegration again?

Omprakash Ashk, Patna: The 137-year-old Congress has broken up several times since independence. The leaders who came out of this have been forming their own separate parties. The situation is still the same. The discord within the Congress is not taking the name of ending. Opening of Sachin Pilot’s front against CM Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan should not become the culmination of discord. In 2014, Rahul Gandhi took charge of the Congress. Since then, 23 big leaders have turned away from the Congress. Congress’s trusted leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jyodiraditya Scindia, Jagdambika Pal kept getting bored and separated from Rahul Gandhi. Anil Antony, son of former Andhra Pradesh CM Kiran Reddy, AK Antony, has said bye to the Congress recently. All of them are now part of BJP.

Displeasure with Rahul Gandhi to those who left Congress

Rahul Gandhi tried to unite the country through Bharat Jodo Yatra, but he is not able to keep his own party together. Even the clouds of trouble are not taking the name of being removed from Rahul’s head. There was a controversy over his speech in Cambridge, but he is not getting the support of the opposition on the Adani issue. Rahul is also confused by his inversion on Savarkar. Not only this, the sentence of two years from the court in the defamation case has also remained a headache for him. Though he has approached the higher court, till the relief is given, the crisis remains. There is also no guarantee that they will get relief. Even Sharad Pawar, who once broke away from the Congress and formed his own party NCP on the issue of Savarkar and Adani, does not agree with Rahul’s words. Now Sachin Pilot has created a different mess in Rajasthan.

Gehlot-Pilot dispute now in Rajasthan

Sachin Pilot’s rift with CM Ashok Gehlot has been visible in Rajasthan for a long time. Now the conflict has reached its peak. Pilot has opened a front against Ashok Gehlot. He has given an ultimatum of fasting against his own government. He alleges that during the tenure of former CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the allegations of corruption were leveled by the Congress itself. Ashok Gehlot has been shying away from conducting an inquiry after forming his government. However, in view of Pilot’s rebellious attitude, Congress spokesperson Pawan Kheda has warned that indiscipline will not be tolerated. Congress high command has advised to talk to Congress in-charge Prabhat Randhawa. Now it will be interesting to see whether Sachin Pilot, who has repeatedly opened a front against Ashok Gehlot, accepts this time or takes the rebellion to some end.

Two dozen leaders left Congress in 9 years

Ghulam Nabi Azad had left the Congress just a few days back. He told Rahul Gandhi the reason for leaving the party. Kiran Reddy, who quit Congress and joined BJP, has also said the same thing. Reddy says that the Congress high command has been continuously taking wrong decisions. Despite the defeat of Congress in many states, the Congress high command is not ready to take lessons. This is the reason why in many states Congress leaders have been leaving the party and choosing a different path. Everyone was surprised when Ghulam Nabi Azad left the Congress. Because he has been considered very close to the Gandhi family. Almost all the leaders who left the Congress have had only one allegation that the high command does not take the right decisions. Doesn’t even listen to anyone.

Himanta left Congress and became head of BJP

Himanta Biswa Sarma parted ways with the Congress in 2015. He went to BJP. Today he is the Chief Minister of Assam. He is still being counted among the most trusted leaders of the BJP. Biswa Sarma has the biggest role in establishing BJP’s roots in the North East states. Jagdambika Pal, who was a strong leader of the Congress in UP, had parted ways in 2014. In 2016, Ajit Jogi, who was the CM of Chhattisgarh, said bye to the Congress. Former Karnataka CM and External Affairs Minister in the Manmohan Singh government, SM Krishna left the party in 2017. In Haryana, 23 leaders like Chaudhary Birender Singh, former Odisha CM Giridhar Gomang, Shankar Singh Vaghela, former Uttarakhand CM Vijay Bahuguna left the Congress in 9 years. These 9 years have been under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

Opposition unity is also breaking due to Rahul

Due to Rahul Gandhi, even the effort of opposition unity seems to be failing. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had already said that she is in favor of opposition unity without Congress. Mamta’s party came together on the question of punishment for Rahul Gandhi, but Sharad Pawar has raised questions on Rahul’s words. Rahul seems to be getting isolated not only in the Congress but also among the opposition parties.

(These are the personal views of the author)