The slanging match witnessed between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Sunday turned out to be a role reversal for the two political rivals.
The BJP in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular have been at their combative best ever since they rode to power with an impressive mandate nearly a year ago. Since then, the ruling alliance and the prime minister have never lost an opportunity to mock the Congress as a visionless and leaderless party while projecting the BJP as the party of the future with a strong and dynamic leader at its helm.
In contrast, a bruised and battered Congress was virtually silenced after its shock defeat in the last general election. Faced with a serious leadership crisis and no clear agenda to fall back on, the Congress was floundering as it watched its national footprint shrinking with little hope of a revival. It had no answer to Modi’s sustained offensive against it.
These roles were reversed on Sunday. The usually combative prime minister was pushed on the defensive for the first time when he addressed party MPs on the eve of the second half of the budget session of Parliament, which is set to witness an angry face-off between a cornered government and a united opposition over the controversial land acquisition ordinance.
Described as a pro-rich and anti-farmer dispensation, Modi spent an hour explaining that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government had been working consistently to address the concerns of the poor and marginalised section.
On the other hand, a demoralised Congress suddenly found its missing leader and its voice at the massive kisan khet mazdoor rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Grounds on Sunday when party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi issued a clarion call for a sustained battle against the Modi government over its decision to dilute the land acquisition bill to facilitate the rich corporate sector.
Having been presented with an emotive issue on which it believes it can successfully corner the BJP, it was the turn of the Congress to lambast the Modi government and use the land bill as its comeback vehicle.
Padyatras and roadshows
Modi’s explanations and the Congress show of aggression will set the stage for a lengthy confrontation between the two political rivals both inside and outside Parliament. A determined Congress declared unequivocally on Sunday that it will work with other opposition parties to block the amended land acquisition bill in Parliament. At the same time, it plans to launch padyatras and roadshows in the coming months to explain farmers how a pro-rich Modi government planned to “forcibility grab their land in a deliberate effort to weaken them”.
While the rally was primarily meant to kick-start this campaign against the BJP, its other objective was to re-launch the Congress party heir, Rahul Gandhi, as the messiah of the poor farmer and khet mazdoor. This was his first public meeting after he returned from his mysterious two-month sabbatical.
Offering no explanation for his prolonged absence, the Nehru-Gandhi scion emphasised that the Congress would stand by farmers in their fight to protect their land from being “forcibly acquired by the Modi government”.
More importantly, he assured the farmers that he will personally be present by their side in this battle and will work tirelessly for their welfare. The party has also tweaked its catchline to “Congress ka haath kisan keth mazdoor ke saath” to underline its pro-poor credentials in contrast to the BJP.
Given his penchant for disappearing after putting in a few “special appearances”, party workers present at the rally hoped Rahul Gandhi would demonstrate greater commitment now and that they would not be left to fend for themselves.
Time of distress
Nevertheless, as Mehar Chand, a farmer from Rajasthan put it, Sunday’s rally had definitely galvanised Congress cadres, who had been feeling orphaned and demotivated after the party’s crushing defeat in a series of elections over the past year. “You can feel the change in the mood at this rally,” he added, pointing to the throngs of slogan-shouting people who had gathered at the Ramlila Grounds.
Clearly, prepped up after his unexplained leave of absence, Rahul Gandhi spoke aggressively and did not hesitate to hit out at the prime minister personally. “Modi wants to snatch your land to help the corporates from whom he took loans for his poll campaign,” he thundered.
He detailed how the UPA government had raised the minimum support price of wheat and rice and waived off loans of debt-ridden farmers, while accusing the NDA government of failing to take any concrete steps to help them in their time of distress.
Sonia Gandhi spoke in the same vein but Rahul Gandhi was the main attraction at the rally as was clear when people started moving out when the Congress president took the floor after the Nehru-Gandhi scion.
Glitches at the rally
The rally was marred briefly when the factional battle in the Haryana Congress rose to the surface. Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar was jeered vociferously by supporters of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda when he rose to speak. On his part, Hooda used the rally as a show of strength by trucking in large number of farmers from Haryana who were all instructed to wear pink turbans for easy identification.
Despite these glitches, the Congress had reason to be satisfied by the huge turnout at Ramlila Grounds as it prepares for the battle ahead.
On the other hand, Modi spent an hour explaining how his year-old government had “initiated several pro-poor measures”, dwelling specifically on the steps taken to help farmers while slamming his critics for running down the BJP. “We are working for the poor, not for being in news but because we cannot sleep peacefully if we don’t do it,” Modi told his MPs. “We live for the poor. We are in public life not to enjoy the power but for the welfare of the poor.” He asked them to spread this message across the country.
The battle lines are drawn. It is to be seen if the Congress can sustain its campaign since the Modi government has another four years in power and whether the BJP can limit the damage inflicted on the party and Modi’s reputation.
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The BJP in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular have been at their combative best ever since they rode to power with an impressive mandate nearly a year ago. Since then, the ruling alliance and the prime minister have never lost an opportunity to mock the Congress as a visionless and leaderless party while projecting the BJP as the party of the future with a strong and dynamic leader at its helm.
In contrast, a bruised and battered Congress was virtually silenced after its shock defeat in the last general election. Faced with a serious leadership crisis and no clear agenda to fall back on, the Congress was floundering as it watched its national footprint shrinking with little hope of a revival. It had no answer to Modi’s sustained offensive against it.
These roles were reversed on Sunday. The usually combative prime minister was pushed on the defensive for the first time when he addressed party MPs on the eve of the second half of the budget session of Parliament, which is set to witness an angry face-off between a cornered government and a united opposition over the controversial land acquisition ordinance.
Described as a pro-rich and anti-farmer dispensation, Modi spent an hour explaining that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government had been working consistently to address the concerns of the poor and marginalised section.
On the other hand, a demoralised Congress suddenly found its missing leader and its voice at the massive kisan khet mazdoor rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Grounds on Sunday when party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi issued a clarion call for a sustained battle against the Modi government over its decision to dilute the land acquisition bill to facilitate the rich corporate sector.
Having been presented with an emotive issue on which it believes it can successfully corner the BJP, it was the turn of the Congress to lambast the Modi government and use the land bill as its comeback vehicle.
Padyatras and roadshows
Modi’s explanations and the Congress show of aggression will set the stage for a lengthy confrontation between the two political rivals both inside and outside Parliament. A determined Congress declared unequivocally on Sunday that it will work with other opposition parties to block the amended land acquisition bill in Parliament. At the same time, it plans to launch padyatras and roadshows in the coming months to explain farmers how a pro-rich Modi government planned to “forcibility grab their land in a deliberate effort to weaken them”.
While the rally was primarily meant to kick-start this campaign against the BJP, its other objective was to re-launch the Congress party heir, Rahul Gandhi, as the messiah of the poor farmer and khet mazdoor. This was his first public meeting after he returned from his mysterious two-month sabbatical.
Offering no explanation for his prolonged absence, the Nehru-Gandhi scion emphasised that the Congress would stand by farmers in their fight to protect their land from being “forcibly acquired by the Modi government”.
More importantly, he assured the farmers that he will personally be present by their side in this battle and will work tirelessly for their welfare. The party has also tweaked its catchline to “Congress ka haath kisan keth mazdoor ke saath” to underline its pro-poor credentials in contrast to the BJP.
Given his penchant for disappearing after putting in a few “special appearances”, party workers present at the rally hoped Rahul Gandhi would demonstrate greater commitment now and that they would not be left to fend for themselves.
Time of distress
Nevertheless, as Mehar Chand, a farmer from Rajasthan put it, Sunday’s rally had definitely galvanised Congress cadres, who had been feeling orphaned and demotivated after the party’s crushing defeat in a series of elections over the past year. “You can feel the change in the mood at this rally,” he added, pointing to the throngs of slogan-shouting people who had gathered at the Ramlila Grounds.
Clearly, prepped up after his unexplained leave of absence, Rahul Gandhi spoke aggressively and did not hesitate to hit out at the prime minister personally. “Modi wants to snatch your land to help the corporates from whom he took loans for his poll campaign,” he thundered.
He detailed how the UPA government had raised the minimum support price of wheat and rice and waived off loans of debt-ridden farmers, while accusing the NDA government of failing to take any concrete steps to help them in their time of distress.
Sonia Gandhi spoke in the same vein but Rahul Gandhi was the main attraction at the rally as was clear when people started moving out when the Congress president took the floor after the Nehru-Gandhi scion.
Glitches at the rally
The rally was marred briefly when the factional battle in the Haryana Congress rose to the surface. Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar was jeered vociferously by supporters of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda when he rose to speak. On his part, Hooda used the rally as a show of strength by trucking in large number of farmers from Haryana who were all instructed to wear pink turbans for easy identification.
Despite these glitches, the Congress had reason to be satisfied by the huge turnout at Ramlila Grounds as it prepares for the battle ahead.
On the other hand, Modi spent an hour explaining how his year-old government had “initiated several pro-poor measures”, dwelling specifically on the steps taken to help farmers while slamming his critics for running down the BJP. “We are working for the poor, not for being in news but because we cannot sleep peacefully if we don’t do it,” Modi told his MPs. “We live for the poor. We are in public life not to enjoy the power but for the welfare of the poor.” He asked them to spread this message across the country.
The battle lines are drawn. It is to be seen if the Congress can sustain its campaign since the Modi government has another four years in power and whether the BJP can limit the damage inflicted on the party and Modi’s reputation.