It is not uncommon for opponents of the Congress to level accusations against party vice president Rahul Gandhi. What's rare is for those barbs to suggest that Rahul Gandhi has been very successful at a complex task. Yet that's exactly what happened on Saturday, when Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed that the recent unrest in his state had all been orchestrated by the Congress party scion.
"Rahul Gandhi is fomenting trouble in Punjab by encouraging secessionist forces," Badal said at a press conference in Delhi. In particular, he was talking about protests over various incidents involving the desecration of the Sikh holy book at gurudwaras across the state. Those incidents led to widespread agitation and the convening of an unofficial Sarbat Khalsa, a Sikh assembly, whose attendees denounced the Akali Dal-appointed Sikh leadership. "All this happened at the instance of Rahul Gandhi," Badal said.
And the Deputy Chief Minister wasn't just content with words. Badal came to Delhi to submit a complaint to the Union Home Minister as well as the President, calling on them to look into the involvement of the Punjab Congress in this Khalsa. "The home minister had been requested to probe the role of the Congress party in promoting extremism as well as those involved in secessionist activities," Badal said. He even asked the President to de-recognise the Congress for being anti-national
That is likely to come as something of a surprise to the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, mostly because it has barely been able to set its own house in order in the state, let alone take charge of a massive movement that has taken over the state.
The last few months have seen plenty of internecine warfare within the Punjab Congress as a result of a clash between two power centres, former chief minister Amarinder Singh and Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa. After months of jostling for power, the two seem to have agreed to put on a united face, recently appearing together with Rahul Gandhi and demanding a probe against the Badal government's handling of the recent protests. But that may only be temporary.
In many ways, Punjab, which see state assembly elections in 2017, should have been a slam-dunk for the Congress party. It was one of the few northern states that didn't get caught up in the Narendra Modi wave in the Lok Sabha elections, with Amarinder Singh managing to beat high-profile Bharatiya Janata Party leader and current finance minister Arun Jaitley in Amritsar. It is also a state with strong anti-incumbency against the SAD-BJP alliance, which has come to be seen as a corrupt government run by and for the Badal family.
Yet the Congress has been in disarray here, thanks to the infighting. This has ended up giving space to the Aam Aadmi Party, which won four Lok Sabha seats in the state and, despite its organisational setbacks since then, continues to build its base in the state.
In fact, by targeting the Congress as fervently as it has been, to the extent of asking for it to be de-recognised, the Badals might be trying to turn the spotlight away from their own failures in the state, while also ignoring the rise of AAP so that Rahul is seen as the principal opponent. And that doesn't even address the simmering discontent between the local cadres of allies BJP and SAD in the state.
All of this leaves Punjab in a reasonably precarious position. Despite being a rich state, its farmers are unhappy and its economic troubles are massive. Being a border state means its also vulnerable to terror, as the Gurdaspur attack from earlier this year reminded us. And now, in addition to all of this, its politicians seem willing to spread the bogey of separatism and Khalistan around to score political points. There are enough cooks for this broth to leave everybody with a bitter taste.
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"Rahul Gandhi is fomenting trouble in Punjab by encouraging secessionist forces," Badal said at a press conference in Delhi. In particular, he was talking about protests over various incidents involving the desecration of the Sikh holy book at gurudwaras across the state. Those incidents led to widespread agitation and the convening of an unofficial Sarbat Khalsa, a Sikh assembly, whose attendees denounced the Akali Dal-appointed Sikh leadership. "All this happened at the instance of Rahul Gandhi," Badal said.
Why does Rahul Gandhi want to bring back those dark days of the 1980s in Punjab? #Punjab
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) November 21, 2015And the Deputy Chief Minister wasn't just content with words. Badal came to Delhi to submit a complaint to the Union Home Minister as well as the President, calling on them to look into the involvement of the Punjab Congress in this Khalsa. "The home minister had been requested to probe the role of the Congress party in promoting extremism as well as those involved in secessionist activities," Badal said. He even asked the President to de-recognise the Congress for being anti-national
"The Congress has created a mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) with separatists. They want to disturb peace of the state and country. All these organisations are with Pakistan or ISI."
That is likely to come as something of a surprise to the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, mostly because it has barely been able to set its own house in order in the state, let alone take charge of a massive movement that has taken over the state.
The last few months have seen plenty of internecine warfare within the Punjab Congress as a result of a clash between two power centres, former chief minister Amarinder Singh and Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa. After months of jostling for power, the two seem to have agreed to put on a united face, recently appearing together with Rahul Gandhi and demanding a probe against the Badal government's handling of the recent protests. But that may only be temporary.
In many ways, Punjab, which see state assembly elections in 2017, should have been a slam-dunk for the Congress party. It was one of the few northern states that didn't get caught up in the Narendra Modi wave in the Lok Sabha elections, with Amarinder Singh managing to beat high-profile Bharatiya Janata Party leader and current finance minister Arun Jaitley in Amritsar. It is also a state with strong anti-incumbency against the SAD-BJP alliance, which has come to be seen as a corrupt government run by and for the Badal family.
Yet the Congress has been in disarray here, thanks to the infighting. This has ended up giving space to the Aam Aadmi Party, which won four Lok Sabha seats in the state and, despite its organisational setbacks since then, continues to build its base in the state.
Can understand Akalis' panic but they're barking up the wrong tree by targeting Congress. At this point, AAP is the party to watch in Punjab
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) November 21, 2015In fact, by targeting the Congress as fervently as it has been, to the extent of asking for it to be de-recognised, the Badals might be trying to turn the spotlight away from their own failures in the state, while also ignoring the rise of AAP so that Rahul is seen as the principal opponent. And that doesn't even address the simmering discontent between the local cadres of allies BJP and SAD in the state.
All of this leaves Punjab in a reasonably precarious position. Despite being a rich state, its farmers are unhappy and its economic troubles are massive. Being a border state means its also vulnerable to terror, as the Gurdaspur attack from earlier this year reminded us. And now, in addition to all of this, its politicians seem willing to spread the bogey of separatism and Khalistan around to score political points. There are enough cooks for this broth to leave everybody with a bitter taste.
