It is important for Congress to stitch alliances at the local level and give space to smaller parties and social movements. Don’t get carried away with your success.

 


The results are out. The people have rejected the loudmouths who want India to be a permanent conflict zone. I have said many times that our political parties have not been able to tap the wider dissatisfaction on the ground.
 
The Congress has performed well but more than that, it is the people who gave a kick to those who dominantly want to thrust a Ram Temple agenda, gaumutra on the people when they were demanding jobs, education and land reforms.
 
People got bored with the sluggishness of the results but that is the trend. I can bet it is going to happen in the Lok Sabha polls too and we will now have the results out in two days as used to happen during the physical voting process when EVMs were not there. The reason is clear that those who have enjoyed power, would not like to leave it that easily and hence they make every effort to pressurise the officials. Madhya Pradesh has been a case where these laws were violated.
 
The victory for Congress is huge and the credit must go to #RahulGandhi, the Congress President, who along with his mother were mocked, humiliated and insulted by the absolutely communalised, Brahmanised and corrupted media. The anchors let the saffron goondas speak whatever they wish to on their shows. A new trend began after Modi came to power. The prime-time shows would invite one leader from Congress, one from BJP, one from VHP or the Sangh, one Sanghi journalist or one 'neutral' expert with sympathies for the Sangh. The anchors played the role of propagandists of Sangh Parivar. The vicious campaign that they launched to create divisions and communalise the situation needs to be studied. It does not matter whether the party win with one seat or two but what is important is that despite this propaganda, added with enormous financial power, the BJP lost and their defeat is significant, a signal that in the coming days, people are going to settle the issue themselves.
 
Despite the gravity of the economic crisis, Narendra Modi and his advisers continued to harp on Ram Mandir and the liars of the Sangh are saying on TV channels that it was not a political issue. It was a cultural issue for them. Who has given them the authority to speak for Hindus? Yogi Adityanath became a joke as he can’t give a single example of good governance in his state and the BJP made him a role model because they do not believe in governance, they only want to divide the society and keep spreading the poison.
 
We are happy that the BSP, CPM and other parties too have performed well in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. For a longer term, I would advise and had always advised an all India alliance between BSP and Congress. It is the need of the hour. You can go and do whatever you wish after 10 years but please do come together. The situation in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan would have been starkly different where the winning margins are less than a thousand votes in many constituencies.
 
Yesterday's press conference by Rahul Gandhi was definitely refreshing of a leader whose time has arrived now. He remained humble and it felt that he understood how important it was to keep the opposition together and like-minded people along with you. Congress leaders have a habit of forgetting the ground realities once they are in power. It is time Congress sends the message to their karyakartas that the battle is not won yet and unless they unite the opposition and dislodge the current hate regime, they won’t sit idle.
 
I won’t go into debates about who should become the chief minister as it is their party prerogative, but we hope that the party will not dilly dally in the probes against mob lynching. The party should not appease anyone but just follow the rule of law. We do understand the dynamics of democratic polity but we want Congress and all other parties to adhere to rule of law and not allow any citizen of the country to feel left out.
 
Congress has not uttered a word on Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims. I know Congress continues to talk about the ‘Garib' and ‘Kisans.’ I can understand that the party wants to play it safe, but we demand that our questions are answered, the public realities acknowledged and we want them to ensure that the govt will act honestly and not indulge in dirty games.

We hope your governments will take stringent action against the cow terrorists. You need not say anything but we know the Hindutva machinery will start playing the games of Muslim appeasement. Only an ideologically clear leadership can take these goons head-on.
 
Congress can learn a few lessons from Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala and his handling of various issues created by the Sangh Parivar to vitiate the social harmony in the state through their Sabarimala game plan. Congress needs to fight the Sangh on ideological grounds and it can do that following the path of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Jawahar Lal Nehru as well as EVR Periyar and others. We have a great legacy of Jyoti Ba Phule, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rahul Sankrityayan and many others. Nothing wrong in evoking these names in the greater interest of all. Those who don’t learn from history, can’t move ahead. No need for a Mahagatbandhan. It is important for Congress to stitch alliances at the local level and give space to smaller parties and social movements. Don’t get carried away with your success.
 
For the day, greetings to all. It is a morning of great hope for a nation which had been depressed in the past few years. The challenge is not yet over but all the parties must keep the momentum till the elections 2019 and defeat the forces of hatred and division in our society.