The Congress party on Tuesday made official its strong disapproval of statements made by some leaders to the effect that the positives in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies need to be appreciated, with senior leader Anand Sharma stating that the opposition indulging in praise of the government will spell doom for the country.
Sharma, addressing a media briefing at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, criticised his party colleagues for praising Modi. In response to a question on Kerala Congress seeking an explanation from Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor for his remarks on Modi, the senior leader indicated assent with the state unit's move, saying, “Kerala Congress has the right to make a statement.”
Sharma, without naming Jairam Ramesh, disapproved of Ramesh's comment that Modi should not be demonised, saying, “What does not happen in the BJP happens in the Congress party. People have their individual views and opinion. However, without referring to any leader in particular, I want to say that we have not demonised anyone. Such a criticism applies to the other side since the prime minister and other leaders of the BJP have demonised former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, made the most uncharitable comments on our martyred prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi as also on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.”
He further said: “So I do not know how to make sense of it. Actually, the hat is put on the wrong head. It should be there. If opposition indulges in singing praises of the government, it is not good for the democracy.”
Struggling to recover from its disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress finds itself split on the issue of how to tackle Modi—whether the party should go all out and attack him or if it should adopt a more nuanced approach. The confusion emanates from the feeling that attacking Modi has always backfired on the Congress. A section of the party feels that the strident criticism of Modi in the Lok Sabha elections, which involved accusing him of being involved in alleged corruption in the Rafale deal and attacking him with the slogan 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' did not go down well with the electorate. These leaders are of the view that the people were just not ready to believe the Congress' allegations against Modi.
In recent days, this confusion has become apparent in the comments made by leaders including Ramesh, Tharoor and Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Speaking at a book release function recently, Ramesh said, “He (Modi) talks in a language that connects him with the people. Unless we recognise that he is doing things which people recognise and which have not been done in the past, we are not going to be able to confront (him)... Also, if you are going to demonise him all the time, you are not going to be able to confront him.”
Tharoor, reportedly, has said that he has been arguing for six years that Modi “should be praised whenever he says or does the right thing, which would add credibility to our criticisms whenever he errs... I welcome others in Opposition coming around to a view for which I was excoriated at the time.”
In tune with this sentiment, Singhvi tweeted: “Always said demonising Modi (is) wrong. Not only is he Prime Minister of the nation, a one-way Opposition actually helps him. Acts are always good, bad and indifferent—they must be judged issue-wise and not person-wise. Certainly, Ujjwala scheme (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana) is the only one amongst other good deeds.”
A clear divide was also seen in the party over the nullification of Article 370 by the Modi government, with leaders such as Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Jyotiraditya Scindia approving the move.
