Jakhar too wants Cong to make amends

NEW DELHI, APRIL 1: After Rajya Sabha MP and Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal's outburst on the state of his party, it is now the turn of...

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NEW DELHI, APRIL 1: After Rajya Sabha MP and Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal’s outburst on the state of his party, it is now the turn of former Union Minister and veteran Congressman Balram Jakhar to call for “correcting past mistakes and urgently bringing the party out of doldrums.”

Speaking to The Indian Express today, Jakhar said “there was an urgent need for self-analysis with an open mind to find out why all this was happening in the party…we cannot turn a blind eye to these developments.”

“I am not blaming any single individual for the present situation in the party — after all decisions have to be taken by individuals — but then there is the need to realise mistakes and make amends,” Jakhar said.

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He felt that some of the decisions taken by the high command in the recent past had obviously gone wrong and it was imperative for those involved in the decision-making process to learn from them so that these are not repeated.

The Jat leader, who was denied a Rajya Sabha nomination from Rajasthan, asserted that his comments should not be construed as an attempt to castigate the party leadership, simply because he was not considered for the Upper House. “As a Congressman, I feel it is my duty to raise issues which concern the larger interest of the future of the party.”

While observing that it was difficult to pinpoint any single cause or individual for the party’s present state, he felt there should not be any overdependence on a few select persons for taking crucial decisions. “The party belongs to everybody…it should draw from the experience of its vast leadership and also bring in new faces,” he said.

“Now that the party is in the Opposition, these issues have become all the more pertinent if it has to make a comeback,” he felt, adding that the party cannot afford to ignore its traditional support base in the rural areas. “The Congress is not doing enough for taking up the issues of the farmers and weaker sections of society…it must make its stand clear on the process of economic liberalisation which is impoverishing the farmers.”

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The former Lok Sabha Speaker also described as “serious” the extensive cross-voting by party MLAs in West Bengal, resulting in the defeat of the official nominee for the Rajya Sabha. “This lack of discipline is an example of the erosion of the authority of the high command and must be set right,” he felt, but added that the candidates for the Upper House should have been chosen with greater care. “There should be some basic criterion for selection since the Upper House has been traditionally meant for persons with either vast experience or exceptional talent.”

In a related development, outgoing party Rajya Sabha MP Dronam Raju Satyanarayana, today quit from the post of Andhra Pradesh PCC vice-president, expressing his “serious concern over the course the party is taking at the moment.” In his letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi, the veteran Andhra leader, who also resigned from AICC membership, said “it was undeniable that the party stock was deplorable.”

“Serious mistakes committed in the recent past at the instance of a group of leaders are responsible for the party’s defeat and loss of credibility,” he wrote.