In this episode of Editorial, Mr. Sujit Nair discusses Rahul Gandhi’s recent speech in Gujarat, where he drew a sharp line for Gujarat Congress members and workers. He highlighted the need for filtration within the Congress party. He also emphasized that the Congress party should first fulfill its own responsibilities before asking people for votes. Through this episode, Mr. Nair points out why restructuring is crucial for the Congress party at this stage.
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[00:00:00] Namaskar! Welcome to another episode of Editorial. You know, when a person realizes that he is going wrong, that is the first step to correct his wrong. That is the first step. Realization is the first step to solution.
[00:00:24] What I am trying to talk about is Rahul Gandhi's speech on Saturday, 8th of March, Women's Day in Gujarat. Let's dissect that speech and let's understand what's running in Rahul Gandhi's mind and what could be the future of Congress in the next coming months. Let's get right into the show.
[00:00:53] Now, Rahul, while speaking in Gujarat, said that Gujarat is stuck. It is unable to see the way. Gujarat wants to move forward. I am a member of Congress party and I am saying that the Congress party of Gujarat is unable to show the way. I am not speaking with shame. I am not speaking with fear. I want to put this before you whether it is our workers or our workers.
[00:01:23] Whether it is Rahul Gandhi, whether it is our general secretary, whether it is our PCC president. We are unable to show the way to Gujarat. This is exactly what he is trying to say.
[00:01:35] What are you offering your voters? What future are you showing to your voters? Look at what Bharatiya Janata party is doing. Look at how they are creating a brilliant imagery which shows this country that the country is moving forward in the speed of light. That is the imagery they are showing whether it is happening or not is a different issue.
[00:02:04] But Bharatiya Janata party and its leader Mr. Narendra Modi and our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi both are the same does not leave a opportunity to show that India is zooming ahead. India is zooming ahead. India there is a plan that Mr. Narendra Modi has. There is a way he is showing is Congress doing the same?
[00:02:32] Is Congress doing the same? This is the question that Rahul Gandhi asks. And the reason I think it is a it's a good start is because maybe somewhere down the line he started understanding where the problem lies. You see he went on to say that it has been almost 30 years since we have been in power here. Here mani Gujarat. Whenever I come here there are discussion on assembly elections of 2007, 2012, 2017, 2022, 2027.
[00:03:02] But question is not about elections. The people of Gujarat will not make us win the elections until we fulfill our responsibility. Correct. Absolutely correct. Stop thinking that you are Congress. Stop thinking about your past glory.
[00:03:22] Stop thinking that you you know it was Mahatma Gandhi who was part of Congress or Nehru was part of Congress or Subhaj Chandra Bose was part of Congress or Sardar Vallabai Patel was part of Congress. So people will still vote for you. People will not.
[00:03:39] People will not unless and until you deliver, you show something, you show a way, you say that this is the way and I am taking responsibility to ensure that I take your state, your city, your constituency the way we planned. That's what would possibly make a difference. He went on to say that why has Congress not been able to fulfill expectations of the people of Gujarat for the last 20 to 30 years?
[00:04:08] The answer is that the leadership of Gujarat, the workers, the district and the block president of the party have two kinds of leaders. One who stands with the public, fights for them and respects them because they have the Congress in their heart and others who sit aloof, does not respect the people and is conniving with Bharatiya Janta party. I have seen these two leaders. A lot of them in Maharashtra.
[00:04:37] So what he says is not necessarily just in Gujarat. Now conniving with BJP or not conniving BJP, I will not get into that. But that is a fact. There are few leaders and think about it. Think about those few leaders, write their names down. There are few leaders in Congress who you have never seen on an on-ground moorcha.
[00:05:03] Who you have never seen on ground with people, mixing with people, talking to people, dealing with people, understanding people's problem. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You've never seen them. You've seen them in conferences. You've seen them in huge air-conditioned setup. You've seen them in studios. You've seen them in various social parties and occasions. And some of them also wanted to be president of the party.
[00:05:30] So you see, you see them in that elite arena and they are the ones who criticize Congress. This, no, Congress is not doing well. A party is chosen by the people, the last common denominator of this country. A party is not chosen in the boardrooms of some companies. The party is not chosen by the elitists of this country. In fact, elitists don't even vote.
[00:05:56] But a political party comes in power in this country because a common man votes. And there are a lot of Congress leaders, a lot of Congress leaders with huge ambitions. And there are some people who support them also. But there are these Congress leaders with huge ambitions who wants to be everything in Congress, who wants to rule Congress. But they can't go to a slum area and sit and talk to the people of Dharavi and say, what is your problem? Tell me your problem. Can I help you?
[00:06:26] Or go to the lowest common denominator and talk to him or her and say, what's your problem? I am there for you. Congress doesn't have that. Bharatiya Janata Party has it. RSS backs Bharatiya Janata Party to the hilt so that they can ensure that there's a direct connect to the last common denominator. It is time that Congress accepts it and Congress works towards it.
[00:06:56] Congress was shining till such time that Seva Dal, that Seva Dal of Congress was on ground. For every five families in India, there was one Seva Dal worker. So one Seva Dal worker was given the responsibility of five families in India. This was way back in the 50s and the 60s. I'm sure that may not be possible now, but the fact remains that five, ten, twenty, hundred, at least,
[00:07:25] if a person can connect with 100 families, Congress will stay connected with the ground. Here the only person who is expected to do everything, connect with the ground, connect with the people, have emotional quotient with the people, have relation with the people, go for election campaigning, go for soliciting votes, sit and patch up with other India bloc members, everything one person. One person. And you say that our democracy is not in a political party.
[00:07:54] I have made a decision in my political party. Array, because he is the only person who is going out and doing it. The rest of y'all don't even get out of your air-conditioned offices. Why don't you understand? I am an outsider. I don't even know Rahul Gandhi. It is not that Rahul Gandhi is a friend of mine that I am talking like this. I am talking because I am looking at what is happening. And when I see what is happening, this is exactly the way I see it. Whenever there is a need,
[00:08:24] he is asked to go. Whenever there is a need to connect, he is the one who is connecting from Bharat Jodo. Whenever there is a problem, whenever there is an election, he is the one who is doing maximum amount of rallies. And then, when they lose the election, they say, what a useless leader. I don't do anything. How fair is that? How fair is that? And yes, I do agree to Rahul Gandhi that a small percentage of people in Congress are the percentage of people
[00:08:52] who actually have connected with the ground. A large percentage of people and that large percentage is getting larger. That percentage of people are actually sitting in their offices, sitting in their air-conditioned rooms and kind of trying to connect with the people through via television and via media and via Facebook and, you know, via social functions and all of that. And, you know, that's the way it is. So that's point three he made. Rahul Gandhi says
[00:09:22] that if I have to remove 20 to 30 people, I will. Good. Good. You see, people leaving Congress or people leaving an organization does not matter to an organization. A good person leaving an organization, a person who is part of the organization, working for the organization, working towards the growth of the organization, working to uplift the organization, if he or she leaves, that's the problem. If the janta leaves or the crowd leaves, there is no problem
[00:09:51] for the political party. for a political party or an organization, even a company. There is no problem. What are you contributing? That's the question that one needs to ask. So, if Rahul Gandhi decides to sack 20 or 30 people, so be it, that's good, I would say, that's a very good thing I would do for Congress. You know, here, I want to talk about a concept called rebricking.
[00:10:20] There is a beautiful concept called rebricking. And this is something that we had spoken about even before. You see, when an organization degenerates, when an organization crumples, one of the best thing for the top management to do is rebrick. The concept of rebricking is put everything down on the floor. Everything,
[00:10:51] everybody, put everybody down on the floor. And then start placing people again. Is K.C. Venugopal fit to be the general secretary? Is he fit to be the general secretary? Is he fit to show the way to people of Gujarat, people of Maharashtra? Honest questions needs to be asked. Is Jairam Ramesh one of the finest communication person you have? Rebricking is an honest exercise
[00:11:20] which an organization has to do. And that rebricking happens when you put those people back, you put them on ground and then start rebuilding your bricks. And ask yourself an honest question whether this brick fits in this position or not. If it doesn't remove that brick from there. If it does let it be. But that has to be an honest position. That has to be an honest
[00:11:50] decision. You know companies like Apple, companies like Ford, some companies like IBM, companies like Tesla has worked on this principle, has used this principle and changed their fates around. Apple tried it between 1997 Steve Jobs tried it between 1997 to 2001. Ford tried it in 2006 to 2014. IBM tried it in 2090s to 2010s
[00:12:19] and Tesla has tried it many times. Many times. the fact remains that this is one thing that Rahul Gandhi should be trying or Congress leadership should be trying. But trying honestly, not courtier remains courtiers, then others are others safe, the small malumne. First, the correction has to come from the top. I am
[00:12:49] sure that is something that he should understand. The backbone of Gujarat is small traders, small and medium business entrepreneurs. They are struggling. Farmers are shouting for a new vision. Congress can provide that new vision. But first, we need to strengthen our organization. This is the same point I go back to. How are you going to give a new vision? Who is going to give a new vision? Who is that one person who we can look forward to, to give a new vision? When
[00:13:18] it was Indira Gandhi, there was a Jeprakash Narayan, who a lot of people looked, there was a clear option, who a lot of people looked upon to give an alternative for Indira Gandhi. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Aduwani, these were strong leaders who were an option. Where people believe, if the grueling Congress government, UPA government, whatever government is not going to deliver, these are the people who are, who is your Atal Bihari
[00:13:48] Vajpayee, who is your Jeprakash Narayan, who is that person who you can say that this is the person who is going to show you the way, this is the person who is going to make a difference, this is the person who can guide you, this is the person who is responsible, this is the person who can solve your problem. Rahul Gandhi has a fantastic emotional quotient, he relates to people brilliantly, but Rahul Gandhi is not seen as a person who can show the way, you need somebody else,
[00:14:18] you had a Man Mohan Singh, never used him, you need to create another Man Mohan Singh, you tried creating a Man Mohan Singh out of Raghuram Rajan, but it didn't work, possibly because Raghuram Rajan is not a Man Mohan Singh, possibly Raghuram Rajan doesn't have that kind of vision of Man Mohan Singh, you need somebody better, this is your rebricking time, rebrick, get it moving, so that's the point,
[00:14:48] he says I understand Gujarat, I want to build a relationship with the people of Gujarat, confidence is inside you, my job is to bring it out, okay, that's what most of the leaders think and what most of the leaders say, all that I don't take very seriously, confidence inside you, come out and all that, first of all, there has to be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 steps that Congress needs to do, good, Congress is introspecting, this introspection
[00:15:18] should also go to the people who are running Congress, it also should be introspecting the people who are running Congress, like I spoke to you, the rebricking, are these people fit enough, can these people deliver the same question, the same question he asked the Gujarat team, he should ask his central command, AICC, is this vice president, is this general, whatever, whatever, whatever, local district presidents, state presidents, are they good enough to give that particular
[00:15:49] state a path away and take responsibility, the questions that he asked in Gujarat were good, at least, gives a sense that he is thinking, gives a sense that he understands where he is going wrong, his party is going wrong, that is, and I really look forward to him doing something about it, otherwise, this is just another good speech from Rahul Gandhi. I see you next time, that's tomorrow
[00:16:19] at 10, Namaskar.