Sonia takes charge to stem internal rift and unite the Congress

Saiyed Moziz Imam Zaidi

New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) After the latest poll debacle questions were raised by the Congress leaders on the issue of leadership, accountability and the way forward. Now Sonia Gandhi, who was on the back seat, has taken the driver's seat and has been active in and out of Parliament so that she can stem the internal rift before it spreads in the party.

Since then Sonia Gandhi has held deliberations with the rebel group within the party who are not comfortable with the functioning of Rahul Gandhi. She has raised the issue of MNREGA in Parliament too and in the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting she dealt with caution giving the message within and outside the party.

During the CPP meeting, she gave a subtle message to the drifters that "Unity at all levels of our vast organisation is of paramount importance and speaking for myself, I am determined to do whatever is needed to ensure it. Our revival is not just a matter of importance to us alone...it is, in fact, essential for our democracy itself and indeed for our society as well."

She also gave equal importance to the issues raised by the dissidents particularly after the poll results. "I am very well aware how disappointed you are at the recent election results. They have been both shocking and painful. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has met once to review our performance. I have met with other colleagues too. I have received many suggestions on how to strengthen our organisation. Many are pertinent and I am working on them."

She tried to connect the anti BJP front as well, that is why the Congress is important for the democratic setup. Reaching out to the opposition parties who are upset with the 'witchhunt' by the central probe agencies she attacked the government saying the Shiv Sena, TMC, NCP, NC leaders are at the receiving end due to the agencies extra activeness. Even National Conference leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was grilled by the ED.

She echoed the sentiments of the like minded opposition parties, that "Maximum governance to those in power clearly means spreading maximum fear and intimidation. Such blatant threats and tactics will neither frighten or silence us nor cow us down."

She raised the issue of the misuse of the social media and alleged that it is being used to spread hatred.

She said ,"Global companies like Facebook and Twitter are increasingly being used to shape political narratives by leaders, parties and their proxies."

"This is beyond parties and politics. We need to protect our democracy and social harmony regardless of who's in power."

She alleged that young and old minds are being filled with hate through emotionally charged disinformation, and proxy advertising companies like Facebook are aware of it and are profiting from it.

All her actions show that she is working to put the Congress house in order before the internal polls of the party and take the BJP head on in the state elections of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh this year. She has also met political strategist Prashant Kishor to rope him in for the Gujarat elections though the final outcome is awaited.