Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi: The Congress, which has struggled to build a campaign around Narendra Modi government’s failures on the economic front, has received a shot in the arm after the latest criticism by Sinha. Sinha is not done yet. The BJP was unwilling to comment on the Sinha article in the Indian Express.
Congress Vice President retweeted Sinha’s article published on Wednesday. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your copilot and Finance Minister speaking. Please fasten your seat belts and take brace position. The wings have fallen off our plane,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
Taking to Twitter, Rahul said, “Ladies & Gentlemen, this is your copilot & FM speaking. Plz fasten your seat belts & take brace position.The wings have fallen off our plane (sic).”
In recent weeks, most Opposition parties, but particularly the Congress leadership, have chosen to focus their attack on the Narendra Modi government on its handling of the economy, lack of jobs and farm distress. It has been careful not to engage with either the BJP or the government on issues of identity politics. “It’s the economy, stupid” is the slogan that Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist had coined for his successful 1992 US presidential campaign.
However, Swamy, Gurmurthy and Sinha’s aren’t the only voices of dissent from within. Some of the senior ministers are said to be upset with the way things are being run within the party and the government, and how little they are consulted. Earlier this month, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi alluded to that in his interaction at a university in the United States.
The latest attack by Swamy, Gurumurthy and Sinha is seemingly aimed at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. But there are all signs of a churn within the BJP, even as the PM and party chief Amit Shah prepare for forthcoming electoral battles in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, and seek to increase their sway.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly, where she spoke about the achievements of successive governments in India, came for much praise from the Congress and other opposition parties.
In an article published in a Hindi newspaper on Tuesday, BJP Lok Sabha member Varun Gandhi had publicly disagreed with the Modi government’s policy towards Rohingya refugees. He had called for the Indian state to show more empathy towards them.
In recent weeks, Varun Gandhi has also written about agrarian distress at a time when farmer protests have broken out in several parts of the country. Off the record, party leaders said they disagreed with Varun Gandhi on the Rohingya question.
Sinha is the member of the BJP’s ‘margdarshak mandal’, or mentors’ group. He has recently been a frequent visitor to Jammu and Kashmir, and stressed the need for the Centre to reach out to the various stakeholders in Kashmir. Not just the Modi government but Congress-led Opposition has also ignored his efforts.
Sinha had even met dissident Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav and reached out to Communist Party of India (Marxist) chief Sitaram Yechury on the question of Kashmir. However, a proposal to hold an all-party conference on Kashmir, with Sinha in the lead, was shot down by the Congress party.
Subsequent to the BJP’s defeat in the Bihar assembly polls in November 2015, Sinha and other members of the ‘margdarshak mandal’ had made public their unhappiness with the way party has been run under Amit Shah.
Senior Congress leader and former finance minister Chidambaram also tweeted quoting from Sinha’s article. “Yashwant Sinha speaks ‘Truth to Power’. Will Power now admit the Truth the economy is sinking,” Chidambaram said.
Chidambaram has written extensively in the last two months about the economic downturn, the ills of demonetisation and the “hurried” implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
Quoting from Sinha’s article, Chidambaram tweeted too.
TRUTH 1: “The growth rate of 5.7% is actually 3.7% or less ” says Yashwant Sinha.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 27, 2017
TRUTH 2: “Instilling fear in the minds of the people is the name of the new game” says Yashwant Sinha.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 27, 2017
ETERNAL TRUTH: No matter what Power does, ultimately Truth will prevail.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 27, 2017
As the Modi government and BJP focus on the slogan of ‘garib kalyan’, or welfare of the poor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh fraternal organisations have been pointing at the growing economic distress. Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Laghu Udyog Bharati and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch have highlighted the impact of the GST and demonetisation on BJP’s traditional support base of traders and small business. The MSME sector has been hit grievously.
