Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar is a unique kind of politician. He is also right now the most senior politician in active public life, and that is why his recent comments against the demand for a joint parliamentary committee by Congress, its leader Rahul Gandhi, and some other political parties should not be seen merely as criticism. There is a need for the Congress to read between the lines. Sharad Pawar is a master of giving subtle messages. In the larger context, the Congress must realise that what he really means is that Opposition unity cannot happen without deliberation, and acquisition should not mean that every political party will have agreement on every issue. That is why it is the need of the hour for Congress, as the largest stakeholder in the opposition, to take the initiative of setting clear agendas for the upcoming 2024 general elections.
The Rafale deal is the best example of Rahul Gandhi overplaying issues, so the statements made by Sharad Pawar should also serve as a warning to the Congress party. There is no substantial evidence that the repeated personal attacks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Gandhi, like Chowkidar chor hai, have benefited the Opposition or the Congress electorally.
The Adani issue is undoubtedly an important one, and there is also a lesser scope of doubt that the BJP shares a good relationship and may also have a personal relationship with the Adani group. But the hard reality is that all the business groups historically have always tried to be in the good books of the ruling party. If the Opposition’s claim that the Adani Group’s manipulation of share prices has caused economic chaos in India is true, then Congress and the Opposition will have to take responsibility for not bringing this issue to the public’s attention yet. Before asking for a JPC or a probe into an issue like this, there is a need to develop a public discourse on the issue. Similarly, it is also important to apprise the people about why they should care about this issue more than issues like unemployment, economic distress, growing prices of everyday commodities, growing atrocities against the marginalised and minorities, and other issues.
It’s strange that the same Opposition that won’t let the Parliament work because of the Adani group has never stopped the Parliament from working because of growing violence against minorities, racial tensions, unemployment, or economic inequality. It is the job of the Opposition to prioritise issues over which to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party. Pawar’s comments show in a subtle way that bringing up issues which don’t have much to do with each other, attacking the Prime Minister personally over and over, and not trying to get more people talking about the issues will never help the Opposition. The Supreme Court ought to look into these issues, as Pawar suggested, and the truth ought to come out.
Senior NCP leader Sharad Pawar has also questioned the talk about whether or not Prime Minister Modi is qualified to be in his position because of where he lives. Here the important point is that the issues raised by Pawar indicate that different political parties coming from diverse backgrounds will have different opinions. But at this time, to fight election machinery like the Bharatiya Janata Party, the most important political agendas should be connected to the people. There should not be any doubt that Sharad Pawar is no saint, but the Congress understands that he is one of the very few senior leaders who stood beside the grand old party despite parting ways. Some of the Congress leaders have slammed Sharad Pawar, but the high command and the Gandhi family know that he is not only the unifier of the coalition in Maharashtra but will also be a credible face who can unite the Opposition.
There can be many differences in politics with Sharad Pawar, but the Gandhis know that he has never shied away from standing beside the party. In 1999, the way Sharad Pawar was ousted from the Congress was not pleasant politics. Today, the issues raised by Sharad Pawar are indeed pertinent. Opposition political parties, be it the Congress or a Mahagathbandhan, cannot take on the Bharatiya Janata Party, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah with personal attacks and unsubstantial issues that are not connected to the people. The Opposition political parties of India come from different states; they carry the regional sentiments, prides, cultures, histories, and faiths of the people. Example: Sharad Pawar himself raised the issue that the Congress must not talk disrespectfully about Savarkar. This came after Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray slammed Rahul Gandhi for his statements against Savarkar. For political parties like the Shiv Sena UBT or the NCP, taking a political line against Savarkar is never possible because these are political parties from Maharashtra, where regional pride is very strong.
It is not important whether the Congress agrees or disagrees with Sharad Pawar. But the most important realisation for the Opposition political parties, including the Congress, should be reading between the lines of what he says because he is suggesting a roadmap that will help all the regional political parties of different states, along with a national party like the Congress, come together. The need of the hour is to look into the agendas of the people. The need is to create a common minimum programme that will accommodate the demands of the people, the priorities of different political parties, the needs of different states, and, at the end of the day, create a real force against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Without a strong message, a political agenda, and the involvement of the common people in civil society, the Opposition's unity will be impossible. And if at all such unity happens, then also it will be of no use.
The writer is a doctoral research scholar in media and politics. He tweets @sayantan_gh. Views expressed in this article are personal
