Youth Congress must act as political ground force, say veterans

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi brigade has decided to go back to old warhorses for counselling and guidance on how to get the party back on tracks, post-defeat. The Indian Youth Congress leadership, under the tutelage of vice-president Rahul Gandhi, has invited all past national and state presidents and state-level office bearers of IYC since last 50 years for a one-day session on Friday to throw up ideas for the Congress revival.

Sonia, Rahul and all AICC general secretaries and CWC members are expected at the meeting at IYC headquarters. “The idea of holding the meeting is to hear from out senior and former leaders, their experiences and ideas on how to work to strengthen Congress”, IYC national president Rajiv Satav told ET. The idea for the meeting was decided with a historic perspective since it was the Sanjay Gandhi brigade in the Youth Congress that provided fire power to Indira Gandhi-led Congress to fight back in the late ’70s during the Janata party government.

The virtual who is who in Congress leadership – A K Antony, Ahmed Patel, Digvijaya Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, Vayalar Ravi, Anand Sharma, Ashok Gehlot, Kalmal Nath, Gurudas Kamath, Hanumantha Rao, Jaipal Reddy, Vilas Muttamwar – have risen through Youth Congress, most during the Sanjay Gandhi era.

“Indiraji and Sanjayji groomed the real politicians but during the past 10 years, Rahulji was promoting apolitical people and outsiders to conduct experiments that have led to the party’s current disaster. Having done the damage, it is a belated attempt to reach out political experience and wisdom.

It is good though the vital lesson to learn was in the late 70s there were Indiraji and Sanjayji who have picked up and encouraged real politicians, not over ambitious people with no political experience”, said a former Youth Congress national president and ex-MP.

Many in the Congress circles see the exercise as a way of Team Rahul trying to buy peace with the experienced lot who have been put off with the ill-fated organisational experiments.