Nashik, May 5: Saffron Phetas are out. Gandhi topees are in. As the Maharashtra Congress today sounded the bugle for the revival of the party it threw the gauntlet at the Shiv-Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party combine, accusing it with attempting to rewrite history and warning partymen to tighten their belts to defeat the growing presence of the BJP.In the process, the humble, white Gandhi cap made a modest re-appearance. In keeping with former speaker P A Sanghia's suggestion, among many, that the khadi topee needed to be returned to its proper place in the national set up, the Gandhi cap today adorned the pates of almost all leaders, including Sharad Pawar.
The traditional pheta - the Maharashtrian turban - was abandoned almost at the start as Pawar refused to shed his Gandhi cap to oblige party workers who had hoped they would be able to tie one on him as usual.
In recent years, the saffron pheta has come to be associated with the Sena-BJP alliance. But now, says Pawar, the Congress must revive thefighting spirit of the freedom movement in defeating the BJP-led alliance at the Centre. However, despite the party's attempt to unite its men under one cap, the differences among its branches have again come to the fore with the Youth Congress workers complaining that they have been systematically cut out of participation in the convention. According to one worker, they were not allowed to put up their banners to welcome Sonia Gandhi tomorrow. This, they charge, was to punish them for upstaging the MPCC during Sonia's maiden visit to Maharashtra at her first election rally in Nandurbar in January when only the Youth Congress had banners in her welcome.
``This way, the party will once again lose the 25-40 age group to the Sena as happened the last time,'' he said. Meanwhile, their elders are clear about what they are doing. Said Ranjit Deshmukh, MPCC president, ``no one here should think he is greater than the other. And if the party high command asks me about my tough measures, my only answer will be: dowe need rebellion or do we need discipline?
Clearly, it is Sonia who is keeping the spirits up and hopes burning in all camps. Pawar himself acknowledged this. And not for nothing was the eulogy for Sonia: Pawar pulled off a double coup by holding the first state convention in 30 years (the last was held in 1971, apart from minor meets in 1988 and 1996) and persuaded the party president to use Maharashtra as her launching pad for the Congress revival. And not for nothing was Nasik chosen as the venue: Congressmen themselves acknowledge, tongue-in-cheek, that this was lord Rama's temporary residence during his exile before his march to Lanka.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
