NEW DELHI, SEPT 8: Before the three-day Pachmarhi brainstorming camp, Congressmen had made a habit of shuffling along, almost unwillingly, as if burdened by a great hangover. Now, there is a spring in their step.The bounce and optimism comes after what was largely a good session for the party which found its voice after years on many issues. For example, the Congress attempted to focus on the poor, weaker sections, Dalits, OBCs and the youth. Specific programmes were listed to woo these sections and the Congress economic policy was also tailored to suit the left of centre stance which was the party mantra till the late 80s.
In other areas, like the long moribund frontal organisations, the party was prescribed a harsh dose of hard labour with no promise of reward in the form of power. By this, Sonia Gandhi is trying to get back some lost credibility by showing that the party can still be what it once was: An omnibus organisation which had the good of the people as its only motive.
It essentially meansthe party will have to work its way back to good health, gain the support of allies and earn the goodwill of people. Two big steps went in that direction in Pachmarhi: putting poverty back on the party agenda and giving the Congress some sort of a social conscience. But there is one yawning gap, on communalism on which the party has failed to spell out any clear programme to combat it.
One indication of some social outlook is that party cadres will have to plant five saplings a year and monitor their progress. They will also have to stop having more than two children beginning January 1, 2000.
The most crucial Pachmarhi achievement is the Congress reverting to a pro-poor and left of centre economic ideology which was the party mantra till the late 80s. While Manmohan Singh was forced to alter his policies to a great extent, the Congress hasn't abdicated liberalisation. It has instead tried to evolve a middle-path approach which should suit its potential allies like the Left.
It is on economy that theparty has clearly laid down its future policy. Fifteen points on economy were part of the Declaration, the most in any section. Some of them are:
A commitment to socialism and the socialistic pattern of society as spelled out at Avadi in 1955, a good 43 years ago. This implies that the Congress realises nothing much has changed despite its 45-year rule of the country since Independence. Removal of poverty and empowerment of the poor as effective partners in the growth process will not be the essence of the party's policy. This is the first time that the Congress has put the poor and the rich on level terms in accelerating the country's growth, a tent which was missing in the 1991-96 period. Redefining the government's role at all levels to make it a more effective instrument of economic change and social transformation. Which is nothing short of accepting that the government now has little role to play in improving the living conditions of people, a severe indictment of the nation'sadministration which was nurtured by the Congress itself for more than four decades. Assures better targeting of subsidies for the poor, the needy and the disadvantaged which will be continued and strengthened. A reversal of what Manmohan Singh has been advocating and an acceptance that some areas of the current economic policy need to be turned on their head.Put together, this is the crux of the Pachmarhi camp. In future, the Congress will stay left of centre whether in opposition or in power.Apart from this, there are the environmental and population policies.
Says the eight-point party programme cleared at Pachmarhi: ``Each active member of the party (has) to plant and tend at least five saplings every year in nearby open spaces, particularly in and around schools, hospitals etc..'' On the face of it, this may seem a simple task but for Congressmen, used to power brokering and money making, this must be a novel task.
The two-child norm is more serious. Pushed actively by P A Sangma,population control has found its way to Congress policy. Says the Pachmarhi Declaration: ``Population control will be a key element of the party programme.'' By dangling the ticket carrot, Sonia hopes to get partymen acting on limiting the number of their children.
The blot on the horizon, so to say, is how to fight communalism. Most Indians are not communal by nature and therefore the Congress has the task of explaining to them what exactly religious fanaticism means and how the Sangh parivar is responsible for it, as the Congress says.
In this, the party still has no action plan. Perhaps that will come from the Left, to whom the Congress has made plenty of overtures from Pachmarhi.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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