Advice for the Congress | The Indian Express

Advice for the Congress | The Indian Express

Written by Tavleen Singh |Updated: June 2, 2019 1:30:41 am

Tavleen Singh, a leading Columnist associated with The Indian Express. Find all Columns from Tavleen Singh here.

Advice for the Congress

I offer it only because I believe that democracy without a strong opposition party causes more harm than good. Narendra Modi may truly have a spiritual strength that will prevent absolute power from going to his head, but it is too risky to bet on this.

Last year, when Sonia Gandhi was the star speaker at the India Today conclave in Mumbai, she said she would not ‘allow’ Narendra Modi to become prime minister again. (Express File Photo)

Never did I think that a day would come when I would hope the Congress party regains some of its former glory. There are reasons why I do not like the Congress. I got my first job as a reporter a month before Mrs Gandhi declared the Emergency and enforced the most brutal press censorship. I was witness to how she used the suspension of democracy to hand the Congress party and the Government of India to her younger son. He had never even contested an election. In my view Mrs Gandhi’s ‘socialist’, statist economic policies were an unmitigated disaster. I believe that her son and daughter-in-law’s adherence to these policies is the reason why millions of Indians continue to live in extreme poverty.