Days after creating an embarrassment for Congress by terming the Kashmir issue as a ‘bilateral matter’ between India and Pakistan, The leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is back again with another controversial remark.
Chowdhury has stated today to the PTI that many regional parties will soon lose their relevance in India’s politics and then the Congress can rise.
Chowdhury stated that the revival of the Congress largely depended upon the weakening of the regional political parties. Claiming that the nation is headed towards “bipolar politics”, Chowdhury stated many regional parties do not have any particular ideology and they will soon lose their relevance.
Chowdhury then prophesied that when the regional parties become irrelevant, Congress can make a comeback as it will be the only party with a strong ideological mooring and ‘pan-India presence’, and can counter the ‘Communal juggernaut’ BJP.
“When there is bipolar politics, we would again come back to power. So, the future of the Congress is bright”, claimed Chowdhury.
Explaining his theory, Chowdhury added that regional parties lack the ideological motivation and mass support that a party like Congress enjoys.
Chowdhury further claimed that it would be tough for any leader outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to lead Congress because the Gandhi name has “brand equity”.
Supporting Sonia Gandhi being declared the interim president of Congress, the 5-time Berhampore MP stated that Sonia Gandhi had led the party to victory in 2004 and 2009 and despite being reluctant, she agreed to become the interim chief after senior functionaries in Congress requested her to.
He even defended the Gandhi family’s monopoly over the party by saying, “If you look at the present BJP, without Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, will it function smoothly?”
Chowdhury had caused a massive embarrassment for the Congress in the parliament during the debate over the abrogation of Article 370 by the government. He had asked how can the government call Kashmir an internal matter when it is being monitored by the UN since 1948.
Chowdhury had faced severe criticism for his remarks over Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha. When he had also accused the government of neglecting the issue of PoK, Home Minister Amit Shah had roared that whenever he says Jammu and Kashmir, he always means the entire Jammu and Kashmir, including PoK and Aksai Chin.
