Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has once again stirred up controversy within his own party with an incisive article he has written against “dynasty politics.” He contended in the column that this common practice presents a “grave threat to Indian democracy” and that it is high time the country changed from dynasty to meritocracy.
What made this especially uncomfortable for his party was the direct example where Tharoor wrote that it was the Nehru-Gandhi family who “cemented the idea that political leadership can be a birthright.”
In the article, published by Project Syndicate on 31st October, Tharoor traced this influence from India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to his daughter Indira Gandhi, his grandson Rajiv Gandhi, and right up to current leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. He wrote that while this family is a huge part of India’s freedom history, it also created an idea that has now spread to “every party, in every region, and at every level.”
He didn’t just single out Congress; he also pointed out that many regional parties, like the Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, PDP, and National Conference, operate the same way.
Tharoor further argued that this practice is harmful, for leaders are often selected based on “surname and not by ability, commitment, or grassroots engagement,” at the cost of the quality of governance. He added that it’s high time for a change and suggested big reforms, such as forcing the parties to have meaningful internal party elections and even term limits on politicians. This would help the electorate choose leaders based on their actual skills.
The response of the Congress party has been divided between public silence and private frustration. Sources in the top rank of the party confirmed that the naming of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did not go down well with the leadership. When asked for an official comment, the head of communications, Jairam Ramesh, and media chairperson, Pawan Khera, refused to comment.
A senior Congress leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tharoor does such things regularly for attention, and the party shouldn’t waste time responding. Meanwhile, the BJP, Congress’s main rival, was quick to react. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla praised Tharoor’s very insightful piece and openly wondered what kind of trouble the MP would be in with his party for speaking so candidly.
This is not the first time Tharoor has left his party colleagues “red-faced.” He came under fire for praising the Left-run government in his home state of Kerala. On another occasion, his remarks over the 2016 surgical strikes were fact-checked by his own colleagues, with Jairam Ramesh saying at the time that when “Tharoor speaks, it is not the party’s opinion.”
