The politics of scuttling economic reforms in the name of helping farmers and poor may yield short-term political gains, but it can’t bring back the Congress party its lost political clout.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has announced that he will be travelling to Europe for a few days.
Obviously, this trip is to celebrate the New Year, but the significance lies in making the foreign travel public by tweeting it, which signals a change in his approach.
“I will be travelling to Europe for a few days. A very Happy New Year to everyone. Hope the new year brings much joy and happiness to you and everyone close to you!,” he tweeted on Monday.
This is clearly a sign of understanding the responsibility that he holds to improve the image of the Congress party that has been battered by the 2014 Lok Sabha defeat.
But, this has to go beyond just being transparent in telling people about his foreign trips.
The Congress party is in serious danger of getting isolated in Parliament because of the disruptions and scuttling of the reform legislations, especially the goods and service tax (GST) — as the ruling NDA lacks a majority in the Rajya Sabha, it is difficult to pass any reform Bill without Congress support.
Rahul Gandhi can play a major role in clearing the parliamentary deadlock over passing critical Bills and projecting the Congress party as a serious opposition, and that will help Congress regain its lost clout to a large extent.
There is no point or gain in being seen as a party which is not allowing the GST Bill to get cleared in Parliament, or delaying the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, that are being seen as tools to improve the business environment in the country.
Same is the case with the labour law changes that the government is planning to push to help easy entry and exit in business.
The last few days of the Winter session of Parliament did indicate to the possibility of a better legislative atmosphere going ahead as the Congress party allowed the passage of a few Bills in the upper house and on its part, the government also decided to refer the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to a joint committee of Parliament and not push it by introducing it as a Money Bill.
The Rajya Sabha can’t stop a Money Bill and if the government would have taken this route, it would have just aggravated the current situation.
This atmosphere has to be taken forward now in the Budget session and this can’t happen without a change in the Congress party’s approach.
So, Rahul Gandhi would do well by ensuring the passage of at least the GST Bill and also the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in the session.
The gains from being a serious opposition would certainly be more than being a roadblock to reform.