Work in progress: On the Congress and its Ahmedabad session
The All India Congress Committee (AICC)/Congress Working Committee session in Ahmedabad, on April 8-9, aimed to convey the Congress’s intent to usher in organisational reforms at the grass-roots level and bring ideological clarity. The capital city of Gujarat with a rich history in India’s freedom struggle was a symbolic setting to reflect the crisis that the party is grappling with. The Congress has been out of power for 30 years in Gujarat, which is now closely associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s model of politics and governance. The conclave reaffirmed the party’s commitment to constitutional values such as secularism, pluralism, federalism, and inclusive growth — principles that once defined the Congress and which, it alleges, are now under threat. Party leader Rahul Gandhi ...