: Opposition Unity Is A Chimera #IndiaNEWS #Commentary SAEED NAQVI IF the Gandhi trio stirred themselves into action as a serious Opposition, is there a possibility that they would end up in jail?

Opposition Unity Is A Chimera #IndiaNEWS #Commentary
SAEED NAQVI

IF the Gandhi trio stirred themselves into action as a serious Opposition, is there a possibility that they would end up in jail? If they were spared despite this affront, it would imply that the Modi government has come to the conclusion that the Gandhis are nowtotally harmless.

Requirements of the media in this regard are helpful to the Narendra Modi establishment in a peculiar way. It keeps the Gandhis in frequent focus with the express purpose of sustaining the delusion that they are still the rallying point for a national Opposition. This salience given to the Gandhis keeps them in the public eye and thereby a massive roadblock in the way of any Opposition unity, particularly since the Gandhis and their limping cohorts constantly “emote??? an urge to “revive???. They know that such a revival is impossible but the belief serves a purpose indicated above: it obstructs Opposition unity. The media is content with the simplicity of the tweedledum versus tweedledee narrative. After all, coalitions and regional diversities are complexities impossible to contain in soundbytes.

In recent times, a story that has wafted out of the Gandhi enclosure is one of differences between them. Sonia Gandhi, with reliable retainers like Ahmad Patel is averse to rocking any boat. Status quo, uncomfortable though it be, is about the best she sees for the brood in the given circumstances. Her listless politics is also a function of her indifferent health.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s status quoism derives from her personal anxieties, family problems and an inability to cope with responsibilities. Ask Kishori Lal Sharma, appointed years ago to nurse the “family burroughs??? of Rae Bareli and Amethi and he will guardedly spill the beans. The poor fellow’s Stan Hardy (as in Laurel and Hardy) moustache greyed waiting for Priyanka to address the “Congress volunteers???. But Priyanka, like Godot, never showed up.

Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, is being more assertive about beliefs he has long held and which approximate to the line Rajiv Gandhi enunciated at the 1985 Congress centenary in Mumbai chastising the “power brokerp????Z[?[?H???[????]?[??H]??O????[?NM?K?[???[?[??[??H?[?H?]H?????]?^H???HH8?'???????????H?Y?[?[?]??H?][??]?[?X[H??[?Y?]H???X[??[?H???[?H?Z?[?[Y[??NM?[??HXY??????[?X[??^X?Z????^X[??????HNM?H?]YHY?T?Y?[Y[??[??]?X?]?H]??[?H??^?H?????[?H??P??????8?&[?]X[]x?&H?[Y??Y?H?[??[Y??X?[??[[??X?Y???H[?x?&?[X[???H?Z??Y?8?'?[?x??