Today’s optics were all about Sonia Gandhi being summoned before the ED to be grilled in the National Herald Case. Thousands of Congress leaders erupted on the streets and courted arrest as Sonia made her way to the Enforcement Directorate office accompanied by her two children, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The details of the case are well known by now but the jury is still out as to whether the Gandhis gain any sympathy out of this entire exercise or is there a subliminal sense of satisfaction in seeing their very public discomfiture.
It is not difficult to see what the Modi-Shah-led BJP gains out of it. Union
Minister Pralhad Joshi said as much when he asked protesting Congress leaders disrupting the house whether, “Is the Congress President (Sonia) a super human being? Everyone is equal before the law.”
Everybody including both Modi and Shah who have suffered similar tribulations during the Congress led UPA rule. In fact the duo have a moral advantage over the Gandhis as they have been cleared by various courts since. But those who ask whether anything is to be gained by further demoralising the Gandhis when their stock is at an all time low may perhaps remember an old adage about forgetting and forgiveness, for it does seem that this is something the current BJP leadership ascribes to. As for the Congress leadershi, will the Gandhis be able to stir up some sympathy by this trek to the ED’s office? Rahul Gandhi made multiple visits in June but it does not appear to have softened party or public opinion towards his leadership credentials, but Sonia Gandhi seems to have hit a chord at least within the party.
Unlike Rahul she has an emotional connect with the cadre and her being subjugated to summons, specially at a time when her health is failing has struck an emotional note with her party workers. Unfortunately for the Congress it is not Sonia but Rahul who will be leading the party in the fight against Modi. As far as the allies are concerned, not one spoke up in Rahul Gandhis’ favour but when Sonia was questioned, a joint letter against vendetta politics was issued by the nom NDA allies. The fear of the ED’s sword dangles over most of them, which is probably one reason why Akhilesh Yadav handed out a Rajya Sabha ticket to legal eagle Kapil Sibbal. In the end, the key question is: Is the National Herald going to become a poll issue to be used against the Gandhis the way Bofors was used against Rajiv Gandhi? In terms of optics and slogans, it gives the BJP great fodder in TV debates and on the floor of the house to refer to Sonia and Rahul as a leadership that is out on bail. In terms of issues, the Gandhi family stock is already at an all time low. All that the Herald probe does is add to the perception of a family that took the law for granted. And again, don’t forget one of the promises made by Modi at the BJP’s National Executive recently. He promised to put an end to parivaar-vaad. Taking down India’s most powerful political dynasty seems to be a step in that direction.