WHEN A SEASONED POLITICIAN LIKE KAMAL NATH QUITS, BELLS OF BANKRUPTCY OF LEADERS RINGS FOR CONGRESS!

As Congress declared that Kamal Nath, party general secretary, will be in charge of Punjab and Haryana, uproar within the party and from opposition started for his involvement in 1984 Sikh Riots.  The senior Congress leader is among the very few in Congress who somehow have managed to save their skin so far.

But the whole drama of announcement of his name and then Kamal Nath resigning from the post has conveyed a message loud and clear. India’s oldest political party has gone bankrupt in terms of leadership. The party has is suffering such dearth of leadership that it had to nominate a 1984 anti-Sikh riots tainted leader, that too to prepare for upcoming assembly elections in Punjab.

Kamal Nath’s appointment gifted sitting Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal a chance to attack the opposition: “It is an unbelievable brazen act of insensitivity towards Sikhs and crass and vulgar disregard of national opinion on the guilty of the massacre of thousands of innocent Sikh children, men and women by Congress goons in November 1984. I just cannot believe a political party can be so brutally insensitive to the sentiments of Sikhs.”

Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi entrusted upon and thus appointed Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kamal Nath as general secretaries respectively for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, which was observed as an imperative organisational revamp.

But, the way Kamal Nath’s appointment backfired and ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) along with Aam Admi Party (AAP) attacked the Congress party in Punjab, has certainly made party thinktanks sit up and ruminate about the blunder they have committed.

Kamal Nath enjoys close ties with the Gandhi family. Sanjay Gandhi and Kamalnath were schoolmates at Doon. Congress has seen it’s share of ups and downs but this nine-time Lok Sabha member from Chhindwara, MP has loyal to the first family and the party.

But Sikhs haven’t forgotten his involvement in 1984 Anti Sikh riots and have protested against him on many occasions.

The recent breakaways from party and open suggestion of a surgery are clear indications that Congress currently is in one of it’s worst stages and bankruptcy of good leaders and leadership is the biggest issue that the party is facing.

The article first published on www.lafdatv.com