Shed the ambivalence

The recent comments by the leader of opposition in the lok sabha Rahul Gandhi on the functioning of the election commission is not good politics in the least. Politics is all about communication and ambivalence in it doesn’t help the party or the cause. Irrespective of the place, such comments cannot continue for years without any further action or message. The congress party has enough resources and expertise to expose or at least explain the issues to the public and if it does not elaborate its stand on the electoral process it is not helping the people or opposition. Though the blame is distributed across the opposition spectrum, congress as the biggest and natural opposition must shoulder the burden. It cannot wait for the smaller and regional opposition parties to join the chorus. It must use its booth cadres to demonstrate the gap between their claims and the results. Institutions function through their reputation and credibility. They should be challenged only when convinced and if challenged they cannot be allowed to function as usual. The election commission and the opposition are both national institutions. The congress has since had many plenaries and no such message has come from them. The way forward is either to accept the suzerainty of the election commission or to challenge it all out. The congress owes it to the people.