Sonia Gandhi’s decision to appoint five-
term Berhampore MP Adhir Ranjan
Chowdhury as the leader of the Congress
in the Lok Sabha after Rahul Gandhi
refused to take on the responsibility sur-
prised many. With the party suffering
from a continuing bout of poll debacle
stress disorder, the Congress strongman
from Bengal’s Murshidabad has a much
larger and unenviable national role to
play—put Narendra Modi’s government in
the dock on crucial issues in Parliament.
He spoke to Puneet Nicholas Yadav on
the challenges ahead. Edited excerpts:
Did your appointment as CPP leader in
the Lok Sabha come as a surprise?
Certainly, I was surprised. At our strategy
meeting, Soniaji took me aside and told
me that she wanted me to lead the party.
I was taken aback. It is a humongous task
and I don’t want to let the party down.
You have been a very vocal parliamentar-
ian. Is that something you would want
your party colleagues to emulate consid-
ering the dire situation that the Congress
is in now?
As an MP, we all have a responsibility to
speak up. But you must understand, indi-
vidual performance and group perfor-
mance are two entirely different things.
Our senior colleagues are not in the Lok
Sabha this time. We have many new
MPs. I have communicated to all the
members that they should convey their
subjects of interest to me. I have also
told Madam (Sonia Gandhi) that we need
to change some practices. Whoever is
identified to participate in a debate must
be told well in advance so that he or she
comes prepared. In the last Lok Sabha, in
my personal view, we lacked synergy and
only a select few spoke up. I want to
change that and I will change that.
Debates can’t be a monopoly.
Have you identified issues on which you
think you can corner the Modi government?
There is no dearth of issues. The entire
country is reeling under drought but the
government doesn’t want to discuss it.
They chose to bring the Triple Talaq Bill
as a diversion and simply to provoke the
Opposition. There are real issues that we
need to discuss. Drought, lack of jobs,
agrarian distress, economic crisis, attacks
on religious minorities, attack on federal-
ism, attack on institutions, social con-
flicts; the list is endless.
Why is the Congress in such a pitiable
state if there are so many issues on
which Modi and the BJP have failed?
The Congress has become victim of sharp
religious polarisation. Even Bengal,
which was historically immune to reli-
gious polarisation, has suffered this time
and the BJP has gained. But, the eupho-
ria over Hindutva will end soon. People
will be forced to think of themselves, of
their livelihood issues. For how many
days will you survive on hate and polari-
sation? Modi’s salesmanship can’t suc-
ceed in perpetuity.
In the Lok Sabha, you will also effectively
be the leader of Rahul Gandhi too.
Rahul will continue to be our party leader
and I will seek his guidance on policy and
strategy matters. I may be the party
leader in the Lok Sabha but as far as the
party and my politics is concerned, Rahul
is still my leader.
Would you ensure Rahul is more active in
his Lok Sabha participation?
I would certainly want him to participate
more and he will. Whenever he inter-
vened in the House during the previous
Lok Sabha, the government had to listen.
The Trinamool Congress comprises the
third-largest Opposition bloc and your
frosty ties with Mamata Banerjee arewell known. Will that be a roadblock in
Opposition unity in the Lok Sabha?
There are various leaders from the
Congress in the Lok Sabha. If the
Trinamool leaders think they cannot work
with me, they can always speak to other
Congress leaders. They can speak to
Soniaji or Rahulji.
Will you make an effort to take the
Trinamool along in floor coordination?
It depends on the situation. If it is
required, I will reach out to them. I have
already told a Trinamool MP that I might
act locally (in Bengal) but I will think
nationally. In Bengal, the Congress and
the Left Front have been debilitated to an
unsustainable level. The vacuum created
has let the BJP creep in. I think Mamata
Banerjee will soon realise that by stran-
gling the Congress and Left in Bengal,
she has allowed the BJP to grow and she
will be the worst sufferer of this. She
should contemplate on what her role
should be now. O‘I will
continue
to seek
Rahul
Gandhi’s
guidance’
8 July 2019 OUTLOOK 23