Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V.M. Sudheeran on Wednesday took strong exception to an editorial carried by Chandrika daily, the Indian Union Muslim League’s organ, putting on All India Congress Committee vice-president Rahul Gandhi the blame for the United Progressive Alliance’s poor show in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Delivering the presidential address at a function held at the KPCC headquarters here to commemorate Rajiv Gandhi’s death anniversary, Mr. Sudheeran said it was not fair to put the blame on an individual for the defeat. Each party had the right to criticise, whether it was part of the UPA or the opposition. Each party had its own methods of analysing the election outcome. But it was not correct and constructive to direct the criticism at Mr. Gandhi alone.
Parties should ensure political correctness in their criticisms, Mr. Sudheeran said.
The Chandrika editorial had said that the one-man-show of Mr. Gandhi was not sufficient enough to see the Congress through to victory since it failed to touch the hearts of the common man. Experienced leaders were kept outside the purview of decision-making, with the ‘Rahul brigade’ ruling the roost. The brigade failed to learn lessons for the occasional defeat sustained by the Congress, the editorial said.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, in his speech inaugurating the function, said that wins and losses were part of the democratic process. But the main issue was how a party tackled its defeats, by identifying the real causes.
However, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, in his keynote address, did not hesitate to criticise the UPA-2 government for the defeat which, he said, came about because the party and the government came to be alienated from the common man.
