The Congress party is facing a major crisis in Madhya Pradesh, where senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and his supporter MLAs have raised the banner of revolt against the Kamal Nath-led Congress government. It is believed that 17 Congress MLAs loyal to the former MP — including six ministers – have been flown by a chartered flight to Bengaluru in BJP-ruled Karnataka. There are also reports that Scindia is going to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where Home Minister Amit Shah is also expected to be present. The new crisis has emerged just a few days after the Congress alleged that the BJP was trying to woo its MLAs to topple the Kamal Nath government.
The next 24 hours will perhaps decide the fate of the government. But the whole crisis has once again exposed everything that is wrong with the grand old party. Ever since the disastrous defeat in 2019 general election, the party has failed to recover from it. Rahul Gandhi resigned from the party president’s post, taking moral responsibility for the defeat. Amid chaos, the reins of the party were reluctantly taken over by Sonia Gandhi. There is no clarity over the leadership, and this is hurting the prospects of the party. The Gandhis have made it clear that the Congress will have to move beyond them, but some of the senior party leaders close to the family are trying to hold on to them for their own benefit. For any democracy to flourish, the role of the opposition is very important. But unfortunately, the Congress has miserably failed to play the role of a vibrant opposition. Crisis after crisis hitting the party will only strengthen the BJP. It is time the Congress went beyond the Gandhi family and started new chapter in the history of the party. Let new generation leaders take over the reins of the party.