Modi govt's land bill could be Sonia's return to political prominence: Here's why

New Delhi: Down and virtually out of the political arena after her massive defeat in the post-Emergency election, Indira Gandhi regained her sparkle as a leader of the masses after an elephant ride to Belchi village in Bihar. Riled and written off by rivals, it took her all of six months to get back into public imagination. Her gesture towards the landless Dalits who had lost 11 members over land dispute changed the political discourse of the country. Will Sonia Gandhi turn the Land Bill into her Belchi? [caption id=“attachment_2178225” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress president Sonia Gandhi. PTI[/caption] Despite her rumoured illness, the Congress president has made sure that she and her party are seen as the soldiers of the country’s peasantry by taking Modi head on over the proposed changes to UPA’s Land Bill of 2013. While confusion ran amok within the party’s ranks for almost a year after losing power in May, 2014, Sonia seems to have almost nullified that within a fortnight. The NDA has been forced to take the prorogue route for Rajya Sabha over the Land Bill. The reason lies in the belligerence of Sonia, and the way she has managed to unite almost the entire Opposition against the Centre over this. Even as the NDA tries to steamroll the new amendments, she wrote a strongly-worded letter to Union minister Nitin Gadkari. She accused NDA of “bending backward to favour select industrialists”, mentioning the clause of “returning unutilized acquired land within five years” being removed as making a mockery of farmer-friendly provisions. “Modi Government’s decision to prematurely prorogue Rajya Sabha is a poor attempt to undermine parliamentary democracy,” said Randeep Surjewala, Congress Media Chief. “Modi sarkar thought they will be able to take advantage of a divided Opposition, but Sonia Ji has shown that Congress will not allow BJP to run their anti-farmer and communal agenda,” said Jitin Prasada, former Union Minister. While Rahul Gandhi refuses to come out of his orbit, Sonia’s effort to reach out to various political parties in Parliament has ensured that no one is really missing the Gandhi scion. With his sudden exit a day before Budget session, Sonia had to act fast and she did. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being summoned by a trial court was the trigger that saw the Congress president move centre stage. She ensured that all the party bigwigs marched with her to Singh’s house in a solidarity march. It was a strong message to the party cadre that the high command doesn’t forget their loyal soldiers. While her son and party vice president tried his best to talk to senior leaders and work out a strategy to take on the Modi government, he was ironically missing when the opportunity arose. “Farmer issues are core to Congress party and Rahul Gandhi’s agenda in politics,” wrote Jyotiraditya Scindia, former Union minister and a close aide of Gandhi scion. “He showed us the way in May, 2011 when he went to Bhatta Parsaul to protest against forceful land acquisition,” as he countered Rahul’s critics. The internal bickering and public spat between leaders has come to a grinding halt, former Governor Hansraj Bhardwaj being an exception lately. The fight between Rahul’s coterie and the seniors seems to have turned into a cold war as Sonia has managed to keep both sides engaged with ways to revive the party’s flagging fortunes. The new proposed legislation is bound to snowball into full fledged farmer’s agitation against the NDA, the question is who will take ownership of the movement. The Land Bill has given a new direction to Congress under Sonia’s stewardship, as she tries hard to give the impression that when it comes to protecting farmer’s interests, Congress will provide the helping hand. The fight against the Land Bill could be her Belchi moment.