Nothing to offer electorate: Opposition is perennially indulging in personal attacks instead of articulating alternative

In an election year, policies are drowned out in the din of polemics. The run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election could be the most disruptive in decades. Three outcomes are possible: a slim NDA majority; a cobbled-together Third Front/UPA coalition; or a hung parliament.

Whatever the outcome, the level of political discourse has hit rock bottom. The history of political abuse can be traced back to 2007 when then Congress president Sonia Gandhi called then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi maut ka saudagar. Till then political exchanges had been relatively abuse-free. Even during the febrile atmosphere created in the media on the Bofors scam, lawyer Ram Jethmalani’s daily attacks did not descend into personal invective. Insults like neech and khoon ka dalal today flow freely from Congress leaders. The BJP, TMC, SP and others abuse copiously as well.

Lost in the bedlam is the articulation of alternative policies by the Congress-led Opposition. Party president Rahul Gandhi has made one major policy promise: reducing GST to a single tax rate slab. His policy positions on other key issues are vague or non-existent. A sensible way forward is to present to the electorate an alternative policy platform by establishing a shadow Cabinet. The Congress could then issue regular policy statements on issues ranging from Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Kashmir, China, economic reforms, bank NPAs, a strategic partnership with the United States, communalism, federalism, labour laws, police reforms and law and order. Instead of this professional, institutionalised approach, what we get is polemical criticism, much of it personal. In response, BJP president Amit Shah compared the Opposition to a menagerie of animals climbing up a tree to escape a flood. None of this would be necessary if the Congress sets up a shadow cabinet advancing alternative polices in key areas. Consider these:

Defence: It is legitimate to criticise the NDA government’s approach to weapons purchases. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is trying to untangle the odious bureaucracy in the ministry of defence (MoD) that has for decades stalled the modernisation of India’s armed forces. Instead of suggesting a way forward, all the Congress has done is point fingers at the French Rafale fighter jet deal. During the tenure of Congress-led UPA defence minister AK Antony, India’s weapons purchases came to a standstill, except for redundant VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. Had it been in place, the Congress shadow Cabinet could have published a white paper on how it would handle the abysmally low levels of ammunition in stock, replacing outdated assault rifles and quickly building up India’s fighter squadron strength back to an optimal 42, which it last was in 1987.

Economy: Clearly, the NDA government’s economic policies deserve calibrated criticism. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has delivered five uninspiring union Budgets. Labour reforms have been neglected. Tax policy has become more complicated rather than less. With Jaitley’s illness sidelining him for several weeks, perhaps longer, a re-jig of economic portfolios can’t be ruled out. This presents the Congress with an excellent opportunity to put forward its own ideas on economic, tax and labour reforms. Instead of a former finance minister ventilating in a weekly newspaper column, he should present a comprehensive report on the economic policies the Congress government would initiate if it were elected to office in 2019. His column brims with polemical criticism of the government’s economic policies, but offers little by way of cogent policy formulations.

Diplomacy: The thrust of India’s foreign policy under the Narendra Modi government has been patchy. On China and Pakistan, in particular, India’s policy has been both inconsistent and incoherent. After the well- executed surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC) in September 2016, the government has failed to contain infiltration from Pakistan. The security forces’ success in neutralising over 250 LeT, JeM and Hizbul terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir has not been matched by political initiatives in the state.

The rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, a key BJP electoral promise, has received scant attention. The alliance with the PDP has clearly failed. Stone pelting remains unabated. The beheading of a Kashmiri youth last week underlines the Wahhabisation of the Valley by the terror mercenaries of Pakistan.

The Congress has an opportunity to present its vision of bringing peace back to the Valley — on India’s terms. Rahul Gandhi is quarter-Kashmiri himself, but has shown little interest in the state. He visits temples in Gujarat and Karnataka when they hold elections. He should visit the Kashmir Valley and ensure his senior party leaders from the state, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, a former chief minister of J&K, come up with a cogent policy on dealing with both Pakistan’s venal sponsorship of terrorism and restoring peace across the state. India needs to hear coherent policy alternatives from the Congress-led Opposition, rather than polemical rhetoric. If it doesn’t offer an alternative governance narrative, it will be consigned to the back benches for five more years.

The writer is the author of The New Clash of Civilizations: How The Contest Between America, China, India and Islam Will Shape Our Century. Views are personal.