Congress’s legacy of unease with legacies
The attempt to resurrect the memory of a leader suggests a belated move on the part of the leadership to honour Rao’s memory and claim his legacy
On Wednesday, the Congress party shifted to a new address in the national Capital. The move to Indira Bhawan, its new national headquarters at 9A, Kotla Marg, also saw the rehabilitation of former Prime Minister (PM) PV Narasimha Rao, whose memory had been erased from the walls of the previous party office at Akbar Road. Photographs of Rao, who also served as chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh and in the Union Cabinet for many years, are on view at the new building. The attempt to resurrect the memory of a leader, who remained a Congress member all through his life, after joining the party during the Freedom Struggle till his death in 2004, suggests a belated move on the part of the leadership to honour Rao’s memory and claim his legacy.

The Congress’s neglect of Rao was in the spotlight when it sought to champion Manmohan Singh’s legacy following his death recently. It was PM Rao who roped in Singh as finance minister with the mandate to reform the economy in 1991 and brought him into politics. The rest, as they say, is history. That said, the Congress was a reluctant champion of the Rao-Singh reforms, which pivoted the nation away from the Nehru-Indira legacy of command economy and the licence raj. Besides, many partymen held Rao, under whose watch the Babri Masjid was demolished, responsible for the Congress losing Muslim voters.
But in the changed political reality, where the BJP holds pole position and economic liberalisation is seen in a positive light, Rao’s “liabilities” could be assets for the Congress. Equally, the party’s obsession with the Nehru-Gandhi family while ignoring the contributions of other charismatic leaders who built the party and the nation, has resulted in the BJP appropriating their legacy – Sardar Patel is just one among them. The Congress’ celebration of Manmohan Singh — and now the change of its stance towards Rao — suggests that the party may be changing course.
