The remark by the Congress leader, Salman Khurshid, that he was distressed by the fact that some people were calculating political allegiances at a time when he was abroad on a mission to spread India’s message against terrorism has, expectedly, set tongues wagging. The Congress’s political adversaries, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party, would undoubtedly seek to project this as yet another instance of India’s Grand Old Party speaking in many tongues. In recent times, there has been much speculation about the ties between the Congress and another of its veterans, Shashi Tharoor. As the principal Opposition party, the Congress, quite rightly, had stood united with the Narendra Modi government during the military escalation between India and Pakistan. But it appears that the Congress’s responses to some issues pertaining to Operation Sindoor have remained mired in confusion, with the positions of the party and its lieutenants seeming to be at variance on occasion. This has strengthened the public perception — much to the BJP’s delight — that the Congress continues to muddle along a rocky electoral path.

Its lack of unison on some aspects of Operation Sindoor is not the only instance where the Cong­ress has been found wanting. As the voice of the Opposition, the Congress should have striven to keep the people’s attention on a key issue that has immense purchase in the current political situation: the nation’s floundering economy. Data and everyday experiences have repeatedly revealed the failure of Mr Modi’s regime to deal with unemployment and rising prices. The BJP’s milking of the success of India’s recent military actions is likely to push the aam aadmi’s economic woes under the carpet. The Congress’s inability to continue to mobilise public opinion on the pocket pinch is especially surprising given its partial success in cornering the BJP over its dismal performance on the economic front in the last general election. There is another notable failure that the Congress must confront. It has been unable to nurture the INDIA bloc as an effective Opposition. As the leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi must take the blame for this failure. INDIA, consequently, functions in fits and starts: it may have resurrected itself over the demand for a special parliamentary session on Operation Sindoor but energetic interventions and seamless cooperation among its allies have been few and far between. Plugging these loopholes must figure at the top of the Congress’s agenda. But will it?