No problem is intractable; the key question is do we have the will to solve them in everyone’s interest? And that too quickly.

Dear @rahulgandhi,
I am writing to you publicly here because no one within the Congress is probably going to tell you this. So as usual, let me bell the cat.

Leadership ( corporate or political or any other) is about having difficult conversations. It is about trouble-shooting. It is not about living in denial; problems have to be addressed, they cannot be wished away.

You and I both know that Shashi ( Tharoor) is an outstanding parliamentarian. He is probably among the only few in the country to whom the cliché, “ He needs no introduction” truly applies. It is therefore disappointing that once again a great asset of the party is being forced to talk to the media to get his message through to you or the Congress leadership. Almost five years to the date, I was compelled to write an article in a national newspaper when facing a similar predicament. No problem is intractable; the key question is do we have the will to solve them in everyone’s interest? And that too quickly.

The Congress must be focused on taking on the BJP, but a prerequisite for that is to first get the house in order. This cannot become an ongoing unresolved challenge for years as it paralyses the energy and drive of the Congress workers and supporters. A challenger party has to be swift, desperate, risk-taking, hungry and on a constant prowl. It cannot be business as usual, for sure.

We need to hit the nail on the head going forward, but right now, we seem to be hitting our head on the nail.

I am sure the party and you will sort this out pronto.

Good luck!
Sanjay Jha