It is a matter of how we in a democracy are to judge a leader’s credentials, says the Congress MP, as he pushes back on Guha’s critique of the prime ministerial candidate.
Guha questions Rahul Gandhi’s readiness
Ramachandra Guha made his case in an interview of sorts, where he put forward some hard questions for the Congress. If there is a tiff with China or trouble in the Gulf, how will Gandhi keep the country steady? What is there in his record to prove he can be trusted with something of that magnitude?
Then there is the issue of what one is entitled to. Guha notes that people want to know what, if not for his character, is backing up Gandhi’s claim. He thinks the party could have been looking at others who have put in the time in a minister’s office.
Tharoor counters with global and domestic precedents
“A bit much,” was Tharoor’s response on Saturday, and he made his point by way of history. He put forward the example of Barack Obama, who came from a first term in the Illinois Senate. When he took over the US presidency in the middle of several world crises, what kind of foreign policy experience did he have to show for it?
You can make the same of Narendra Modi before 2014, when he was in charge in Gujarat. How much of the outside world had he seen? The idea that you need a long resume to be an effective national leader doesn’t hold up, in his view.
On X, Tharoor added that for twelve years now, Gandhi has been at the head of a national party. He has contacts all over and can call on a range of counsellors, both within and without the fold. It is more about the strength of the team than any one line on a CV.
Leadership is a team enterprise, says Tharoor
No one at the top of a government is going to be muddling through a crisis on their own, Tharoor would have you believe. You have your institutions, your cabinet, and your experts. He is of the mind that we should let the row over Gandhi’s qualifications go.
To sum up where they stand:
– Guha has his doubts on whether Gandhi is ready for a major external test
– Tharoor will have you look at Obama and Modi to see why past experience isn’t everything
– Guha is for someone with a track record in the room
– Tharoor is for the man who can put a good team together
In a post that made the rounds, he told Guha that in a democracy you often put a leader in place before they have the conventional background. To only look at what office they have held is to miss how things are run.
Context from Tharoor’s earlier remarks on BJP’s campaign playbook
Tharoor is no stranger to giving credit where it is due. A month or so back, he was lauding the way the BJP ran their shows in West Bengal and Assam, and he has said as much: the prime minister and home minister are very adept at this side of politics.
He has commended their organisation and the resources they put into it. But he has also voiced a wish that their message is one of bringing people together, not sowing division.
What the exchange signals for Congress
Put the two men aside and you have a question for the Congress and the electorate: how do you value a leader? Tharoor is trying to turn the talk toward the kind of governance that comes from a well-oiled advisory system, not just a person’s file.
For the moment, the MP would like to see the noise die down. “Time to put an overblown controversy to rest,” he says. Guha, on the other hand, has put the onus on being demonstrably ready, so don’t expect this to be over with in a hurry.
