Bihar poll debacle: Salman Khurshid

slams Congress colleagues for 'periodic

pangs of anxiety'
Congress leader Salman Khurshid has taken a dig at his party colleagues for their
'periodic pangs of anxiety' over the party's continued poor performance in polls.
ADVERTISEMENT

Mausami Singh 
New Delhi
November 17, 2020
UPDATED: November 17, 2020 19:03 IST

Salman Khurshid slams Congress colleagues for ‘periodic pangs of anxiety' over recent poll
losses (File photo from PTI)
Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Tuesday slammed his party colleagues for
raising questions over the party's recent poll performances after the Bihar poll debacle. In a
Facebook post, Salman Khurshid termed the criticisers as "doubting Thomases" who suffer
periodic "pangs of anxiety".
Former union minister Khurshid, who is among the leaders considered close to the Gandhi
family, said if the mood of the electorate is resistant to the liberal values the party has
espoused and cherished, it should be prepared for a long struggle rather than look for short
cuts to get back into power.
Salman Khurshid started his Facebook post with an Urdu couplet of Mughal emperor
Bahadur Shah Zafar, which talks about looking within for flaws that would make one not see
others as flawed. He said Bahadur Shah Zafar's words might be a useful companion for many
of our party colleagues who suffer "periodic pangs of anxiety".
Former union minister's statement came after some senior Congress leaders including
Kapil Sibal called for introspection after the party's dismal performance in the recently
held Bihar assembly polls, after which the ruling NDA returned to power in the state
despite the main member of the grand opposition alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal, putting up a
strong show and emerging as the single largest party.
Quite a few leaders from the RJD as well as the Congress have blamed the grand old party's
below-par performance for the opposition alliance missing the majority mark in the Bihar
assembly elections.
Tariq Anwar, party's general secretary and a veteran leader from Bihar, had earlier this week
acknowledged that there were shortcomings due to which the Congress performed worse than
other 'Mahagathbandhan' constituents in the Bihar polls and asserted that the high command
was serious about introspection as well as a thorough analysis of the results.
ADVERTISEMENT

"When we do well, admittedly somewhat infrequently they take it for granted. But when we
underperform, not even do badly, they are quick to bite their nails. By the looks of it there
would be little of the nails left for future disappointments. Is it really a case of bad workmen
quarreling with their tools?" Khurshid said.
Noting that everyone in the party is perplexed and pained by the continuing misfortunes of
the Congress that some have chosen to describe as "our misadventures", he said there is
something called faith, not necessarily blind, in destiny.
The favourite panacea of "doubting Thomases", introspection and collective leadership,
might do no collateral damage but is a bit overestimated, Khurshid asserted.
"Our real redemption might be found in understanding the mind of the contemporary citizen,
molded by prevailing circumstances and influenced by a self-serving potion of social envy
and suspicion, if not hate, fed by the ruling establishment," he said.
"If the mood of the electorate is resistant to the liberal values we have espoused and
cherished we should be prepared for a long struggle rather than look for short cuts to get back
into power," he said.
Being excluded from power is not to be casually embraced in public life but if it is the result
of principled politics it should be accepted with honour, he asserted.
So the constant refrain of some persons should not be of aimless introspection but for
reaffirmation of fundamental principles the Congress believes in, he said.
"If we are explicitly or implicitly willing to compromise with our principles to regain power
we might as well pack up our bags. It is another matter that consolidation of our principled
politics, like any cause, requires periodic re-appraisal and re-writing of strategy and
logistics," he said.
But those cannot be done in the media for our adversaries to checkmate it promptly, he
added.
His remarks come after voices of discontent within the Congress resurfaced following the
party's poor showing in the Bihar Assembly polls, with a section of leaders calling for action
and introspection.
Calls for reform and accountability for the Bihar polls debacle, however, invited quick
rebuttals from the party which fielded veteran leader Ashok Gehlot to say that the Congress
has always sprung back from crisis.
Gehlot's assertions followed Sibal's public criticism of the Congress leadership and his
remarks that the time of introspection was over and people no longer saw the party as an
effective alternative.
Backing Sibal, Congress Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha said it is time to act now, else it
will be too late.
Khurshid, in his post, said the battle for liberal India informed by the rich heritage of India’s
humanistic traditions cannot be joined by feeble-hearted and those unwilling to embrace
deprivation and sacrifice.
ADVERTISEMENT

"The noblest values of the freedom movement and the commitment of our Founding Fathers
(and Mothers) stood out because of sacrifices borne in terms of life and property," Khurshid
said.
"Today we are asked in the words of King Lear to ‘abstain from felicity awhile’. Let our
impatience be directed at those who have sullied the humanistic ethos of the great Indian
civilization rather than with self-perceived impressions of just deserts," he said.
Great minds have self-doubt, not the arrogance of doubting the world around themselves, the
former Union minister said.
Sibal, also a former union minister, tagged his media interview and tweeted on Monday, "We
are yet to hear on recent polls... Maybe Congress leadership thinks it should be business as
usual."
The Congress won 19 out of the 70 seats it contested in Bihar as part of the RJD-led grand
alliance. The opposition alliance ended up with 110 seats, while the NDA retained power
bagging 125 seats in the 243-member assembly.
Read the full text of Salman Khurshid's Facebook post here:
na th haal k jab hameñ habar rahe dekhte auroñ ke aib o hunar
pa apn bur.iyoñ par jo nazar to nigh meñ ko bur na rah
Bahadur Shah Zafar and his words above might be a useful companion for many of our party
colleagues who suffer periodic pangs of anxiety. When we do well, admittedly somewhat
infrequently they take it for granted. But when we underperform, not even do badly, they are
quick to bite their nails. By the looks of it there would be little of the nails left for future
disappointments. Is it really a case of a bad workmen quarreling with their tools?
We are all perplexed and pained by the continuing misfortunes of our party that some have
chosen to describe as our misadventures. But then there is something called faith, not
necessarily blind, in our destiny. The favourite panacea of doubting Thomases, introspection
and collective leadership, might do no collateral damage but is a bit over estimated. Our real
redemption might be found in understanding the mind of the contemporary citizen, moulded
by prevailing circumstances and influenced by a self serving potion of social envy and
suspicion, if not hate, fed by the ruling establishment. If the mood of the electorate is
resistant to the liberal values we have espoused and cherished we should be prepared for a
long struggle rather than look for short cuts to get back into power. Being excluded from
power is not to be casually embraced in public life but if it is the result of principled politics
it should be accepted with honour. So the constant refrain of some persons should not be of
aimless introspection but for reaffirmation of fundamental principles we believe in. If we are
explicitly or implicitly willing to compromise with our principles to regain power we might
as well pack up our bags. It is another matter that consolidation of our principled politics,
like any cause, requires periodic re-appraisal and re-writing of strategy and logistics. But
those cannot be done in the media for our adversaries to check mate it promptly.
ADVERTISEMENT

The battle for liberal India informed by the rich heritage of India’s humanistic traditions
cannot be joined by feeble hearted and those unwillingly to embrace deprivation and
sacrifice. The noblest values of the freedom movement and the commitment of our Founding
Fathers ( and Mothers ) stood out because of sacrifices borne in terms of life and property.
Today we are asked in the words of King Lear to ‘abstain from felicity awhile’ . Let our
impatience be directed at those who have sullied the humanistic ethos of the great Indian
civilization rather than with self perceived impressions of just deserts. Great minds have self
doubt, not the arrogance of doubting the world around themselves. That, in essence, was the
message of the last Emperor of Mughal India.
Read | Battered Congress looks at hard road ahead

Read | Gehlot right, Kapil Sibal’s remarks on Congress will only hurt party,
says Tariq Anwar

Read | Sonia Gandhi’s special Congress panel to hold first meeting after Bihar
election debacle

Watch | Bihar poll debacle a wakeup call for Congress?

Posted byArshi Aggarwal

POST A COMMENT

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Bihar poll debacle: Salman Khurshid
slams Congress colleagues for 'periodic
pangs of anxiety'
Congress leader Salman Khurshid has taken a dig at his party colleagues for their
'periodic pangs of anxiety' over the party's continued poor performance in polls.
ADVERTISEMENT

Mausami Singh 
New Delhi
November 17, 2020
UPDATED: November 17, 2020 19:03 IST

Salman Khurshid slams Congress colleagues for ‘periodic pangs of anxiety' over recent poll
losses (File photo from PTI)
Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Tuesday slammed his party colleagues for
raising questions over the party's recent poll performances after the Bihar poll debacle. In a
Facebook post, Salman Khurshid termed the criticisers as "doubting Thomases" who suffer
periodic "pangs of anxiety".
Former union minister Khurshid, who is among the leaders considered close to the Gandhi
family, said if the mood of the electorate is resistant to the liberal values the party has
espoused and cherished, it should be prepared for a long struggle rather than look for short
cuts to get back into power.
Salman Khurshid started his Facebook post with an Urdu couplet of Mughal emperor
Bahadur Shah Zafar, which talks about looking within for flaws that would make one not see
others as flawed. He said Bahadur Shah Zafar's words might be a useful companion for many
of our party colleagues who suffer "periodic pangs of anxiety".
Former union minister's statement came after some senior Congress leaders including
Kapil Sibal called for introspection after the party's dismal performance in the recently
held Bihar assembly polls, after which the ruling NDA returned to power in the state
despite the main member of the grand opposition alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal, putting up a
strong show and emerging as the single largest party.
Quite a few leaders from the RJD as well as the Congress have blamed the grand old party's
below-par performance for the opposition alliance missing the majority mark in the Bihar
assembly elections.
Tariq Anwar, party's general secretary and a veteran leader from Bihar, had earlier this week
acknowledged that there were shortcomings due to which the Congress performed worse than
other 'Mahagathbandhan' constituents in the Bihar polls and asserted that the high command
was serious about introspection as well as a thorough analysis of the results.
ADVERTISEMENT

"When we do well, admittedly somewhat infrequently they take it for granted. But when we
underperform, not even do badly, they are quick to bite their nails. By the looks of it there
would be little of the nails left for future disappointments. Is it really a case of bad workmen
quarreling with their tools?" Khurshid said.
Noting that everyone in the party is perplexed and pained by the continuing misfortunes of
the Congress that some have chosen to describe as "our misadventures", he said there is
something called faith, not necessarily blind, in destiny.
The favourite panacea of "doubting Thomases", introspection and collective leadership,
might do no collateral damage but is a bit overestimated, Khurshid asserted.
"Our real redemption might be found in understanding the mind of the contemporary citizen,
molded by prevailing circumstances and influenced by a self-serving potion of social envy
and suspicion, if not hate, fed by the ruling establishment," he said.
"If the mood of the electorate is resistant to the liberal values we have espoused and
cherished we should be prepared for a long struggle rather than look for short cuts to get back
into power," he said.
Being excluded from power is not to be casually embraced in public life but if it is the result
of principled politics it should be accepted with honour, he asserted.
So the constant refrain of some persons should not be of aimless introspection but for
reaffirmation of fundamental principles the Congress believes in, he said.
"If we are explicitly or implicitly willing to compromise with our principles to regain power
we might as well pack up our bags. It is another matter that consolidation of our principled
politics, like any cause, requires periodic re-appraisal and re-writing of strategy and
logistics," he said.
But those cannot be done in the media for our adversaries to checkmate it promptly, he
added.
His remarks come after voices of discontent within the Congress resurfaced following the
party's poor showing in the Bihar Assembly polls, with a section of leaders calling for action
and introspection.
Calls for reform and accountability for the Bihar polls debacle, however, invited quick
rebuttals from the party which fielded veteran leader Ashok Gehlot to say that the Congress
has always sprung back from crisis.
Gehlot's assertions followed Sibal's public criticism of the Congress leadership and his
remarks that the time of introspection was over and people no longer saw the party as an
effective alternative.
Backing Sibal, Congress Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha said it is time to act now, else it
will be too late.
Khurshid, in his post, said the battle for liberal India informed by the rich heritage of India’s
humanistic traditions cannot be joined by feeble-hearted and those unwilling to embrace
deprivation and sacrifice.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The noblest values of the freedom movement and the commitment of our Founding Fathers
(and Mothers) stood out because of sacrifices borne in terms of life and property," Khurshid
said.
"Today we are asked in the words of King Lear to ‘abstain from felicity awhile’. Let our
impatience be directed at those who have sullied the humanistic ethos of the great Indian
civilization rather than with self-perceived impressions of just deserts," he said.
Great minds have self-doubt, not the arrogance of doubting the world around themselves, the
former Union minister said.
Sibal, also a former union minister, tagged his media interview and tweeted on Monday, "We
are yet to hear on recent polls... Maybe Congress leadership thinks it should be business as
usual."
The Congress won 19 out of the 70 seats it contested in Bihar as part of the RJD-led grand
alliance. The opposition alliance ended up with 110 seats, while the NDA retained power
bagging 125 seats in the 243-member assembly.
Read the full text of Salman Khurshid's Facebook post here:
na th haal k jab hameñ habar rahe dekhte auroñ ke aib o hunar
pa apn bur.iyoñ par jo nazar to nigh meñ ko bur na rah
Bahadur Shah Zafar and his words above might be a useful companion for many of our party
colleagues who suffer periodic pangs of anxiety. When we do well, admittedly somewhat
infrequently they take it for granted. But when we underperform, not even do badly, they are
quick to bite their nails. By the looks of it there would be little of the nails left for future
disappointments. Is it really a case of a bad workmen quarreling with their tools?
We are all perplexed and pained by the continuing misfortunes of our party that some have
chosen to describe as our misadventures. But then there is something called faith, not
necessarily blind, in our destiny. The favourite panacea of doubting Thomases, introspection
and collective leadership, might do no collateral damage but is a bit over estimated. Our real
redemption might be found in understanding the mind of the contemporary citizen, moulded
by prevailing circumstances and influenced by a self serving potion of social envy and
suspicion, if not hate, fed by the ruling establishment. If the mood of the electorate is
resistant to the liberal values we have espoused and cherished we should be prepared for a
long struggle rather than look for short cuts to get back into power. Being excluded from
power is not to be casually embraced in public life but if it is the result of principled politics
it should be accepted with honour. So the constant refrain of some persons should not be of
aimless introspection but for reaffirmation of fundamental principles we believe in. If we are
explicitly or implicitly willing to compromise with our principles to regain power we might
as well pack up our bags. It is another matter that consolidation of our principled politics,
like any cause, requires periodic re-appraisal and re-writing of strategy and logistics. But
those cannot be done in the media for our adversaries to check mate it promptly.
ADVERTISEMENT

The battle for liberal India informed by the rich heritage of India’s humanistic traditions
cannot be joined by feeble hearted and those unwillingly to embrace deprivation and
sacrifice. The noblest values of the freedom movement and the commitment of our Founding
Fathers ( and Mothers ) stood out because of sacrifices borne in terms of life and property.
Today we are asked in the words of King Lear to ‘abstain from felicity awhile’ . Let our
impatience be directed at those who have sullied the humanistic ethos of the great Indian
civilization rather than with self perceived impressions of just deserts. Great minds have self
doubt, not the arrogance of doubting the world around themselves. That, in essence, was the
message of the last Emperor of Mughal India.
Read | Battered Congress looks at hard road ahead

Read | Gehlot right, Kapil Sibal’s remarks on Congress will only hurt party,
says Tariq Anwar

Read | Sonia Gandhi’s special Congress panel to hold first meeting after Bihar
election debacle

Watch | Bihar poll debacle a wakeup call for Congress?

Posted byArshi Aggarwal

POST A COMMENT

Without Your Help They Could Starve Through This PandemicThe Akshaya Patra Foundation|
Sponsored

Photos From the 90's That Will Make You Rethink The DecadeCrafthought|
Sponsored

Become A Data Scientist. No Technical Background Required.Great Learning|

Sponsored

Now A Term Plan Which Also Gives Your Premiums BackMax Life Insurance|
Sponsored

These Are The Most Daring Dresses Ever Worn At The ACM AwardsCrafthought|
Sponsored

Airport Security Couldn't Believe These Jaw-Dropping MomentsGadgetheory|

Sponsored

1 & 2 Bed Hillside Homes Starting at Rs.45 L* in Panvel by GodrejGodrej Properties|

Sponsored

Luxury Homes ₹5.03 Cr* Onwards at Andheri (W). Spread Across 5 Lakh SqftTranscon
Ridge Residences|
Sponsored

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga breaches sales milestone of 5.5 lakh unitsIndia Today

Elli AvrRam shares how she saved her cat on Diwali. Rescue me next, says Terence
LewisIndia Today

The 2 - Impulsive Performance Meets Audacious Coupé Style.BMW|

Sponsored

Coding Classes For Age 6-18 by IIT/ Harvard AlumnusHelp us to help you take the informed
decision by booking a free trial now! Laptop/Desktop is mandatory.CampK12|
Sponsored

Buy 2 & 3 Bed Homes Rs.1.31 Cr* onwards at Lbs Marg MulundRunwal Sanctuary|
Sponsored

Nora Fatehi in stunning dress enjoys sunset at the beach. See new Instagram videoIndia
Today

Karnataka colleges reopen after 8 months: Check photos, SOPs and guidelines hereIndia
Today

She Made Headlines In This OutfitStyleBistro|

Sponsored

Old Camera Found In The Deep Ocean Reveals Horrifying Titanic PhotosHorizontimes|
Sponsored