Resistance. This one word summarises Rahul Gandhi’s June 8 address to the INDIA bloc leaders, clearly one of the most consequential political speeches delivered by an Opposition leader in recent years.

It is consequential not for reasons that have attracted public attention so far. The reference to other Opposition parties like the CPI(M) and DMK has invited reactions, understandable once indoor comments were made public. Yet this expression of disagreements was and should be seen as underlining a fundamental unity of purpose of the entire Opposition. A subsequent article by Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of the CPI(M-L), puts this idea in a more inclusive and wider perspective. Similarly, the remark that the “Congress party is a resistance movement” should be read as a reclamation of an ideal rather than a statement of current ground reality.

The true significance of the speech lies in its diagnosis and prescription. This is the first clear-eyed recognition by the Opposition of a watershed moment in our political life: India’s transition from competitive authoritarianism to electoral autocracy. This is also the first coherent articulation of a strategic shift: The Opposition’s transition from politics of electoral contestation to politics of resistance. Both these pivotal ideas need to be unpacked, disseminated, debated and refined.

Rahul Gandhi’s diagnosis goes beyond the rhetoric of lament. He puts his finger on the real issue: “The problem is the capture of the instruments of the Indian state by the RSS… The entire architecture — media, social media, the legal system, bureaucracy, intelligence agencies — is aligned to keep this government........

© Indian Express