.@INCIndia has decided to not send spokespersons on television debates for a month. All media channels/editors ar… https://t.co/sGHVDYFhCp — Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) 1559183656000

NEW DELHI: After being thrashed out of the political stage in the 2019 elections, Congress has decided to go on a sabbatical from the airwaves where it fought a key part of its battle against Narendra Modi-powered BJP for five years and came a cropper.As the Modi government prepared to resume power with increased majority and obviously improved political voice, Congress announced that it would not be on television debates for a month.AICC spokesman Randeep Surjewala tweeted, “Congress has decided to not send spokespersons on television debates for a month. All media channels/editors are requested to not place Congress representatives on their shows.”The move appears to be in line with the decision taken by Samajwadi Party , which like Congress was swept out in the recently concluded political battle by a rampaging BJP. The buzz in Congress circles is that more opposition parties may follow suit.Coming in the backdrop of confusion created by Rahul Gandhi ’s announcement to resign as Congress president, the directive is bound to be seen as an attempt to keep contradictory statements on the issue in check.However, what seems to have pushed an otherwise TV-friendly Congress towards the unprecedented policy decision is the feeling that the visual media has not been “just” to the party cause, appearing to be tilted towards the ruling establishment.It is common opinion in the party that its spokespersons are called to debates only to be handed out a thrashing by the organisers. Also, the nature of subjects picked for discussions are polarizing political issues which, either way, end up helping the BJP.Never having taken such a decision before, the duration of one-month for the gag order is a bid to test waters. The party was not sure how it would turn out and was skeptical of making it sound indefinite.While the time line to go off air is limited, Congress supporters believe the party should try a new tack from NDA-1 and refrain from commenting on policy issues for a good while given that all its “justified critique” of the Centre’s policies between 2014-19 did not count for much among the electorate mesmerised by Modi.Given the backdrop of 2019 elections, Congressmen feel the party should not speak up on issues till the people feel the pain of any negative policy measure themselves. The entry of Congress in any debate makes it partisan and forces people to take sides, which in the present atmosphere is mostly with the BJP.What remains to be seen is if the Congress would resume participation in television debates after the first month of the new saffron regime.