The Congress has more often than not chosen to remain silent on the achievements of former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, even at party events where it has remembered the contributions of other former premiers belonging to the party.
However, Rao was remembered by his party at the recent AICC Plenary Session on more than one occasion, which is rare. The political resolution passed at the plenary made a tribute to the former prime minister for ushering in economic reforms.
“The tragic assassination of Shri Rajiv Gandhi was a big blow to the Congress, and Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao was entrusted with the responsibility. As Prime Minister, he steered the country out of engulfing crisis. The economic reforms of 1991 was truly historic and transformed Indian economy,” the resolution said.
The resolution on foreign policy also remembered the former prime minister, noting that “Narasimha Rao steadfastly pursued a foreign policy that upheld India's sovereign interest.”
While the Congress has faced criticism for choosing to ignore the legacy of Rao, who was prime minister from 1991 to 1996, his contributions were mentioned and appreciated by the functionaries of the Narendra Modi government.
Rao had an uneasy relationship with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. It is said that misunderstandings had crept up between the two even before she joined politics, and the crux of the problem was reportedly Sonia's feeling that Rao had not done enough to expedite the investigation into the assassination of her husband, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
It is believed that the mention of Rao at the Congress session could have been driven by the realisation that the party faces an existential crisis in Andhra Pradesh and faces a tough challenge in unseating TRS from power in Telangana, where Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has queered the pitch by elevating his role to the national level by proposing the creation of a non-Congress, non-BJP federal front comprising regional parties.