The Art of the Apology: How Rahul Gandhi asking Sam Pitroda to say sorry for ‘Hua to hua’ helped Congress avoid electoral harm
Sorry — not always, but mostly — can heal wounds, repair damage, help forget the past (sometimes, even the present) — and move on. It is difficult to put a number to this, but Rahul Gandhi asking Sam Pitroda to say sorry for his “Hua to hua” comment could have saved the party a couple of seats this election season. Even if Gandhi’s quick calling out of Pitroda’s folly doesn’t translate into the Congress gaining seats, its surely prevented the BJP from drawing huge mileage out of it.
When Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar called Narendra Modi “chaiwala” in 2014 and a “neech kism ka aadmi” in 2017, the Congress did not immediately realise what monumental harm it could cause the party. But Rahul Gandhi made it clear that even if late, the Congress had learnt its lesson. He unequivocally condemned Pitroda’s statement without even adding the customary “if it hurt sentiments...” kind of weak apology.
One great mistake political parties have been consistently making is not learning the art of saying sorry when it matters.
Saying sorry can help parties win hearts and be forgiven for the biggest blunders they make.
In 2014, Arvind Kejriwal suddenly snapped ties with the Congress and quit abruptly as chief minister. He was quick to realise that Delhiites were angry with him for forcing upon them another election. He thus said sorry without wasting time and ensured that his apology reached the last citizen in Delhi. He said: “We have decided to prepare for polls. In the coming weeks we will hold a lot of sabhas, apologise to Delhi’s citizens and convince them to give us a clear majority so that we can form the country’s first corruption-free government.”
In 2015, Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept the Delhi Assembly elections — with 67 out of 70 seats.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s apology to the Sikh community over the 1984 riots made in Parliament healed many hearts, even though grouses do remain. Rahul Gandhi’s statement made over Pitroda now similarly soothed angered nerves — and ensured PM Modi could not rake up the issue at every election rally and turn it to the BJP’s advantage at the fag end of polling season.
Merely saying that the party distances itself from the comments of a leader is not enough. Political parties must ensure such comments are condemned loud and clear and leaders giving such statements publicly told that they have crossed the line.
The BJP seems to have taken a cue from Rahul Gandhi on this — so when the party’s Bhopal candidate Sadhvi Pragya Thakur called Naturam Godse a ‘desh bhakt’, BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao came out to say that the Sadhvi should issue a public apology. Reports also emerged of the PM's deep displeasure over the remark.
It is great to see parties finally learning the art of saying sorry. Even if symbolic, it may help them resist the temptation to land in situations that require them to apologise later.