Over the last ten years, there are constant cries from BJP ranks, and from so-called liberal democratic cadres that Rahul Gandhi should go
Cries about Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Indian National Congress being entitled and dynasty” keep carping on, like the recent snide remark from BJP’s National Information and Technology Dept Amit Malviya talking about Rahul Gandhi’s “exaggerated sense of entitlement” on his election visit to Telangana.
Media channels such as NDTV which in the not-so-distant past appeared non-biased suddenly turned very preferential and embarked on a rampage of furiously reporting even a pin falling in the Congress, or Rahul Gandhi’s invite to a political friend’s wedding in Nepal became the highlight of discussion while feverish rumors were rolling all over social media about his wild fling in a night club and his connections with a Chinese ambassador which BJP tried to paint out was treason to India. Of course, Nepal sources confirmed the lady was not the Chinese ambassador but a Nepali friend of the bride!
A video of #RahulGandhi in a nightclub has gone viral with the claim that he was accompanied by Chinese Ambassador to Nepal. India Today's Anti Fake News War Room has found the claim to be misleading.#FactCheck @afwacheck | @kunduchayan #REhttps://t.co/XqwcKHxoX2 pic.twitter.com/WmG0Os0VrA — IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) May 4, 2022
Of course, the BJP was not deterred and started another vicious campaign to sabotage Rahul Gandhi’s image, who remains unfazed and calm in the midst of sharp poisonous arrows of fake propaganda incessantly hitting him. Anyone else would have crumbled and hid in a hole.
The Indian Media fails to highlight the real plight of India, such as the severe inflation, rise in prices, loss of jobs, selling out of the public sector to the privates, the endless barbaric rapes, lynching, killing, the high cost of medical care, infiltration of Chinese soldiers in India, the monstrous fuel hikes, communal crimes tipping dangerously to genocide that has caught global attention, and a host of other serious problems. It is fascinating how the India Media finds that space to belittle a leader who is not in power, surely he must be a potent threat that they do that?
Is Rahul Gandhi the Entitled Dynastic Brat?
Rahul Gandhi is an Elected Leader:
Rahul Gandhi first stepped into politics in 2004 amid loud cries for him to join politics, something that was at first hesitant to do. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004. In 2004, he successfully contested the general elections held that year from Uttar Pradesh Amethi, a seat that was earlier held by his father. He won Amethi again from the constituency in 2009 (71.78% vote share) and 2014, three times.
In 2019, he won a thumping victory in Wayanad with 706,367 64.67%; 64.67% vote share.
Thus it is evident that he is not just an entitled dynastic with privileges to get him these places. The people of those states in India voted for him!
Youth Congress Revival
After he entered politics, his first task was to revive the Youth Congress. Before 2000, the Youth Congress was like a fading flickering flame and one of the first tasks that Rahul Gandhi did was to rebuild it.
He revamped Youth Congress and the NSUI organization. He introduced the election process for the first time in the Youth Congress and NSUI which allowed the entry of the gifted and capable with true credentials, not just the rich and powerful which allowed lakhs of talented Congress youth leaders and workers to rise and is a vibrant moment across India. Under his dynamic leadership, Youth Congress saw a jump of 25 lakh primary members which has increased and expanded over the years.
During natural disaster and the COVID pandemic, it is the Youth Congress that help people from all directions across the country, perhaps are more visible where Congress is in power.
Because of his hard work, time, energy, and input in the Youth Congress, today, the immense support, validation, and love Rahul Gandhi receives are from these lakhs of Youth Congress workers who refuse to let him go as their leader. He walked with party workers on dusty roads, sat with them, interacted with them, and won their hearts through his personal outreach.
In one television news program, when criticism once again arose against Rahul Gandhi, Congress politician Shashi Tharoor answered by saying, “Hold an election today, and you will see that Rahul Gandhi is the preferred choice of the Congress.” One cannot be popular without putting something there. It was not Rahul Gandhi’s entitlement or dynasty but his outreach to the youth that made him popular. In fact, after PM Modi, he is the second pan India leader.
The recent masses of roaring excited crowds in Telangana, in the electrifying rally, which caused political opponents to get bitter, revealed his mass popularity. An entitled dynastic will never get that response.
Rahul Gandhi Shaking Off the Shadows of Fascism
Analysts say that Rahul Gandhi is heavily resisted because he is a clean politician and he is independent in his thinking. It is, in fact, alarming to Congress that he is not stopping many from leaving. Perhaps Rahul Gandhi realizes people with different ideologies cannot coexist in Congress, thus he lets people with extremist views go off and he seems to be shaking off the shadows of the RSS in Congress.
It is known that in the old days of the Grand Old Party, great figures like Lal Bahadur Shastri, and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (Rahul Gandhi’s great-grandfather) had also invited RSS’ primary members to the Republic Day Parade of 1963 for their support during the War. At that time, a 3500-strong contingent of swayamsevaks marched in uniform as the part of Republic Day Parade.
Of note in 1965, Lal Bahadur Shastri had asked for RSS’ support in managing traffic in the national capital and had also praised the Sangh for their contribution during the Indo-Pak war of 1965. Lala Lajpat Rai and many others were RSS sympathizers.
Everyone notes that after PM Modi took over, there were increasing frightening upheavals with their links to VHP, BD, and others with violent acts such as gau rakshaks lynching Muslims, the caste politics in Uttar Pradesh where Dalits were mercilessly killed, upper-class boys raped Dalit girls, burned them alive, and strings of girls were brutally murdered. Muslims were being heavily targeted.
In other parts of India, Christians were beaten, intimidated, threatened, and even killed. While Rahul Gandhi does not directly address communal riots, he constantly emphatically openly denounces the brutality spurred on through the RSS links. He constantly speaks against hatred and violence.
Recently, charismatic former student leader and former Communist leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Congress party. At the AICC headquarters in New Delhi during his induction speech he said:
“I am joining the Congress because it’s not just a party, it’s an idea. It’s the country’s oldest and most democratic party, and I am emphasizing ‘democratic’…Not just me, but many think the country can’t survive without Congress,”
He also said, “Congress party is like a big ship. If it’s saved, I believe many people’s aspirations, Mahatma Gandhi’s oneness, Bhagat Singh’s courage, and BR Ambedkar’s idea of equality will be protected, too. This is why I have joined it.”
He expressed that a particular ideology was trying to ruin India’s values, culture, history, and future. He also claimed that “crores of youngsters” feel that the country “can’t be saved without saving the Congress”.
Kanhaiya is a staunch follower of Bhagat Singh, the Indian revolutionary who helped galvanize the freedom movement. Jawaharlal Nehru and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose also made passionate efforts to save and protect Bhagat Singh who was arrested and hanged by the British at the age of 23. Bhagat Singh preferred Nehru’s rational ideas on socialism over that of Bose and Bhagat Singh wanted the youth of India to follow the rational thinking of Nehru.
Rahul Gandhi is not a Politician but a Revolutionary, But He Must not Hold Back
Mindless masses ridicule Rahul Gandhi calling him Pappu because the mob culture keeps gobbling everything they see. Perhaps, people do not understand his functioning. Perhaps somewhere, he is still holding back, but it is seen that whenever he does take a stand, he goes all the way, but he needs to continue.
He is stirring up a people’s movement and not a political movement, which is why the politicians are dissatisfied with him, because a people’s movement will not go the way politicians want.
Rahul Gandhi supported the farmers right from the day the three farm bills were placed in Parliament and has been at their rallies and called the movement ‘non-violent satyagraha’ One can say, after the farmers’ strong protests for months on end, the support of the Congress also helped to their cause.
In States where the Congress party ruled, they waived all the farmers’ loans and kept their electoral promises to them, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi fought for farmers and workers from Bhatta Parsaul to Barmer and Orissa and got the new pro farmers land acquisition Act, 2012 passed by the Government of India. He has done a remarkable outreach during the COVID-19 crisis to his constituency in Kerala, Wayanad. He has also reached out to his former constituency Amethi with aid.
During the COVID-19 crisis, it was the Congress Youth under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi that has reached out tirelessly to struggling citizens and they are there in every crisis under his guidance and leadership.
He is the Napoleon Bonaparte type of leader who walks with his people and does not order them from a throne or a phone, and this is why they love him.
Today, there is a conflict in Congress because of different opinions brewing. Perhaps senior respected politicians do not like the change, and there is resistance which is why they left, but for a party to grow, certain old customs, ideas, and traditions have to go, for the river to flow.
People accused him of faking his outreach to the poor because they tried to project him as a “rich dynastic brat”, who studied abroad. They placed him as a brand of the Lutyens who did not have a place with commonplace Indians. They project PM Modi as the only one who can understand the poor man’s plight. With a batch of rejections stamped on Rahul Gandhi making him a clown with many chortling whenever his name was mentioned, the wheels in BJP kept rolling the way they wanted that image to go.
It is strange how Media and propaganda can influence people so fast. Can a person who holds a black belt in Aikido, is a licensed pilot, and could dive 75 meters under the sea in a single breath be really a clown or an exceptional human being? They tried to market a lie that he was a cocaine addict. If so, he would have been wasted by now because this lie has been running for ten years. He can speak clearly on the spot without a teleprompter and his quick reflexes enabled him to get first to a journalist who had fallen down the stairs before his bodyguards.
Drawbacks
Critics complain that he is not approachable. If this is true, this is something he can learn, to make himself more available to the people, especially the political cadre.
People complain he lets people go too soon. Sometimes, it is good to make agreements with talented workers and not allow people to leave if they are disgruntled unless, of course, they are treacherous. At the end of the day, people are humans and want to be awarded, very few want to wait around and a party can get lost if streams of people leave. It is imperative to recognize talent soon and reward them quickly.
People feel there is too much procrastination and waiting around in Congress while other parties are hitting the streets and just about anywhere.
Need to quickly get on the ground, and build teams in specific areas. Most workers feel a lack of support in the areas where they live. They all need good connections with local leaders and powerful networking. This cannot be done without top leadership taking big initiatives.
Congress has to raise more money for infrastructure and workers and get more corporate capitalists involved to help them.
Conclusion
Well, today, Rahul Gandhi is still the de facto leader amid nagging voices from a lot of quarters, among also Congress workers/leaders who don’t want him there, and political opponents.
One has to remember that all leaders evolve and grow as they continue in their roles. Rahul Gandhi has role models who walked the path before him as well as a strong Congress team surrounding him.
It is Congress’ aim to deliver to the nation, and build up every stratum of society, the rich, the struggling middle class, and reinforce the poor. With such a vision and desire to fulfill every election promise, Congress learning from their past mistakes with a new vibrant team under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi will be a great asset to the nation. Fighting one with democratic values to uphold the Constitution is a big mistake at this time
An entitled dynastic will never work to revamp or clean up a system and better the nation and an entitled dynastic can never hold the crowds. This is a fake fallacy spread by political opponents, and frighteningly enough, Congress workers are now beginning to buy it. Basically, they couldn’t care less. But yes, he is not a god, he can’t be everywhere all the time and Congress definitely needs stronger networking.
A recent comment from a Congress supporter really hit me and reinforced Rahul Gandhi’s leadership qualities, which otherwise, opponents are trying to destroy. Arun lives in Telangana and wrote on Rahul Gandhi’s visit there, “Seeing Rahul Gandhi ji up close, his body language, authority, aura & the way he spoke about some things today made it clear for me that he is defacto CP!”
Seeing Rahul Gandhi ji upclose, his body language, authority, aura & the way he spoke about some things today made it clear for me that he is defacto CP. — Spirit of Congress✋ (@SpiritOfCongres) May 7, 2022
A beautiful Mother’s Day video
Happy Mother's Day#RahulGandhi#MothersDay pic.twitter.com/F5XkDd656M — Er.Rakesh Rayjada (@Rakesh_IYC13) May 8, 2022
Rita
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