Is Rahul Gandhi 2.0 an upgrade with glitches?
Till a few weeks back, everyone was in awe of the new Rahul Gandhi. The Congress vice president had returned to the capital after a 56-day sabbatical, leaving everyone wondering whether it was for the better or worse, and if worse, just how much worse?
Things however looked up when he successfully took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the BJP. Many hailed the new avatar as his barbs were not only novel, witty and refreshing, but showed that the leader was finally playing for the right team.
Like all good things come to an end, Rahul Gandhi has begun to disappoint again. If you have followed his speeches and antics in the last couple of weeks, as I did, you will find that the new RaGa is basically the old one, repackaged as new. Here's why:
1. Repetitive: Rahul Gandhi tried to be sarcastic while wishing the Modi government for completing one year in power on May 26. "Happy Birthday suit-boot ki sarkar," he said in Kozhikode, Kerala. Really? How many times will this jibe work? The catchphrase no doubt worked when he had used it on April 20 to taunt Modi for having worn the Rs 10 lakh monogrammed pinstripe suit during a meeting with US President Barack Obama. However, even the best of jokes lose the punch if you repeat them more than often. Rahul was again heard on May 12 in Parliament, saying, "We will not allow this suit-boot work to go on".
On May 28, while addressing a convention of the National Students' Union of India, the student wing of the Congress, Rahul took a swipe at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, contrasting the orderly queues of "shakhas" to the disorder in the Congress. He also said, "The DNA of the Congress party is to listen to everyone." If you remember Rahul's famous speech made in a Jaipur conclave on January 20, 2013, you will recall that he had harped on the same DNA point. In that conclave, Rahul had been anointed the vice president of the party. The same speech seems to have been rehashed on May 28.
Before he went on a sabbatical, Rahul would be often heard saying "bhaiya" and rolling his kurta sleeve up while delivering speeches. Critics would poke fun at him and mimic him for these habits. Something led us to believe he had stopped, but at his address to the NSUI convention, we again saw him indulge in both actions. Not much of a makeover.
2. Shoots and scoots: Rahul Gandhi tends to get carried away. That's acceptable. But stretching facts can land the best in trouble. For instance, he held the NDA government responsible for scrapping the food park project in Amethi even though it was during the UPA regime that the petroleum ministry refused to provide subsidised gas. Human resource development minister Smriti Irani, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election against Rahul in Amethi, and food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal have contested Rahul's claim. Badal has accused the Congress vice president of playing a "politics of deception".
In Kerala, he alleged that the NDA government was trying to take away the sea from fishermen in the same manner as it was attempting to take away land from the farmers. He criticised the Modi government for extending the ban on trawling during the monsoon season. The fact is that fishing by trawlers is banned during the monsoon every year as it is the breeding period of fish and the practice is not a new one. Rahul could have done a bit of homework.
3. Immature comments: In Kerala, Rahul ate fish for lunch at a fisherman's house and commented that the fish caught by the fishermen tasted better than those caught by the trawlers. This made no sense whatsoever.
In Delhi, he said Manmohan Singh had given a "one-hour class to Modi" on economics on May 27. The fact is the meeting didn't last even half-hour. What more the PM had invited Manmohan.