Why is Rahul Gandhi so angry and frustrated? Has he realised that there is no hope for the Congress and that the only way to draw attention is to create chaos? His anger is not just the anger of an Opposition leader—there is definitely something personal. Narendra Modi is the most popular Prime Minister India has ever had in terms of population, acceptability and winning trust. Why then would he attack the popularly elected Prime Minister?
The way Gandhi gestured in Parliament on Thursday (11 February) while participating in the Motion of Thanks for the President’s address showed that he was acting like a goon. Waving his fists in the air and challenging the government in the typical style of a student leader left a bad taste in one’s mouth and one wished that the leader of the Congress was mature enough to inspire confidence in people whose interests he claims to represent.
At a time when every Indian seems to be proud and happy that both India and China have reached an agreement for a phase-wise disengagement after almost a year of the Galwan clashes and the ensuing standoff, Rahul Gandhi has sounded an angry and discordant trumpet. India gave a befitting reply to China and the whole world is praising the valour of the Indian Army and the political leadership. Not a shot was fired and China is backing off. The government has also reiterated that not a single inch has been given to the Chinese during and after the standoff. Why then is Gandhi so peeved?
People are bewildered. Is it that he had thought the standoff would bring PM Modi to his knees and the Congress would gain political advantage? Is it that he is feeling betrayed by China since he signed an agreement with the Chinese side for working for mutual benefit? Or, is it that the Chinese have been sent back without gaining an inch of our territory? Comparisons will always be made with 1962 when they captured 38,000 sq km of Indian territory in Aksai Chin after the war.
Rahul Gandhi’s criticisms are unfounded. Experts are now saying that the Congress leader is telling lies to suit his political agenda and trying to defame the Prime Minister. It appears he had been gloating under the impression that China had slapped India, but became frustrated when the slap boomeranged. The mighty China realised its mistake of challenging the ego of an average Indian itching to work for the country’s aspiration to take its rightful place in the world. It was a different India the Chinese had countered. But Rahul Gandhi apparently got upset at yet another Modi triumph.
Gesticulation added to verbal abuse and a loud voice demonstrated that Rahul Gandhi was frustrated and out of control. This often happens when a person loses his sense of balance or speaks when their blood pressure is high. The words he used for the Prime Minister have insulted the country. He displayed his frustration by saying that the Opposition cannot function since the media was not independent and also questioned the integrity of the judiciary. His jibe of “hum do, humare do” and the way he asked parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha to stand in silence for the farmers who died at the protest sites demonstrated his scant regard for norms or institutions. Since his temporary mental imbalance has become a phenomenon, it needs a wider diagnosis.
Gandhi’s behaviour is akin to that of a lost prince barking at the king for removing him from the throne that he thought belonged to him by virtue of his birth. The chaiwala dethroned the prince and there was no sign of redemption. The chaiwala inspired confidence in every Indian to dream big, despite not having a powerful lineage. Aspirational India no longer looked to the dynasts to deliver.
There was a time, not so long ago, when people studying in foreign countries claimed their right to be treated with respect in this country, their qualifications a clear passport to their membership in the ruling elite. Now, even in the civil services examinations, Indians educated in B and C class cities are doing better. Oxford and Cambridge educated youths have to compete now and they are being beaten in the competition despite their articulation of the language or the accents they pick up. A Tharoor may create his own dictionary in English and impress Lutyens’ Delhi, but he would pale into insignificance while competing with a representative from a rural area who would connect better with his constituency.
A Prime Minister who has seen poverty and has worked his way to the top political post may not have been fortunate enough to get his education from the Oxbridge type of institutions, but his understanding about society and administration is so immense that he can be the subject for many PhD theses. He may not need to consult a book to understand the plight of farmers and the poor and he does not need to learn economics to know that individuals must have the freedom to do business without the shackles of the government and the bureaucracy. Yet, he is the one who reads more than many other leaders do, to keep himself abreast of happenings around the world. He is credited with using social media to communicate with the people of his country. He is the one who told many BJP leaders in the early 1990s, when many in the party shunned modern gadgets for the fear of being branded deviants, that information technology will drive the country.
Rahul Gandhi is driven by a sense of entitlement that comes from being the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family. How can the prince be challenged by a chaiwala in this fashion? In traditional Indian settings, if the son of a poor person did well, he would still be expected to genuflect before the established feudal family. How can then Modi behave in this way? He has challenged the family by not giving it protection for the misdeeds it committed when it was in power. This is the main issue.
It was in his arrogance that he tore the copy of the ordinance that was brought by then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in 2013. His arrogance was at display when he was browsing his mobile phone during the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament in June 2019. The way he talks about Modi shows his contempt for whom the Prime Minister represents—a person from the lower class making it big by the dint of his efforts.
If Rahul Gandhi was not the son of Sonia Gandhi, or if Sonia Gandhi was not the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, or if Rajiv Gandhi had not been the son of Indira Gandhi, or if Indira Gandhi had not been the daughter of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, or if Nehru had not been the son of Motilal Nehru, they would perhaps have been doing something else. But for Motilal Nehru, who understood the importance of Mahatma Gandhi and cultivated and sponsored his political activities, the situation would have been very different. Motilal Nehru had requested Mahatma Gandhi to be Jawaharlal’s guardian angel. Gandhi was impressed with the young man and his British accent and supported him at crucial junctures to position him for the top job. Nehru had known the importance of the ‘Gandhi’ title and his son-in-law, a Parsi, was adopted by the Mahatma and given his title to make Indira a Gandhi.
To some, politics comes by way of entitlement. To others, it comes the hard way. As India is becoming increasingly declassed and more egalitarian, the country is witnessing an end to the politics of entitlement. The problem is that people born with a silver spoon are refusing to adjust to this new reality and showing signs of frustration. Rahul belongs to this category. If he remembers the background and the mechanisms that were adopted by the family to stay in power, he would be more humble when the power of the dynasty ebbs away.
What would you do if you realise that the family name would not work? You would work hard and try to understand the subjects you wish to speak on. Before Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi started his political activism in India, he toured the entire country in a third-class compartment on the advice of his political guru, Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Gokhale wanted that Mohandas should know his country well before articulating the plight of his countrymen. Similarly, Rahul Gandhi must read Pandit Nehru’s book The Discovery of India and understand his history and culture. The copyright of the book is held by Sonia Gandhi, but Rahul Gandhi has not taken the pains to read the book that forms the first tutorial any Nehru-Gandhi scion must get. The book will act as a guiding light for the scions of the Gandhi-Nehru family, which is important since humility and respect for institutions and tradition are an integral part of Indian culture.
The writer is convener of the Media Relations Department of the BJP and represents the party as a spokesperson on TV debates. He has authored the book ‘Narendra Modi: The Game Changer’. The views expressed are personal.