Ex-Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has been targeted by many amid Rajasthan crisis.
Amid crisis for the Congress in Rajasthan after Sachin Pilot's open revolt pushed Ashok Gehlot government to the brink, several party leaders across the country have heaped praise on ex-party chief Rahul Gandhi on Twitter with the hashtag - "#MyLeaderRahulGandhi". Many of them tweeted pictures with the 50-year-old Congress leader, shared personal experiences and recalled the opportunities that they were given in the party.
Senior party leader KC Venugopal wrote: "Shri @RahulGandhi's vision has ensured more youth get associated with the party, get a platform to lead from the front & represent pulse of the nation. It's funny that some vested media is desperately twisting facts to their convenience, but @INCIndia workers can't be misled." The 57-year-old MP's tweet was viewed an attack on those targeting the party over the lack of growth opportunities for young leaders.
Assam leader Gaurav Gogoi tweeted: "As an MP, I was encouraged by @RahulGandhi to speak up for my people inside Parliament and outside as a spokesperson, promoted to election screening committees in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, became a deputy whip in Lok Sabha, and in-charge of 4 states. #MyLeaderRahulGandhi. (sic)"
Maharashtra MP Rajeev Satav wrote: "I come from a backward district in Maharashtra where I was a Block Samiti, ZP member. Rahul-ji made me an MLA, then the IYC president, then MP and I am now an invitee to the CWC. Congressmen know it is because of Rahul Gandhi. But will media take note? #MyLeaderRahulGandhi. (sic)."
Gujarat Congress chief Amit Chavda shared a picture of him with Mr Gandhi, who is an MP from Kerala's Wayanad. "@RahulGandhi Ji appointed a grassroots worker like me President of @INCGujarat, this was purely based on merit. #MyLeaderRahulGandhi because 1000s of grassroot workers like me have been given leadership roles because of his strong belief in decentralization & democratization."
"No one in my family was in politics..Today I'm the only person to represent myself in political field because of #MyLeaderRahulGandhi," Sarifa Rahman, Indian Youth Congress National Secretary, wrote.
"I was born in conflict. When militants prowled freely. I was attacked, my accounts were hacked. Separatists were looked up to. But @RahulGandhi made sure I chose positivity. He is the one why I will take a bullet but not surrender to separatism ever! #MyLeaderRahulGandhi (sic)," another Congress member Salman Nizami wrote.
Rizwan Arshad, an MLA from Karnataka's Shivjinagar, hit out at the critics, saying: "Astonishing to see media peddling a fake narrative that @RahulGandhi ji is against youngsters, he was instrumental in promoting be it Mr. Pilot or Scindia or even an ordinary worker like me, has helped thousands of workers realize their dreams in Congress. #MyLeaderRahulGandhi."
Many others tweeted, using the same hashtag.
Mr Pilot's revolt in Rajasthan came months after Jyotiraditya Scindia's switch to the BJP led to the fall of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.
On Sunday, as the crisis emerged for the Ashok Gehlot government, Mr Scindia had taken a shot at the Congress on Twitter, saying: "Sad to see my erstwhile colleague Sachin Pilot too, being sidelined and persecuted by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Shows that talent and capability find little credence in the Congress."
Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Monday blamed the Congress's current crisis in Rajasthan and the one in Madhya Pradesh on Rahul Gandhi. It is Rahul Gandhi's "jealousy" of young leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot which has brought about the "destruction of the Congress", she said. "Both Sachin and Jyotiraditya Scindia are worthy. Both are like my nephews. If Sachin comes here (in the BJP) we will be very happy," said the 61-year-old saffron-robed leader, who shared close links with Mr Scindia's family, the erstwhile royals of Gwalior.
Yesterday, Sachin Pilot clarified that he was not joining the BJP and the link to the party was "an attempt to malign him in the eyes of Gandhis". "I am not joining the BJP. I would like to make it clear that I have no plans to join the BJP. The BJP link is an attempt to malign me in the eyes of the Gandhis," Sachin Pilot told NDTV, pointing out that he had worked hard to defeat the BJP.